Reflect on the meaning of the following Hadeeth (narration). The Prophet, , said:

"There was among the people who came before you a man who killed ninety-nine persons. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth, and was directed to a monk, so he went to him, told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked if his repentance could be accepted. The monk said, 'No.' So, he killed him and completed one hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and he was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked whether his repentance could be accepted. The scholar said, 'Yes, what could possibly come between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such land, for in it there are people who worship Allah. Go and worship Allah with them, and do not go back to your own land, for it is a bad place.'

So, the man set out, but when he was halfway there, the angel of death came to him, and the angels of mercy and the angels of torment began to argue over him. The angels of mercy said, 'He had repented and headed wholeheartedly to Allah.' The angels of torment said, 'He never did any good thing.' An angel in human form came to them and they asked him to decide the matter. He said, 'Measure the distance between the two lands (his home town and the town he was heading for), and to whichever of the two he is closer is the one to which he belongs.' So they measured the distance and found that he was closer to the town for which he was heading, so the angels of mercy took him." Qataadah said,"Al-Hasan mentioned that the man, while dying, turned his chest towards that village (where he had hoped his repentance would be accepted)." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, , said: "By the One in whose Hand my soul is, if you were not to commit sins Allah would remove you and replace you withpeople who would commit sins and then ask for forgiveness, and He would grant them forgiveness." [Muslim]

In a Hadeeth Qudsi (sacred narration), Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , quoted Allah The Almighty as saying: "I am just as My slave believes Me to be, and I am with him when He remembers Me. So if he remembers Me within himself, I too remember him within Myself. If he remembers Me in a group of people then I remember him in a group that is better than them. If he comes one span nearer to Me then I go one cubit nearer to him; if he comes one cubit nearer to Me then I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking then I go to him running." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Let Those who have Dead Hearts Rejoice - I