Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted from Abu Sa'id Sa'd ibn Sinan ibn Malik al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 2766a : Then he regretted it and asked about the most learned person on earth to ask him if there was any repentance for him, and he was directed to a man, and it turned out he was a monk: meaning a worshipper, but he had no knowledge. When he asked him, saying: I have killed ninety-nine souls, is there any repentance for me? The monk considered this sin great and said: You have no repentance. The man became angry and upset and killed the monk, completing a hundred souls. Then he asked about the most learned person on earth and was directed to a learned man. He said to him: I have killed a hundred souls, is there any repentance for me? He said: Yes, and what can stand between him and repentance?! The door of repentance is open, but go to such-and-such a village, for there are people therein who worship Allah, and the land he was in was, as Allah knows best, a land of disbelief. So this learned man ordered him to migrate with his religion to this village where Allah the Exalted and Sublime is worshipped. So he set out repenting, regretting, and migrating with his religion to the land where these people were, the people who worship Allah the Mighty and Majestic. In the middle of the journey, death came to him, and the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him, because the soul of the disbeliever, may Allah protect us from that, is taken by the angels of punishment, and the soul of the believer is taken by the angels of mercy. So they disputed; the angels of punishment said: He never did any good, meaning after his repentance he did not do any good. And the angels of mercy said: He repented and came regretting and repenting. So a dispute arose between them, and Allah the Exalted sent an angel to judge between them. He said: Sahih Muslim 2766a : meaning so he is from its people. If the land of disbelief was closer to him, the angels of punishment take his soul, and if the land of faith was closer, the angels of mercy take his soul. They measured the distance between them, and the land he had headed toward, which was the land of faith, was closer than the land he had migrated from by about a span, a short distance, so the angels of mercy took his soul.
In this, there is evidence for many benefits, among which is: that the killer has a repentance. If the killer kills a person intentionally and then repents, then Allah the Exalted accepts his repentance. The evidence for this in the Book of Allah is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:48] , meaning anything less than associating partners with Allah, for Allah the Exalted forgives it if He wills. This is the position of the majority of the scholars. It was mentioned from 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the killer has no repentance, because Allah says: [An-Nisa 4:93] . But what the majority held is the truth, and what was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) can be understood to mean that he has no repentance with regard to the victim, because when the killer kills, three rights become attached to him: the first right is for Allah, the second is for the victim, and the third is for the guardians of the victim.
As for the right of Allah, there is no doubt that Allah the Exalted forgives it through repentance, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Az-Zumar 39:53] , and by His saying: [Al-Furqan 25:68-70] .
As for the right of the victim: the repentance of the killer does not benefit him nor does it deliver his right to him, because he has died and it is not possible to reach his permission or his disavowal of his blood. This is what the killer remains accountable for even if he repents, and on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will judge between them.
As for the right of the guardians of the victim, the repentance of the killer is not valid until he surrenders himself to the guardians of the victim and admits to the killing, saying: I am the killer, and I am now in your hands; if you wish, kill me, if you wish, take the blood money, and if you wish, pardon me. If he repents to Allah and surrenders himself to the guardians of the victim, meaning his heirs, then his repentance is valid, and what is between him and the victim, the judgment in that is for Allah on the Day of Resurrection. And success is from Allah.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted from Abu Sa'id Sa'd ibn Sinan ibn Malik al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
There was a person before you who had killed ninety-nine persons
كان فيمن كان قبلكم رجل قتل تسعة وتسعين نفساًYou measure the land to which he has drawn near
قيسوا ما بين الأرضين فإلى أيتهما كان أقرب فهو لهIn this, there is evidence for many benefits, among which is: that the killer has a repentance. If the killer kills a person intentionally and then repents, then Allah the Exalted accepts his repentance. The evidence for this in the Book of Allah is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُBut whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِناً مُتَعَمِّداً فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِداً فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَاباً عَظِيماًAs for the right of Allah, there is no doubt that Allah the Exalted forgives it through repentance, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعاً(68) And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. (69) Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - (70) Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good.
وَالَّذِينَ لا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهاً آخَرَ وَلا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَاماً * يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَاناً * إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍAs for the right of the victim: the repentance of the killer does not benefit him nor does it deliver his right to him, because he has died and it is not possible to reach his permission or his disavowal of his blood. This is what the killer remains accountable for even if he repents, and on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will judge between them.
As for the right of the guardians of the victim, the repentance of the killer is not valid until he surrenders himself to the guardians of the victim and admits to the killing, saying: I am the killer, and I am now in your hands; if you wish, kill me, if you wish, take the blood money, and if you wish, pardon me. If he repents to Allah and surrenders himself to the guardians of the victim, meaning his heirs, then his repentance is valid, and what is between him and the victim, the judgment in that is for Allah on the Day of Resurrection. And success is from Allah.