Ahadith

Abdullah ibn Abbas has related that the Holy Prophet repeated Allah’s affirmation that He has defined good and evil and has expounded their gradation. He, therefore, who makes up his mind to do a good deed, is rewarded by Allah for one full measure of it, and if he then proceeds to carry it out Allah rewards him from ten to seven hundred times and even many times more. He who is inclined towards an evil deed, but does not carry it out, is rewarded by Allah for one full measure of good deed. Should he carry it out, he is debited only one evil deed (Bokhari and Muslim). (Al-Bayyinah 7, Al-Hajj 38, Aal-e-`Imran 31)

Abu Hurairah relates that he heard the Holy Prophet say: Allah is my witness, that I seek forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him more than seventy times a day (Bokhari). (An-Nur 33, Hud 5, At-Tahrim 10)

Aghirr ibn Yasar Muzanni relates that the Holy Prophet admonished: Turn to Allah, ye people, and seek forgiveness of Him. For myself, I turn to Allah a hundred times a day (Muslim). (An-Nur 33, Hud 5, At-Tahrim 10)

Anas ibn Malik, servant of the Holy Prophet, said: Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a servant of His than would be one of you who were to lose his camel in a barren desert and then find it suddenly (Bokhari and Muslim). The version in Muslim adds: Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a servant of His than would be one of you who were to lose his riding camel, which carries his food and drink, in a barren desert, and losing all hope of finding it he were to lie down in the shade of a tree, and then should suddenly find it standing near him and should seize its nose-string and in his excess of joy should blurt out: O Allah, Thou art my servant and I am Thy lord. (An-Nur 33, Hud 5, At-Tahrim 10)

Abu Musa Ash‘ari relates that the Holy Prophet said: Allah will continue to hold out His hand at night so that he who has sinned during the day might repent, and to hold out His hand during the day so that he who has sinned at night might repent, till the sun should rise from the west (Muslim). (An-Nur 33, Hud 5, At-Tahrim 10)

Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet said: Allah will turn with mercy to whoever repents before the sun rises from the west (Muslim). (An-Nur 33, Hud 5, At-Tahrim 10)

Abdullah ibn Umar relates that the Holy Prophet said: Allah, the Lord of honour and glory, will accept the repentance of a servant of His till his death-rattle begins (Tirmidhi). (An-Nur 33, Hud 5, At-Tahrim 10)

Zirr ibn Jubaish relates: | went to Safwan ibn Assal to inquire about the symbolic passing of the hands over socks in the course of ablutions. He asked me: Zirr, what brings you? I replied: Search of knowledge. He said: Angels spread their wings for one who seeks knowledge out of pleasure at what he seeks. I told him: Some doubt has arisen in my mind concerning the symbolic passing of hands over.socks in the course of ablutions after one has been to the" privy or the urinal. Now, you are one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet and I have come to ask you: Did you hear him mention anything concerning it? He replied: Yes. He directed us that while we were on a journey we need not take off our socks for washing the feet in the course of ablutions during a period of three days and nights, except after consorting with our wives. In other cases, e.g. sleep, a visit to the privy or urinal etc., the symbolic passing of the hands over socks would suffice during that period. I then asked him: Did you hear him say anything concerning love and affection? He replied: We were with the Holy Prophet in the course of a journey when a desert Arab called out to him in a loud rough voice: O Muhammad! The Holy Prophet answered him in almost the same tone: Here I am. I said to the Arab: Fie on thee, lower thy voice in his presence; Allah has so commanded. To me he retorted: I will not lower my voice; and then addressing the Holy Prophet said: What about a person who loves a people but has not yet found himself in their company? The Holy Prophet made answer: On the day of Judgment a person will be in the company of those he loves. He then continued talking to us and in the course of his talk made mention of a gateway in the west, the width of which could be traversed by a rider in forty or seventy years. Sufyan, who is one of the narrators of this hadith, adds: This gateway is in the direction of Syria. Allah created it along with the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is open for repentance, and will not be closed tiil the sun rises from that direction (Tirmidhi and others).

Abu Sa‘id Khudri relates that the Holy Prophet said: An individual from among a people before you having killed as many as ninety-nine persons inquired who was the most learned person on earth. He was directed to a monk. He went to the monk and said: I have killed ninety-nine persons. Is there any chance of repentance left for me? The monk answered: No. Forthwith he dispatched the monk also and completed a full century of victims. Then he ‘inquired again: Who is the most learned person on earth? and was directed to a savant, to whom he said: I have killed a hundred persons. Is there a chance of repentance left for me? The savant said: Yes. What can stand between you and repentance? Proceed to such and such a land. In it there are people who worship God. Join them in the worship of God and do not return to thine own land, for it is an evil place. So he set out. He had traversed only half the distance when he was overtaken by death, and a contention arose over him between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded that he had come a penitent turning towards God; and the angels of torment contended that he had never done a good deed. Then there arrived an angel in human form and the contending angels agreed that he should be the arbiter between them. He directed them: Measure the distance between the two lands. To whichever he is closer to that one he belongs. So they carried out the meagurement and he was found to be closer to the land whither he was bound. The’angels of mercy thus took charge of him (Bokhari and Muslim). One version has it that he was found to be closer to the land of the righteous by the width of a hand and was thus accounted one of them. Another version is that God directed the space on one" side to expand and the space on the other to shrink, and then said: Now carry out the measurement. It was found that he was nearer to his goal by the width of a hand and was forgiven. It is also related that he came closer by crawling on his chest.