March 4, 2011

Ranking of a Person Who Repents

Bakr ibn Abdullah al-Muzani is the narrator of this story:

There was once a butcher who fell in love with the daughter of his neighbors. One day, the girl's parents sent her on an errand to the neighboring town. Seeing that she was alone, the butcher follwed her until she reached a seculeded place, where he made his presence known to her. When he tried to seduce her, the girl said, "Do not do so! Indeed, I love you even more than you love me, but I fear Allah."



The butcher's jaws dropped and he said in self-reproach, "You fear Allah and I don't!" He left her alone and repented for his intentions.



On his way back, he became extremely thirsty. He soon came across a Prophet from the Prophets of the Children of Israel. Noticing the expression on the butcher's face, the Prophet asked, "What is the matter with you?"



"Extreme thirst," said the butcher.



"Let us go supplicate to Allah for rain."



"I have no good deed that makes my supplication worthy of being answered," said the butcher.



"Then let me invoke Allah while you say 'Ameen' to my invocations," said the Prophet.



He then began to supplicate, and the butcher said, 'Ameen,' after each of the supplications.



Suddenly, a cloud appeared, rain fell from it into the nearby town, after which it approached the two men. Wherever the butcher walked, the cloud followed after him, instead of hovering over the Prophet.



"You claim that you have no good deeds," said the Prophet. "Yet despite the fact that it was I who suplicated while you said 'ameen' the cloud shaded the city and then it followed you. What is your story?"



The butcher the told him what happened with his neighbor's daughter.



"One who repents to Allah has a ranking that no other person can achieve," said the Prophet

No comments: