Question:
Those known as ‘Tha tha Ja’ (TNTJ) people has been saying that the hadith which states that the sins of a person who committed 100 murders were forgiven is false. Now they say that after re-examining it, they have published an article stating that the hadith is correct. Is this true?
Answer:
Regarding the hadith about the forgiveness of the man who committed 100 murders, first I will read the wording of the hadith. Then we will look at what questions should actually be asked about it.
The wording of the hadith found in Bukhari, Hadith number 3470, is as follows:
Among the Children of Israel, there was a man who killed 99 people. Then he set out to ask a question. He went to a monk (a religious scholar of the Jewish faith) and asked him, “Is there repentance for me?”—meaning, “I have killed 99 people; is there any repentance for me?”
The monk replied, “No, there is no forgiveness.” Upon hearing this, he killed him as well.
Then he again set out to ask. A man told him, “Go to such-and-such a town.” While he was on the way, death overtook him. Suppose someone says, “Go from Trichy to Madurai,” and he dies halfway, somewhere in between—similarly, he died on the way exactly dividing two halves, but some inches closer to the town he was going to, as his chest turned towards it when he died.
After his death, the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed concerning him.
They argued over which group he should be assigned. Allah ﷻ then commanded the land of the town he was heading toward to come closer, and the land of the town he had left to move farther away. Then Allah ﷻ commanded that the distance between the two towns be measured. When they measured it, they found that he was closer by one inch to the town he was heading toward. Therefore, it was decided that he belonged to that town, and he was forgiven.
This is the direct wording of the hadith related to the hundred murders.
This same hadith appears in many other books as well. Let us take the narration in Sahee Muslim, because it contains some additional wording.
The Messenger ﷺ of Allah ﷻ said:
Among the people before you, there was a man who killed 99 lives. He asked who was the most knowledgeable person on earth, and he was directed to a monk. He went to him and said, “I have killed 99 people; is there repentance for me?” The monk said, “No.” So he killed him, completing 100 murders.
Then he asked again who was the most knowledgeable person on earth. He was directed to a scholar. He went to him and said, “I have killed 100 people. Is there repentance for me?” The scholar replied, “Yes, there is repentance. Who can come between you and repentance? You are a servant who worships Allah ﷻ; who can prevent repentance between you and Allah ﷻ?”
Then the scholar said, “Leave your land and go to such-and-such a town, because there are people there who worship Allah ﷻ. Worship Allah ﷻ with them, and do not return to your land, for it is an evil land.”, So he set out. When he had covered half the distance, death overtook him. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment began disputing over him.
The angels of mercy said, “He came repentant, turning with his heart toward Allah ﷻ. We have more right to him.”
The angels of punishment said, “He never did any good at all, so he belongs to punishment.”
Then an angel came to them in the form of a human being. They appointed him as an arbitrator and said, “Judge between us.”
He said, “Measure the distance between the two lands. Whichever land he is closer to, count him as belonging to that land.”
They measured and found that he was closer to the land he was heading toward. So the angels of mercy took him.
This is the content of the two hadith narrations.
Previously, the TNTJ people rejected this hadith and published refutations saying it was false. Now they say, “We have re-examined it,” and during re-examination they concluded that there is no need to reject this hadith and that it is a sound hadith.
In their re-analysis, they first put the title: “There is forgiveness for murder.” They gathered hadiths showing that Allah ﷻ forgives murder and said that whether it is one murder or 100 murders, murder is something Allah ﷻ can forgive. Therefore, they say there is no need to reject this hadith.
But we never rejected the hadith because Allah ﷻ cannot forgive murder. That was never the issue. The hadith contains many other matters. I have already read the wording. There are many things in it that are contrary to Islamic foundations, contrary to beliefs about angels, and also contrary to practical reality.
Ignoring all of that, they respond only by saying: “Allah ﷻ forgave him. Can Allah ﷻ not forgive?” So they take other hadiths about forgiveness of murder and say Allah ﷻ would have forgiven this man too.
They do not answer why they rejected the hadith in the first place. They claim that everyone sat together and did a long study. But see whether that study answers the real questions raised here.
They ask questions such as:
- “Would Allah ﷻ bring lands closer?”
- “Is forgiveness granted based on a town?”
- “Would Allah ﷻ ask to measure distances?
They respond by saying: “If Allah ﷻ wants to forgive, He can make any reason. Did not Allah ﷻ forgive a woman for giving water to a dog?” They also ask whether angels would dispute, and they say angels have disputed in other narrations too.But the real questions that must be asked about this hadith are different. They raise questions that should not be raised and avoid the questions that should be raised.
The first real question is this:
This hadith says a man committed 100 murders. In those days, murder did not mean killing many people at once like with a bomb; it meant killing one person at a time.
Could a man who committed 100 murders survive in society?
If someone kills even one person, the victim’s family and heirs exist. This occurred among the Children of Israel. Allah ﷻ legislated strict laws for them. In Qur’an 5:32 and 5:45, Allah ﷻ states that life is taken for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. If someone committed murder among the Children of Israel, they would kill him. They would not simply issue verdicts and let him go. Even if he escaped once, would he escape after two murders? After five? Here he killed 99 people.
If someone killed 100 people, each victim would have heirs. Even if each had ten heirs, that is 1000 people seeking revenge. Would they allow him to walk around freely and calmly ask religious verdicts?
This is not practically possible. The next issue concerns angels.
Our belief is that Allah ﷻ has appointed a specific angel to take the soul of every person. Before Allah ﷻ created me, He already appointed an angel to take my soul. When my time comes, that angel will take it. There is no belief that angels of mercy and angels of punishment come together and debate over who should take a soul.
According to the Qur’an, the Angel of Death takes the soul. After death, the soul is already taken. The body remains.So why would angels dispute after death? The soul has already been taken. The records have already been written—either in Illiyyin or Sijjin. The barzakh life begins.
The Qur’an describes clearly:
- How angels take the souls of wrongdoers (4:97, 8:50)
- How angels take the souls of the righteous with greetings of peace (16:32)
- That the Angel of Death appointed to you will take your soul (32:11)
There is no concept of angels debating over a dead body after the soul has been taken. If the soul has already been taken, what work remains for angels of mercy or punishment at that moment? Therefore, this narration conflicts with Qur’anic descriptions of how death and angel’s function. When someone comes and says that a person has died, the Qur’an clearly explains which angels will take him, what kind of angels they are, and how they will deal with the matter.
But here, what are they doing? They are fighting over the corpse—the angels are fighting over the body. What are they going to do by taking this body? Haven’t they already taken the soul? The soul has already been taken before they even start fighting. Not only that—Allah ﷻ Himself will decide. Allah ﷻ will never say, “You all discuss among yourselves and decide.” Allah ﷻ does not leave such matters. Whether someone is to be placed among the righteous or among the evil—Allah ﷻ does not weigh it like that and decide.
Allah ﷻ does not do it like, “Hey, grab him like this,” or “Leave him.” That authority—deciding whether someone belongs among the righteous or the wicked—does not belong to angels through discussion or arbitration, as if a judge is passing a verdict. If a person asked for repentance and Allah ﷻ accepted it, then that’s the end of the matter. Once Allah ﷻ has accepted him, the matter is finished. When that is the case, how can angels come and create disputes over it?
In another Muslim hadith, what is said? First, they say he died. After death, a fight happens. After that, it says the angel of mercy takes possession. But in Muslim hadiths themselves, it starts by saying that as soon as he dies, they begin fighting. After the fight, in the end, they measure which town he is closer to. After measuring, they conclude that he is closer to the town he was traveling toward. Once that decision is made, what happens? The angel of mercy takes possession of him.
But possession of what? The soul has already been taken—he is already lying dead. So when it says that they take possession of someone who is already dead, this is being explained as angels disputing after death. But angels do not dispute. The issue is not whether angels dispute or not. The question is: is there a dispute here after death? What work do angels have after death? Aren’t they already assigned their roles?
There are angels appointed in the grave like Munkar and Nakir. There is an angel appointed to take the soul—the Angel of Death. He has already taken it and gone. After he leaves, why are all these angels coming here? What work is left to measure? If the soul has already been taken and carried away, what does it mean that they “measured” something?
When we look at this matter, does Allah ﷻ take the soul using two different types of angels? If someone intends to take a soul, does Allah ﷻ send the angel of mercy and the angel of punishment and say, “Discuss among yourselves and decide where to place him, then take the soul”? No. Allah ﷻ assigns the same kind of angel to everyone—only one angel per person. There is no separate counting of mercy angels and punishment angels for taking souls.
The angel who takes the soul does not have the duty of deciding whether the person is good or bad. His job is only to take the soul and go. If the person is wicked, he takes the soul harshly. If the person is righteous, he takes the soul gently, saying “Assalamu alaikum,” and escorts him. This is stated in the Qur’an. (16:32)
So when someone narrates such a hadith, one might say that to some extent it aligns with the Qur’an. There is also an explanation that the Angel of Death asked Allah ﷻ, “Should I take him harshly or gently?”—which aligns with Qur’anic meaning. Allah ﷻ has appointed the Angel of Death and runs a system through him. But then why would Allah ﷻ interfere in between and arrange a scenario where two angels fight? What is the purpose of that? Why did they fight? For the body? What are they going to do with the body? The people will bury the body themselves. Do you understand? The soul has already been taken to the higher realm.
So, what do we observe? We have a theological belief about angels. Does this incident align with that belief? People say they have done research and found no errors. But what research did they do? They took unnecessary four points and argued about them. But the real question is: who takes the soul? After the soul is taken, what role do these angels have? Is it stated anywhere what happens after the soul is taken? It is said that immediately after taking the soul, angels carry it—not directly to the grave. Within the next second, it is taken to the higher registry. There, if the person is worthy of being recorded among the righteous, he is registered there. Otherwise, he is taken to the lowest realm and registered there. Then, in the next second, he is brought back to the grave for questioning. All these setups are carried out by angels assigned specifically for each task.
So what is happening here? After death, are angels fighting? Fighting for what? The soul was already taken. They fight, and then later the angel of mercy takes the soul—did Allah ﷻ give life back to the dead person just to take the soul again? This hadith clearly creates confusion. It strongly appears that the Prophetﷺ ﷺ would not have said this. The wording itself serves as evidence.
Next issue: first of all, a person cannot commit 100 murders and continue living. The Israelites had laws. They strictly followed them. After seven or eight murders, a person would definitely be caught and executed. So behaving like this with impunity is unrealistic. That incident itself is questionable. One should not use it to argue whether murder can be forgiven or not. The main topic is whether committing 100 murders was even possible.
Second, there are many contradictions in matters related to angels. Things are said that directly contradict the Qur’an. After a person dies, there is no work related to the body that involves disputes. There is no dispute in taking the soul either—it is not their job.
Allah ﷻ has appointed an angel specifically for every person. The Angel of Death assigned to you will take your soul. It doesn’t matter whether you die here or there. Wherever Allah ﷻ has decreed your death, He will issue the command, and the angel will take you immediately. Once the soul is taken according to Allah ﷻ’s command, what are these other angels coming and fighting about?
What is their next role according to Qur’an and Hadith regarding the deceased soul? In the grave, there are separate angels appointed. Why are they coming here and arguing about classification? It becomes very clear that this sounds like rambling—like something imagined. It appears to be fabricated.
Next point: the man dies midway between two towns. Allah ﷻ supposedly decides that if he came closer to the good town, he is counted among them; if not, among the other. But he already repented. Once repentance is made, does Allah ﷻ forgive or not? He did not even start the journey—he died immediately. Does repentance count or not?
If someone commits murder and repents sincerely and dies immediately, will Allah ﷻ forgive him or not? He repented to Allah ﷻ. Once repentance is made, the matter is finished. Whether he reached the town or not is irrelevant. Muslim narrations say that the angels of mercy argue exactly this point: “He came as one who repented to Allah ﷻ, so I will take him.” Once repentance is done, where in the earth, he dies does not matter.
This is similar to someone who prepares fully for jihad (Holy war) but cannot go due to circumstances. Does he receive the reward? The Prophetﷺ ﷺ said yes—there are people in Madinah who share the reward because they were prevented by circumstances. Intention alone is sufficient. So once repentance is done, Allah ﷻ’s forgiveness is granted. Then what connection does traveling to another town have with forgiveness? Allah ﷻ has already forgiven him.
The advice to leave the town was given by a man, not by Allah ﷻ through revelation. The scholar said two things:
First—no one can block forgiveness between a servant and Allah ﷻ. That is correct and supported by all scriptures.
Second—he advised him to move to a town of righteous people so he could live better. That was his personal advice, not Quranic revelation.
So how did going to that town become a condition for forgiveness? Did Allah ﷻ say that? No. The hadith itself says it was a man’s advice. Interpreting a human opinion as Allah ﷻ’s decision and saying there is no contradiction is a forced explanation. Then comes another major issue. In Bukhari it says Allah ﷻ Himself spoke. In Muslim it says an angel came in human form and mediated between them. Then comes the claim that Allah ﷻ told one town to come closer and the other to move away.
This is absurd. Towns cannot move. Land moving would cause massive earthquakes. If one area moves, all surrounding areas must move. That would destroy the entire earth. Property’s boundaries would collapse, ownership would change, and the entire world would descend into chaos. If the earth moved like this, it would have been the Day of Judgment itself. Instead of simply saying Allah ﷻ forgave him out of mercy, they fabricated an elaborate story. When you think about it carefully, it becomes clear that this is a story—not reality.
Everything is interconnected. If land were moved like that, the vibration caused by such movement would result in everything being displaced. Everything would shift locations. For example, what is now in Manapparai would end up belonging to another town. What is on one mountain would move to Manapparai. Then there would be massive disputes over property, it would be an enormous confusion. The whole world would fall into chaos. If land on one side advances forward, what happens? Every town behind it will be pulled along, one by one. One side retreats, the other pushes. One pushes here, the other pulls there. Just think about what would happen.
Would Allah ﷻ do something so massive on the earth?
This is just like those stories where they say the sun set and rose again for Ali (Raliyallahu Anhu). They say Ali said he missed Asr prayer and so the sun set and then rose again. They’ve even written that this happened for one of a Prophetﷺ. Is this possible? Did the sun rise just for him personally? If the sun rose again after setting, wouldn’t the entire world be thrown into confusion?
What would all those who broke their fast do? How many massive problems would arise? Just as we reject such stories, the same issue exists here. If that were the case, Allah ﷻ could have simply caused a gust of wind and pushed the body slightly to one side—how easy would that be? If the intention was only to measure closeness, Allah ﷻ could have done it so, without causing any harm to the world, without disturbing the earth, without transferring anyone’s property to someone else, without causing vibrations. Instead, they claim Allah ﷻ shook the earth just to decide one man’s fate. The earth is not a trivial thing.
They speak of it casually, like telling children a story—“Go this way, go that way”—as if driving cattle. Is the earth you live on such a thing? If the earth were pushed like that, what would happen? Even a slight tremor can collapse buildings. If the land moved even by a cubit or even a thread’s width, many buildings would collapse. So what kind of damage would occur if the land moved even a cubit closer? What kind of massive change, vibration, and destruction would happen? Would Allah ﷻ cause all that just to make a decision about one individual? If this alone is your problem, then this was not said by Allah ﷻ—it was just a human idea.
Even if Allah ﷻ wanted to do something, He could have done it gently. What could He have done? The body is lying there—He could have commanded a wind to blow and roll the body slightly. That’s all. Why would Allah ﷻ, who is supremely wise and intelligent, choose to move the earth and cause earthquakes? Or while the angels were measuring, Allah ﷻ could have altered the measuring tape—made one tape shorter, the other longer—and said, “That’s enough.” There are countless ways Allah ﷻ could do it if He wanted. Would he do this? This is not a local issue; it affects the whole world. If Allah ﷻ made such a global change, everything would be altered. The systematic administration of Allah ﷻ would collapse. When such a matter exists, are answers given to all these aspects? No.
So when they claim there is forgiveness and list four reasons, it becomes ridiculous. They spread this on websites saying it is great research. What research is this? The hadith says only four things, and they themselves extract four points and say none of them are wrong. But the real issue is this: this hadith destroys the belief about angels. What is Malak al-Mawt then? Where is the alternative explanation? Their “research” doesn’t address that. If you sit down to do real research, so many questions arise. You should say, “We will answer all of them.” But they don’t. Past critics raised many such questions—those should be gathered and answered. If answers exist, present them. If not, remain silent.
Instead, they show off, saying, “We have the capacity to research and modify.” That kind of display is not acceptable. This is rubbish. Would any serious researcher accept this? Are the justifications they give to authenticate this hadith actually valid? That too must be examined.
Therefore, this is a flawed matter.