(144) It is related
by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of God said: “A person did great
injustice to himself [i.e., he spent his days in folly and transgression].
When the hour of his death drew near [he was seized with the fear of
God because of the life of negligence and evil-doing he had led, so
much so that] he instructed his sons to burn his corpse to ashes when
he died and to scatter some of the ashes on the ground and immerse some
of them in the river [so that no trace of him was found anywhere and
he could not be raised up on the Day of Recompense]. He said. ‘By
God, I am such a sinner that if the Lord gets hod of me, He will punish
me like no one in the world.’ After it, when he died, his sons
carried out his wish [i.e., burnt his corpse and scattered his ashes].
Then, at the command of God, the remains of his dead body came together
from land and water [and he was brought back to life]. ‘Why did
you do that?’ he was asked. ‘O my Lord,’ he replied.
‘I had done it only out of Thy fear.’ God, thereupon, pardoned
him.”
-Bukhari
and Muslim
Commentary.-The bondsman, in this parable, was not aware of the Power
and Glory of the Lord and his record, too, was not good but before his
death he was so greatly overcome by the fear of God that he made the
foolish will thinking that when his ashes had been thrown about in all
directions there was no possibility of his being raised up again. Since,
however, the basic cause of his folly was the fear of God, he was forgiven.