and asked, “Can I still repent?” The monk replied, “No.” So he killed him as well, completing the count to one hundred. He then inquired about the most learned man on earth and was directed to a scholar. He said to him, “I have slain one hundred people; is there any repentance for me?” The scholar answered, “Yes—who could stand between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such a land; there you will find people who worship Allah, so worship Allah with them and never return to your own land, for it is an evil land.”

He set out, and when he had covered half the distance, death overtook him. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment then disputed over him. The angels of mercy said, “He came in repentance, his heart turned to Allah.” The angels of punishment said, “He has never done a single good deed.” An angel in human form appeared and they appointed him as their arbiter. He said, “Measure the distance between the two lands; whichever of the two he is nearer to will decide his fate.” They measured and found him closer to the land he had intended, so the angels of mercy claimed his soul. (Agreed upon.)

In one version recorded in the Sahih it says: “He was nearer to the righteous village by the span of a hand, so he was counted among its people.” Another version in the Sahih states: “Allah—Exalted is He—commanded this land, ‘Move farther away,’ and that land, ‘Draw nearer,’ then said, ‘Measure the distance between them.’ They found him closer to this one by a handspan, and he was forgiven.” A further narration says: “He thrust his chest toward it.”

[Explanation]
The compiler—may Allah have mercy on him—relates from Abu Saʿid Saʿd ibn Mālik ibn Sinān al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: “Among those who came before you there was a man who had killed ninety-nine people. He later regretted this and asked about the most learned man on earth…”