The Story of the Two Repentant Kings

Imam Aḥmad said: “Yazīd ibn Hārūn narrated to us; al-Masʿūdī narrated to us; from Simāk ibn Ḥarb; from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, from his father, who said:

A man among those who lived before you was seated upon his throne when he began to reflect. He realized that his dominion would one day be taken from him and that it had distracted him from worshipping his Lord. One night he slipped out of his palace; at daybreak he was in another king’s realm. He made his way to the seashore, where he earned a living molding bricks for hire. From his wages he ate, and whatever was left he gave in charity.

He remained in that state until word of him reached the local king. The king sent for him, but he refused to come. So the king himself mounted and went to him. When the man saw the king he fled, and the king pursued but could not catch him. The king called out, ‘Servant of Allah, you have nothing to fear from me!’ The man stopped until the king caught up with him and asked, ‘Who are you—may Allah have mercy on you?’

He replied, ‘I am So-and-so, son of So-and-so, former ruler of such-and-such a kingdom. I reflected on my condition and realized that everything I possessed is destined to vanish and that it had diverted me from worshipping my Lord, so I abandoned it and came here to worship my Lord.’

The king said, ‘I am no less in need of what you have done than you are.’ He dismounted, set his mount free, and followed the man, and together they devoted themselves to worshipping Allah. They prayed that Allah would cause them to die at the same moment, and they both passed away.

ʿAbd Allāh said, ‘If I were at Rumaylah in Egypt, I would show you their graves according to the description the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave us.’

Another narration:

Al-Bukhārī said: “Abū al-Walīd narrated to us; Abū ʿAwānah narrated to us; from Qatādah; from ʿUqbah ibn ʿAbd al-Ghāfir; from Abū Saʿīd, that the Prophet ﷺ said:

‘A man before your time was granted abundant wealth by Allah. When death approached he said to his sons, “What kind of father have I been to you?” They replied, “The best of fathers.” He said, “I have never done any good deed. When I die, burn me, crush my bones to powder, and scatter me…”’