the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: “Among the nations before you there was a man who had murdered ninety-nine people. He asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth, and he was directed to a monk.(1) He went to him and said, ‘I have killed ninety-nine people; is there any repentance for me?’ The monk answered, ‘No.’ So he killed him, thereby completing one hundred.

He then inquired again about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was pointed to a learned scholar. He said to him, ‘I have slain one hundred people; is there any repentance for me?’ The scholar replied, ‘Yes—and who can stand between a servant and his repentance? Travel to such-and-such a land; there you will find people who worship Allah, Exalted is He. Worship Allah together with them, and do not return to your own land, for it is an evil land.’

So he set out, and when he had covered half the distance,(2) death overtook him. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him. The angels of mercy said, ‘He came repentant, with his heart turned to Allah Most High.’ The angels of punishment said, ‘He never performed a single good deed.’

Then an angel came to them in human form, and they appointed him as arbiter. He said, ‘Measure the distance between the two lands; whichever he is nearer to shall decide his fate.’ They measured and found him closer to the land to which he was headed, so the angels of mercy took possession of him.” Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

In another version in the Ṣaḥīḥ: “He was a handspan nearer to the righteous town, so he was counted among its people.”

In yet another version in the Ṣaḥīḥ: “Allah, Exalted is He, commanded this land, ‘Draw farther away,’ and that land, ‘Draw nearer’; then He said, ‘Measure the distance between them.’ They found him to be a handspan closer to it, and he was forgiven.”

And in one narration: “So he thrust his chest forward toward it.”

22 – ʿAbdullāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik—who used to guide his father Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him) after he lost his sight—said: I heard Kaʿb ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) recounting the story of how he stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the Expedition of Tabūk. Kaʿb said: “I never lagged behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in any expedition he led except the Expedition of Tabūk, though I had also remained behind in…”