The short answer
The man who killed 100 people is told in a hadith from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 3470, which is treated as sahih (authentic). The narration counts ninety-nine killings, then a monk. He died on the road to a village, found a span closer to it, and was forgiven.
Who was the man?
The narration says he was "among the men of Bani Israel", the Children of Israel. It gives no name for him, none for the monk, and no village name. It gives no era beyond the Children of Israel. 1
The story in four pictures
1The count
A man who had killed ninety-nine people set out asking whether his repentance could be accepted.
2The refusal
The monk said no, and the man killed him. Another man advised him to go to a village.
3On the way
Death overtook him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest towards that village.
4The measuring
He was found a span closer to the village he was heading for, so he was forgiven.
What does the narration say?
The narration is reported by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who heard the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, tell it. Here is the order of events, as the stored text gives it. 1
- The killings and the question. A man of the Children of Israel had murdered ninety-nine people. He set out asking whether his repentance could be accepted. 1
- The monk. He came to a monk and asked whether his repentance could be accepted. The monk replied that it could not, and the man killed him. 1
- The advice and the road. He kept on asking, and a man advised him to go to a certain village. Death overtook him on the way. 1
- The measuring. While dying, he turned his chest towards the village he had been advised to reach. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him. Allah had the angels measure him against both villages; he was a span nearer the one he was heading for, so he was forgiven. 1
Not stated in the narration: the man's name, the monk's name, the village's name, who gave the advice beyond "a man", and the era beyond the Children of Israel. This page does not supply them. The narration gives no total number of people killed beyond the ninety-nine and the monk.
Where does it come from?
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3470
The record is Sahih al-Bukhari 3470 (sunnah.com/bukhari:3470), Book 60, Hadith 137 in its book numbering. The stored English and Arabic were read on sunnah.com on 19 October 2026. It has not been re-read since. The record treats both collections as sahih by consensus; sunnah.com shows no grade line. 1
Do the versions differ?
Yes. Sahih Muslim has the story in two wordings. Sahih Muslim 2766a is the full account: the monk says no, the man kills him and completes one hundred, a scholar tells him to go to a land of devout people, and he dies on the way. Its last sentence, that he crawled on his chest toward the land of mercy, is introduced as something Qatadah said al-Hasan told him 2. Sahih Muslim 2766b is a shorter wording in which he crawls on his chest inside the main account and is found nearer the pious village by the space of a span 3. This page follows the Bukhari text only and keeps the three wordings apart. 1
What does it teach?
The narration supports these points, and no more:
- In the narration, the man kept asking after many killings, including after the monk refused.
- The narration reports that he was forgiven.
The narration does not say the monk's answer was rightly or wrongly given, and it does not explain why he answered as he did. 1
What does it not mean?
- It does not say the rights of the people he killed, or any legal consequence, are cancelled.
- It does not name the man, the monk, the village or the era.
- It is not a reason to take killing lightly. The story is about a man who had done great wrong and sought a way back.
For a personal question about your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
There was a time I realised a mistake of mine was bigger than I had first thought, and my first instinct was to hide from it. The story of the man who kept asking whether he could still turn back stays with me because he kept asking and then went. When someone I know came back to something good, what I noticed first was how glad I was.
Try it: three questions
Pick an answer. Each one explains itself.
1What did the monk tell the man?
Answer: That his repentance could not be accepted. The narration says the man asked the monk whether repentance could be accepted for him, and the monk replied in the negative. The man then killed him.
2Where did the man die?
Answer: On the way to a village. After a man advised him to go to a village, death overtook him on the way.
3How was it settled which village he was nearer?
Answer: The distances were measured, and he was found a span closer to the village he was heading for. Allah commanded the two villages to draw near and move away, then the distances were measured. He was a span closer to the village he was heading for, and he was forgiven.
Questions people ask
Does the story say he killed 100 people?
The narration says he had murdered ninety-nine people, and then he killed the monk. Ninety-nine plus the monk makes one hundred killings in all. Sahih Muslim 2766a tells the same count in its own wording: ninety-nine, then the monk, which completes one hundred.
Does the narration say his repentance was accepted?
The narration reports that he was forgiven and says nothing more about it. It does not list which sins are forgiven in general. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
Does the story say the rights of the people he killed were cancelled?
No. The narration does not address the rights of the people he killed, or any legal consequence. This page does not claim that they were cancelled.
Which hadith is this story from?
Sahih al-Bukhari 3470. This page follows the Bukhari text only. Sahih Muslim 2766a is the fuller account and 2766b a shorter wording; the differences section sets out each.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
The Prophet told of a man of the Children of Israel who had killed ninety-nine people, killed a monk who told him there was no repentance for him, then set out on advice towards another town, died on the way, and was forgiven when he was found to be a span closer to the town he was heading for.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3470 Book 60, Hadith 137
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported the Prophet telling of a man who had killed ninety-nine people and asked about the learned of the world. He was directed to a monk, who said there was no repentance for him, and he killed the monk, completing one hundred. He asked again, was directed to a scholar, and asked whether his repentance could be accepted. The scholar said yes, and told him to go to a land of devout people and not return to his own evil land. He died about halfway; the angels of mercy and of punishment disputed over him; another angel said to measure toward which land he was nearer, and he was found nearer the land he was heading for, so the angels of mercy took him. The report adds that Qatadah said al-Hasan told him it was said that, as death approached, he crawled upon his chest toward the land of mercy.
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 3
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported the Prophet telling of a man who killed ninety-nine people and asked whether any repentance was left for him. A monk told him there was none, and he killed the monk too. He then moved toward a village of pious people, was overtaken by death on the way, and managed to crawl on his chest toward it. The angels of mercy and of punishment disputed over him; when it was measured he was found nearer to the pious village by the space of a span, and was included among them.
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
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