Earlier nations in the Sunnah 4 min read
The Prophet ﷺ told of a man among those before us who killed ninety-nine people and then wanted to repent. His story is narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) and recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. It shows how wide the mercy of Allah is, and why a sincere step toward Him matters.
This story is not in the Quran. It is an authentic hadith that the Prophet ﷺ narrated about a man from earlier times. It is found in Sahih al-Bukhari 3470 and in Sahih Muslim 2766, both through Abu Sa'id al-Khudri.
Sahih al-Bukhari says he was among the Children of Israel. Sahih Muslim says he was among those who lived before us. The two narrations differ a little in wording, and Sahih Muslim gives more details. The story below follows both.
The Prophet ﷺ said that a man had killed ninety-nine people. He then asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a monk. He told the monk that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked whether there was repentance for him. The monk said no, so the man killed him and completed one hundred.
He then asked again about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked whether he could repent. The scholar said yes, and asked who could stand between him and repentance.
The scholar then gave him two pieces of advice. He told him to go to a certain land where there were people who worshipped Allah, and to worship Allah with them. And he told him not to return to his own land, because it was a land of evil (Sahih Muslim 2766).
The man set out. When he had gone halfway, death came to him. As he died, he turned his chest toward the land he was heading to, according to Sahih al-Bukhari 3470 and another narration in Sahih Muslim 2766.
The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment then disputed over him. The angels of mercy said that he came repentant, turning with his heart to Allah. The angels of punishment said that he had never done any good (Sahih Muslim 2766).
In Sahih Muslim 2766, an angel came to them in the form of a man and they made him a judge between them. He told them to measure the distance between the two lands, and whichever he was closer to would be his. They measured and found him closer to the land he had been heading to, so the angels of mercy took him.
In Sahih al-Bukhari 3470, Allah commanded the land of the righteous to come closer and the other land to move away, and then told the angels to measure. The man was found to be closer to the land of the righteous by a hand span, and he was forgiven. Another narration in Sahih Muslim mentions the same hand span and says he was counted among the people of that village.
The hadith does not give the man's name, the names of the lands, the period in which he lived or the way he committed his crimes. We should not add such details. The hadith teaches the great mercy of Allah toward the one who turns to Him with a sincere heart, and the Quran says in the meaning of 39:53: Do not despair of the mercy of Allah, Allah forgives all sins.
General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.
Updated 6 October 2026
It is narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) and found in Sahih al-Bukhari 3470 and Sahih Muslim 2766.
The hadith says the angels of mercy argued that he came repentant, turning with his heart to Allah. He had left for a land of righteous people, and he died while heading to it. Allah made the distance closer to that land and forgave him.
That repentance is open to the one who sincerely turns to Allah, however great the sin was. The scholar in the story asked who could stand between the man and repentance, and the Quran tells believers not to despair of Allah's mercy (39:53).
