Reading the statement of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he transmitted: "

Machine translationRead the Arabic original

The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He said (may Allah have mercy on him): " And from Abu Sa'id Sa'd ibn Malik ibn Sinan al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

There was among those before you a man who had killed ninety-nine people, so he asked about the most learned person on earth, and he was directed to a monk, so he went to him. He said: I have killed ninety-nine people, is there any repentance for me? He said: No. So he killed him, completing a hundred. Then he asked about the most learned person on earth, and he was directed to a learned man. He said: I have killed a hundred people, is there any repentance for me? He said: Yes, and who can stand between him and repentance? Go to such-and-such a land, for there are people therein who worship Allah the Exalted, so worship Allah with them, and do not return to your land, for it is a bad land. So he set out, and when he reached the halfway point of the journey, death came to him. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him. The angels of mercy said: He came repentant, turning his heart toward Allah the Exalted. The angels of punishment said: He never did any good. So an angel came to them in the form of a human being, and they made him a judge between them. He said: Measure the distance between the two lands, and whichever is closer to him is his. So they measured and found him closer to the land he had intended, so the angels of mercy took his soul.

كان فيمن كان قبلكم رجل قتل تسعة وتسعين نفسًا ، فسأل عن أعلم أهل الأرض ، فَدُل على راهب ، فأتاه . فقال : إنه قتل تسعة وتسعين نفسًا فهل له مِن توبة ؟ فقال : لا ، فقتله فكمَّل به مئة ، ثم سأل عن أعلم أهل الأرض ، فدُل على رجل عالم . فقال : إنه قتل مئة نفس فهل له مِن توبة ؟ فقال : نعم ، ومَن يحول بينه وبين التوبة ؟ انطلق إلى أرض كذا وكذا فإن بها أناسًا يعبدونَ الله تعالى فاعبد الله معهم ، ولا ترجع إلى أرضك ، فإنها أرض سوء ، فانطلق حتى إذا نَصَف الطريق أتاه الموت ، فاختصمت به ملائكة الرحمة وملائكة العذاب ، فقالت ملائكة الرحمة : جاء تائبًا مقبلاً بقلبه إلى الله تعالى ، وقالت ملائكة العذاب : إنه لم يعمل خيراً قط ، فأتاهم مَلك في صورة آدمي فجعلوه بينهم - أَي حكماً - فقال : قيسوا ما بين الأرضين ، فإلى أيتهما كان أدنى فهو له ، فقاسوا فوجدوه أدنى إلى الأرض التي أراد ، فقبضته ملائكة الرحمة

, agreed upon.
And in a narration in the Sahih:

So he was closer to the righteous village by a span, so he was made one of its people.

فكان إلى القرية الصالحة أقرب بشبر ، فجُعل من أهلها

.
And in a narration in the Sahih:

So Allah the Exalted revealed to this one to move away, and to this one to move closer, and He said: Measure the distance between them, and they found him closer to this one by a span, so he was forgiven.

فأوحى الله تعالى إلى هذه أن تباعدي ، وإلى هذه أن تقرَّبي ، وقال : قيسوا ما بينهما ، فوجدوه إلى هذه أقربُ بشبر فغُفر له

. And in a narration:

So he inclined his chest toward it.

فنأى بصدره نحوها

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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