asking him, “Is there any repentance for me?” He was thereupon directed to a man who turned out to be a monk—meaning a devout worshipper—yet he had no knowledge. When the murderer approached him he said, “I have killed ninety-nine people; is there any repentance for me?” The monk regarded the sin as colossal and said, “There is no repentance for you!” The man became furious and agitated and killed the monk, thereby completing one hundred souls.

He then asked about the most learned man on earth and was pointed to a true scholar. He said to him, “I have killed one hundred people; is there any repentance for me?” The scholar replied, “Yes! Who could stand between you and repentance? The gate of repentance is open. But go to such-and-such a village, for there are people there who worship Allah. The land you now inhabit appears—Allah knows best—to be a land of unbelief, so migrate with your religion to that village where Allah, exalted be He, is worshipped.” He set out repentant and remorseful, migrating with his faith toward the land whose people worshipped Allah.

Halfway along the road death overtook him, and the angels of punishment and the angels of mercy disputed over him, for it is the angels of mercy who claim the soul of a believer. The angels of punishment argued, “He never performed a good deed,” while the angels of mercy said, “He came repentant, his heart turned to Allah.” A dispute arose, so Allah sent an angel to judge between them. He said, “Measure the distance between the two lands; whichever one he is closer to will determine his fate—meaning he is counted among its people. If he is nearer to the land of disbelief, the angels of punishment will take his soul; if he is nearer to the land of faith, the angels of mercy will take his soul.” They measured and found that the village toward which he was heading—the land of faith—was closer to him than the land he had left by about a handspan, a very small distance. Therefore the angels of mercy claimed his soul.