Are you not aware that Islam wipes out all (sins) that preceded it, and that Hijrah wipes out all (sins) that preceded it, and that Hajj wipes out all (sins) that preceded it?
Authentic hadithعن ابن شماسة المهري قال: حَضَرنَا عَمرو بن العاص رضي الله عنه وهُو فِي سِيَاقَةِ الْمَوتِ، فَبَكَى طَوِيلاً، وَحَوَّلَ وَجهَهُ إِلَى الجِدَارِ، فَجَعَلَ ابنَهُ، يقول: يَا أَبَتَاهُ، أَمَا بَشَّرَكَ رسُول الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم- بكَذَا؟ أمَا بشَّركَ رسول الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم- بِكَذَا؟ فَأَقبَلَ بِوَجهِهِ، فقَالَ: إِنَّ أَفضَلَ مَا نُعِدُّ شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ الله، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رسولُ الله، إِنِّي قَدْ كُنتُ عَلَى أَطْبَاقٍ ثَلاَثٍ: لَقَدْ رَأَيتُنِي وَمَا أَحَدٌ أَشَدَّ بُغْضًا لِرَسُولِ الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم- مِنِّي، وَلاَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَكُونَ قَدْ اسْتَمْكَنْتُ مِنْهُ فَقَتَلْتُهُ، فَلَوْ مُتُّ عَلَى تِلْكَ الحَالِ لَكُنْتُ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ، فَلَمَّا جَعَلَ اللهُ الإِسْلاَمَ فِي قَلْبِي أَتَيتُ النَبيَّ -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم-، فَقُلتُ: ابْسُطْ يَمِينَكَ فَلِأُبَايِعُكَ، فَبَسَطَ يَمِينَهُ فَقَبَضْتُ يَدِي، فقال: «مَا لَكَ يَا عَمرُو؟» قُلتُ: أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَشْتَرِطَ، قال: «تَشْتَرِطُ مَاذَا؟» قُلتُ: أَنْ يُغْفَرَ لِي، قال: «أَمَا عَلِمتَ أَنَّ الإِسْلاَمَ يَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَهُ، وَأَنَّ الهِجْرَةَ تَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَهَا، وَأَنَّ الحَجَّ يَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَهُ؟» وَمَا كَان أَحَدٌ أَحبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ رسُول الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم- وَلاَ أَجَلَّ فِي عَينِي مِنْهُ، وَمَا كُنْتُ أُطِيقُ أَنْ أَمْلَأَ عَينِي مِنْهُ؛ إِجْلاَلاً لَهُ، وَلَوْ سُئِلْتُ أَنْ أَصِفَهُ مَا أَطَقْتُ؛ لِأَنِّي لَمْ أَكُنْ أَمْلَأُ عَينِي مِنْهُ، وَلَوْ مِتُّ عَلَى تِلْكَ الحَالِ لَرَجَوْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ، ثُمَّ وَلِينَا أَشْيَاءَ مَا أَدْرِي مَا حَالِي فِيهَا؟ فَإِذَا أَنَا مِتُّ فَلاَ تَصْحَبْنِي نَائِحَةٌ وَلاَ نَارٌ، فَإِذَا دَفَنْتُمُونِي، فَشُنُّوا عَلَيَّ التُرَابَ شَنًّا، ثُمَّ أَقِيمُوا حَولَ قَبرِي قَدْرَ مَا تُنْحَرُ جَزُور، وَيُقْسَمُ لَحْمُهَا، حتَّى أَسْتَأْنِسَ بِكُم، وَأَنْظُر مَا أُرَاجِعُ بِهِ رُسُلَ رَبِّي.
Ibn Shumāsah al-Mahri reported: We went to ‘Amr ibn al-Āas (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was on his death bed. He wept for long and turned his face to the wall. His son kept saying: "O Father, didn't the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) give you the glad tidings of such-and-such? Didn't the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) give you the glad tidings of such-and-such?" He turned his face and said: "The best thing that we can prepare is the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Verily, I have passed through three stages. I remember myself when I hated the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) more than anyone else and I wished for nothing more than killing him. Had I died in that state, I would have surely been from the dwellers of the Fire. When Allah instilled the love for Islam in my heart, I went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: 'Stretch out your right hand so that I may pledge allegiance to you.' He stretched out his right hand, but I withdrew my hand. He said: 'What is the matter, ‘Amr ?' I replied: 'I wish to stipulate a condition.' He asked: 'What is your condition?' I said: 'That I would be forgiven.' He said: 'Are you not aware that Islam wipes out all (sins) that preceded it, and that Hijrah wipes out all (sins) that preceded it, and that Hajj wipes out all (sins) that preceded it?' Thereafter, no one was dearer to me than the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) nor was there anyone more revered in my eyes than him. I could never bring myself to catch a full glimpse of his face out of respect for him. If I were asked to describe his features, I would not be able to because I have never fully looked at him. Had I died in that state, I could have hoped to be from the dwellers of Paradise. Thereafter, we were made responsible for many things and in the light of which I am unable to know what is in store for me. When I die, let neither wailing woman nor fire accompany me. When you bury me, throw the earth gently over me, then stand around my grave for the time within which a camel is slaughtered and its meat is distributed so that I may find relief in your company and prepare what answer I can give to the messengers of my Lord."
Explanation
The Hadīth of ‘Amr ibn al-Āas (may Allah be pleased with him) which includes the subject of conveying glad tidings and congratulating because it bears a story. The summary of this great story is that some of his companions were present with him while he was in the throes of death. He cried profusely and turned his face towards the wall as he was about to depart this world, so his son said to him: Why are you crying so long as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had given you the glad tidings of entering Paradise? He said: O my son, I was in three different states (in this world). Then he described these three states. First, he used to hate the Prophet so much and there was no one on the face of the earth who hated him more, and wished he could catch him and kill him, and that was extreme disbelief. He remained like that until Allah instilled love for Islam in his heart. So, he went to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah, extend your right hand so that I may give you my pledge of Islam. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who was the best of all people in terms of manners, extended his hand, but ‘Amr withdrew his hand, not out of arrogance, but rather to ascertain what he was about to say. The Prophet asked him: What is the matter? He said: O Messenger of Allah, I have a condition (for embracing Islam). The Prophet asked: What is your condition? He said: That Allah forgive all my previous disbelief and sins. That was his biggest worry,(may Allah be pleased with him) fearing that Allah would not forgive him due to what he had done previously. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Do you not know that Islam wipes out what precedes it, and that migration wipes out what precedes it, and that the pilgrimage wipes out what precedes it? Three things wipe out all sins: Islam: it wipes out what precedes it according to the text of the Qur’an; Allah, the Exalted, says: {Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the former [rebellious] nations has already taken place} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 38]. Hijrah: when one's homeland is a land of disbelief and he emigrates from it, this action wipes out what preceded it. Hajj: it wipes out what preceded it, as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The accepted Hajj has no reward but Paradise." So ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) pledged allegiance to the Prophet and loved him intensely, so much so that the Prophet became the dearest of all people to him and he could never take a good look at him out of reverence for him. Glorified is Allah who turns the hearts! In the past, he hated him so much that he wished to kill him, and now he is not even able to lift his eyes to him out of reverence for him, and is not able to describe him because he never fully stared at him out of awe and respect. ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that if he had died in the first state, he would have been from the dwellers of Hellfire. Then he said that if he had died in the second state, he could have hoped to be from the dwellers of Paradise. Notice his cautious choice of words; he was definitive in saying that if he had died in the first state, he would have been from the dwellers of Hellfire; but when it came to the second state, due to his intense fear, he said that if he had died in that state: "I could have hoped to be from the dwellers of Paradise," and he did not say: "I would have been from the dwellers of Paradise," since the confirmation of admittance to Paradise is a difficult thing to make. Then he said that, afterwards, he was entrusted with many affairs – being a ruler and a leader – and there occurred the incident of the battle with Mu‘āwiyah and others, and ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās was known to be one of the shrewdest and most intelligent men among the Arabs. So he said: I fear that what had occurred after the second state might have nullified my deeds. Then he gave orders that no wailer (a woman who wails and laments the deceased) should follow his funeral, and that after they bury him, they should remain at his grave for as long as it would take them to slaughter a camel and distribute its meat, until he had answered the questions of the messengers of his Lord, meaning the angels who come to the dead person after he is buried. When the dead person is buried, two angels come to him and make him sit upright in his grave and ask him three questions: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet? So, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered his family to stand by his grave for a time interval equal to the time it would take them to slaughter a camel and divide its meat, to seek solace and comfort in their presence. This is evidence that the deceased person can sense the presence of his family, and it was confirmed from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that the deceased person hears the sound of their footsteps when they are leaving after his burial. Though the sound of sandals as they beat the ground is almost inaudible, the deceased hears it as the mourners depart after burying him. It was confirmed from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in a sound Hadīth that when he buried a dead person, he used to stand over his grave and say: "Seek forgiveness for your brother and ask for steadfastness for him because he is being asked right now." So, when the dead person is buried, it is recommended to stand over his grave and say: "O Allah, make him firm (thrice); O Allah, forgive him (thrice)." Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said "Salām" (greetings of peace), he used to say it thrice; and whenever he made a supplication, he used to repeat it thrice. In short, the son of Āmr Ibn al-‘Ās said to him: "The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave you the glad tidings of being admitted to Paradise", and he said this as a way of giving glad tidings and congratulating for it.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).