The crow continued, "The young apprentice asked, "O master, is there no forgiveness for the sinners?" The teacher said, "In Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, radiallahuanhu, reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying, 'There was a person before you who had killed ninety-nine persons and then made an inquiry about the learned persons of the world (who could show him the way to salvation). He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: No. He killed him also and thus completed one hundred. He then asked about the learned persons of the earth and he was directed to a scholar, and he told him that he had killed one hundred persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said, 'Yes; what stands between you and the repentance? "
The young apprentice said, "O master, what was the meaning of this statement?" The teacher said, "The door of repentance is open for the murderer, and the evidence for this is that which is found in the Quran Surah An-Nisa[4]:48, "Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin." So, anything less than shirk, Allah forgives whomever He pleases. A consensus from the people of knowledge ascribe to this understanding.
It has been reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, radiallahuanhu, that he mention for the killer there is no repentance, due to Allah saying in surah An-Nisa[4}:93, "But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment."
According to this verse, that indeed this person's recompense is the hell-fire. He may be punished with the fire or other than it. And he may not be punished at all, rather he may be pardoned from it all together. However, if someone kills intentionally and he holds the belief that it is permissible for him to do so without just right, and he does not have a misunderstanding than he is a disbeliever and has apostated from the religion. Because of this he will remain in the hell fire, based on a unanimous ruling of the people of knowledge. But if he commits a murder and does not think it is permissible for him to do so, rather he believes it to be impermissible, then this person is a wicked evil sinner who has committed a major sin; his punishment is the hell-fire and in it he will remain for an extended period of time, but with Allah's bounties He informed us that whosoever dies worshipping Allah, believing that no deity is worthy of being worshipped in truth except Allah, he will not remain in the fire forever. This Muslim, who has singled out Allah in all acts of worship, may be pardoned and never enter the fire at all, and perhaps he may be punished in the fire like all the other sinners and may be pardoned thereafter, being removed from the hell-fire to the paradise.
What has been narrated from Ibn 'Abbas can perhaps be construed to mean that there is no repentance for the killer in relation to the one who has been murdered. For the action of the killer is connected to three rights. The First Right, for Allah. In relation to the right of Allah, there is no doubt that Allah shall grant forgiveness for the one who turn to Him in repentance, due co His saying in Surah Az-Zumar[39]:10, "Say, "O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allah is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account."
Also, in Surah Al-Furqan[25]:68-70, "And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated, except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful."
In relation to the right of the one Killed, the repentance of the killer is of no benefit to him and does not fulfill his right, for he is deceased. It is not possible for the Killer to seek atonement from the murdered, nor to absolve himself of his blood. The killer therefore remains in this state seeking to fulfill his right, irrespective of his action of seeking for repentance. And on the Day of Judgment Allah shall judge between them.
In relation to the right of the guardian of the individual killed, the repentance of the killer is not actualized until he surrenders himself to the individual's guardian, confesses to his action of killing, declares: I am the killer and I am before you. If you wish, kill me. If you wish, accept the blood money. If you wish, pardon me.'
The young apprevtice said, "What is the rest of the hadith said?" The teacher said, "The hadith continued with, the scholar said, 'You better go to such and such land; there are people devoted to prayer and worship and you also worship along with them and do not come to the land of yours since it was an evil land ( for you).' So he went away and he had hardly covered half the distance when death came to him and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. The angels of mercy said: This man has come as a penitent and remorseful to Allah and the angels of punishment said: He has done no good at all. Then there came another angel in the form of a human being in order to decide between them. He said: You measure the land to which he has drawn near. They measured it and found him nearer to the land where he intended to go ( the and of piety), and so the angels of mercy took possession of it. Qatada said that Hasan told him that it was said to them that as death approached him, he crawled upon his chest ( and managed) to slip in the land of mercy.'
In another narration: 'He was found to be nearer to the village where pious persons were living equal to the Space of a span and he was thus included among them.'
And in another narration: 'Allah commanded the earth ( from where) he wanted to come out to move itself away and to the other earth ( where he wanted to go) to draw nearer.'
The scholars say that this is an indication that it is highly recommended for one who has repented from a particular sin to depart from the place in which they committed the sin, to leave of the friends who assisted upon the crime, and to boycott these evil companions as long as they are upon their wicked condition. And it is also highly recommended for the one who has repented to replace his old sinful companions with the pious and noble, such as the scholars, upright worshippers, and others that should be followed and benefoted from. With these steps, the repentance is solidified.
As for the Angels measuring between the two towns and the angel that judged between them, then it is understood that Allah commanded them to have one passing by them rule between them, once they differed concerning the affair of the dead man and were confused by it. So an angel passed by them in the form of a man, and then he made his decision.
In this Hadith there is a clarification for the one who wants to undertake the task of guiding the people, inviting them to Islam and the Truth, then it is require from him to seek knowledge of the Islamic Legislation in giving da'wah, if he is void of possessing this knowledge then the harm he will cause will outweigh the benefit. The one who is ignorant is an enemy to himself. the monk indicates this; his having little knowledge is what brought about his own demise. The Scholar guides with the light of truth and knowledge. He has been granted the success from Allah to walk upon the path of guidance; thereby he benefits himself and others. It is necessary for the Scholar and the one who calls to Allah, to give glad tidings to the people, and not to chase them away.
The Door to repentance is open, whether the sin is great or small. Allah will accept anyone who turns to Allah with sincere repentance, as long as he avoids associating any partners with Allah. So, people should not be quick to despair from the mercy of Allah, which extends over everything.
The scholars mentioned: the obligation of seeking forgiveness from every act of disobedience. If the act of disobedience has occurred between the slave and Allah the Most High, and is not connected to an infringement of a human right, three conditions are present:
The first condition: the individual discontinues the act of disobedience. The second condition: the individual regrets his action. The third condition: the individual resolves never to return to the action. If any of these three conditions are violated, the act of repenting to Allah is not actualized.
If the act of disobedience is connected to an infringement of a human right, fourth conditions are present: the individual is obligated to absolve himself from the right of the victim.
This fourth condition is that the person who was transgressed against have their rights returned back to them, whether it is money or other than that, or that the person relieves them of it based on the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) narrated by al-Bukhari and Ahmad, "Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Resurrection when there will be no money ( to compensate for wrong deeds), but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken &om him according to his oppression which he has done, and if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him."
If the misdeed concerns wealth or a matter comparable to it, the individual is obligated to return it. If the misdeed concerns the legal offense of defamation or a matter analogous to it, he submits to the penalty, or seeks the victim's pardon. If the misdeed concerns backbiting, the individual concerned seeks the victim's forgiveness. It is incumbent upon the individual to seek repentance for the sum total of his misdeeds. If an individual seeks repentance from a portion of them, his repentance is deemed correct according to the People of Truth for those particular misdeeds. However that which remains, continues to remain with Him."
The teacher then said, "O young man, human soul, naturally wants good, it only becomes corrupt when evil enters it. So if it encounters one who reminds it with good then it prepares itself to remain steadfast upon the path of guidance. So it is obligatory upon every Muslim to beware of ash-shirk ( associating partners with Allah in worship), and that which leads to it. Also, every Muslim must be cautious of committing sins and the paths that lead to them, because it is possible that a person may be tested with a sin and not be given success to make repentance. So it aids a person that he is cautious from everything that Allah has made impermissible and that he ask his Lord to pardon him from those things. And the Muslim should not take the Shaytan lightly, causing him to embark upon a sin with the intention to repent afterwards. No doubt that is from the deception of the Shaytan, and a beautification from him, in order for a person to commit a sin with the claim that they will repent from it afterwards. Perhaps a slave may be prevented from repenting to Allah, and in the end he will regret severely. And this remorse grows greater if it is at a time when regret is of no benefit."
(Part 1)"Except for those who repent and correct themselves and make evident [what they concealed]. Those - I will accept their repentance, and I am the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful." - [QS.2:160]
Reference :
- Ibn Kathir, Stories of The Qur'an, Dar al-Manarah
- The History of at-Tabari, Volume I, General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal, SUNY Press.
- Al-Allaamah Muhammad bin Salih al-Uthaymeen & Sheikh Salim al-Hilaalee, The Explanation of the Hadith of The Man Who Killed Ninety-Nine Men By al-Imam an-Nawawi, Riwayah Publishing
