A Man Who Killed 99 People

During the time of bani Israel, the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told us of the people before...of the people before. A person who killed 99 people! 

99 people! 

But he had that burning desire to return to Allah and to change! 

So he sought after the most knowledgeable person, that he could find and he asked the people and he was shown a man who was an 'abid (devout worshipper). So he went to him and he said, 'I killed 99 people, is there repentance for me?' So he looked at him and he said, '99 people?! No! 99?!' 

He had already killed 99 people; one more isn't gonna take that much energy for him. He's already used to it. So he killed him also and completed 100! He killed him also when he said no! 

What else does he have?! 

If there's no more hopes of repentance, might as well, what's the difference between 99 and a 100?! 

But you know what, there was still this burning desire to him to return! There was still hopes! He still had hopes! So he was still seeking the most knowledgeable person, 'Show me the most knowledgeable person in the face of this earth!' 

So then they asked him...

Is it possible or not? He doesn't wanna go to any little guy who might not know or think this and that. So he was shown a scholar, and he came to...he went to him, and he said, 'Is there anything that can come between you and repentance, of course as Allah will always accept. But! But...you have to leave the land of the bad people and go to the land of the good people.' In other words, it's not all by words; you have to put it by action. And it's not easy leaving your own town; you own family, the people you're familiar with! But he had that burning desire to change and so he wanted to change! So he went...half way, he passed away. Both the angel of mercy and the angel of punishment came down, they were fighting over who should take his soul. The angel of mercy said he was already on his way towards repentance, to change, he made that conviction already. The angel of punishment said he hasn't done any good yet! He hasn't done any good yet. So Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) sent an angel who came in the form of a man to settle this dispute. And so he said, 'Why don't you measure the distance between the land of the good people and the land of the bad people? Which...wherever of the two he's closest to, then you take him accordingly'

And so they measured and because Allah, Allah is ever, is ever waiting, wanting us to return, Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) caused a miracle to happen. He made the distance between that man and the land of the good people shorter...he ordered the earth to shorten the distance and they measured and it was shorter. And so the angel of mercy took him. The point in this is...never lose hope! There's always time to change. No matter what you were before, I'm sure most of us here, I'm pretty...I mean...I'm most definitely sure we didn't go round killing 99 people yet, but Allah is still...Merciful. We have less than that, probably most of us. But you have to have that desire and never lose hope. Why? Why?! Because he who loses hope, is a kaafir; is a disbeliever, is a non-Muslim! If you lose hope in Allah, because of your condition or because you feel that your sins are so great, it's like you're saying, 'Ya Allah! My sins are so great; your mercy can't even encompass it!' 

How can you say that?! But when you're in such a hard, difficult situation, it's like you're saying, 'Ya Allah, you don't know the hardship I'm going through!' If you lose hope...how can you lose hope? How can you be pessimistic, when you have Allah with you? So we should learn. We should realize that the time is now!

By Sheikh AbdulBary Yahya