Al-Fudail ibn Iyad was once a thief who had fallen in love with a maid. One night, he decided to climb over the wall to see her. As he stood on the wall, he heard an elderly man reciting the Qur'an, and he heard him read: "Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts should become humbly submissive to the remembrance of Allah?"
He stood still, crying, and said, "It is time, it is time." He returned to a nearby ruin where some travelers were resting. Some of them suggested they depart, while others said to wait until morning, fearing that Al-Fudail might rob them on the road.
He thought to himself, "I roam at night committing sins, and here are Muslims who fear me. I see that Allah has brought me to them so I may repent. O Allah, I repent to You."
He turned back to Allah, repented, and became one of the greatest scholars and sheikhs. The caliph Harun al-Rashid trusted no one but Al-Fudail due to his great piety and asceticism.
Al-Fudail ibn Iyad had a son named Ali, who was very righteous. Al-Fudail was the imam of the mosque and would always check behind him to see if his son was praying. If Ali was with him, Al-Fudail would recite verses of mercy to the congregation. However, if his son was absent, he would read verses of punishment, knowing that every time Ali heard the verses of punishment, he would faint from fear of Allah.
One day, Al-Fudail forgot to check if his son was behind him and recited verses of punishment. Ali fell, but this time it wasn't just fainting; he fell dead. He died upon hearing the verses of punishment, dying out of fear of Allah, and was thereafter known as "The Martyr of the Qur'an."
Source: Siyar A'lam al-Nubala by Al-Dhahabi - and Shu'ab al-Iman by Al-Bayhaqi
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Islamic stories
SpiritualHere are some stories that provide a glimpse of life of the Prophet's ( peace be upon them), sahabas, caliphs, Islamic scholars, stories from the Quran and some hadiths. These stories are not my works but a collection of research from reliable and...
