Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "There was a man among the people before you who had killed ninety-nine people. He inquired about the greatest scholar of that area, so he was directed to a monk. He went to him and said that he had killed ninety-nine people. Is there any chance for his repentance? The monk replied: No. So the man killed the monk as well and completed the number to one hundred. Then he inquired about the greatest scholar of that area, so he was directed to a man. He told him: He had killed one hundred people. Is there any chance for his repentance? The man replied: Yes! What can stand between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such land; there are some people there who worship Allah Almighty. You also worship Allah Almighty (by staying there) and do not return to your own land, for it is a place of evil. The man set out, and when he reached halfway, death overtook him. There was a dispute about him between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. The angels of mercy said: This man came to us turning to Allah Almighty with sincere repentance. The angels of punishment said: He never did any good. Then an angel came to them in the form of a human being. They accepted him as an arbitrator among themselves. The angel said: Measure the distance of both lands. Whichever land he is closer to, he will be counted among its people. The angels measured the land and found him to be closer to the land he was heading towards, so the angels of mercy took possession of him."