The story of Fudayl ibn Iyad

 The story of Fudayl ibn Iyad.

Alhamdulillah, one of the story to reflect is the story of a bandit and a thief called Fudayl ibn Iyad who later repented and became a great scholar.

As there was a time in Baghdad, there is no one who has no heard the story of Fudayl ibn Iyad. He and his people stood at the pathway of Baghdad to rob people of their wealth.

Everyone knows of him but none have seen him before.

One-day a man who was passing by the route was informed of the Robbery there and so as he was passing, he met a man sitting and said to him,

I am a traveller, and I want to lend you my things to keep for me later I will come for it.

This was rather Fudayl who was sitting there. He was amazed at this man.

So one-day he was climbing a wall at night to steal from a man. This man was reciting Quran and reached a surah in Hadid saying,

Al-Hadid 57:16

۞أَلَمۡ يَأۡنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَن تَخۡشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمۡ لِذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُواْ كَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ مِن قَبۡلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡأَمَدُ فَقَسَتۡ قُلُوبُهُمۡۖ وَكَثِيرࣱ مِّنۡهُمۡ فَٰسِقُونَ

Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allāh and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.

This ayah touched his heart and fudayl ibn Iyad could not see. He then went to his bandit and said I have repented and then started to distribute what he stole from peoples until he came to a jew.

He had nothing to repay him and so he said to him to take him as a slave.

He started working in his house until he one-day decided to go to seek for knowledge. but the jew denied him and he said if I pray to Allah and this stone turned to gold will you allow me 

So he prayed and the stone turned into gold and repay him his debts.

He started his mission to seek knowledge and because of his ambition to seek knowledge, he was able to fulfill dream and became a great scholar that everyone knew of his name.

From a highway robber to a great scholar.

A lesson is whatever situation or evil we have committed,never loose the hope of turning back to Allah.

A person who turns and make Taubah is like the one who never commits that sin.

May Allah make us among those who constantly repents. Aamin