5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

At the time, the Prophet was in the house of Umm Salamah. So he recited the relevant verses, after which Umm Salamah said: "O Prophet of Allah, shall we not give the glad tidings to Ka'b bin Malik?" He replied: "The people would throng and prevent you from sleeping for the rest of the night!" Hence, when the Prophet prayed the Fajr prayer, he proclaimed the fact that Allah had accepted their repentance. The people then rushed to give them the glad tidings. Ka'b said: "I had prayed Fajr on the rooftop of one of our houses. I was sitting in a state which Allah has described in His Book, in which my soul felt intense restriction, and even the earth had become restricted, despite its vastness, and nothing worried me more than the thought that I may die and the Messenger of Allah may not pray over me, or that he may die whilst I remain boycotted by the people, such that no one speaks to me ever, nor prays over me upon my death. "So, whilst I was in that state, I heard the voice of a person on Mount Sala', shouting at the top of his voice: 'O Ka'b bin Malik! Glad tidings for you!' I fell into prostration and realised that relief had at last arrived from Allah. There came to me a man on a horse, whilst another man was shouting from the top of the mountain, and his voice reached me more swiftly than the horse. "When the man whose voice I heard finally came to me to Be concerned about others give me the good news, I took off my two garments and gave them to the men. By Allah, I didn't have any other garments, so I borrowed two others, wore them and set out to see the Messenger of Allah – may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. The people came to meet me in droves, congratulating me on the acceptance of my repentance, saying: 'Congratulations that your repentance has been accepted!' I entered the mosque and found the Messenger of Allah sitting with his Companions. "When they all saw me, by Allah, none stood for me except Talhah bin Ubaydullah. He stood up, hugged and congratulated me, then sat down again. By Allah, I will never forget Talhah's action! I kept on walking until I reached the Messenger of Allah and greeted him. I noticed that his face was radiant with happiness. Whenever he became happy, his face would become radiant, as if it were part of the moon. When he saw me, he said: 'Glad tidings to you for the best day you have witnessed since your mother gave birth to you!' I said: 'Is this favour from you, or Allah?' He replied: 'It is from Allah.' Then he recited the verses. I sat down in front of him and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! As part of my repentance, I should give the sum total of my wealth in charity for Allah and His Messenger.' He said in response: 'Keep some of your wealth, for that is better for you.' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, Allah only saved me for being truthful, and a part of my repentance should be to always speak the truth as long as I live.'" Yes, Allah accepted the repentance of Ka'b and his two companions and revealed in that regard Qura'nic passages, saying: "Allah has already forgiven the Prophet and the Muhajirin Be concerned about others and the Ansaar who followed him in the hour of difficulty after the hearts of a party of them had almost inclined [to doubt], and then He forgave them. Indeed, He was to them Kind and Merciful. And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined [i.e., anguished] them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful." The point to note in this story is that Talhah – may Allah be pleased with him – when he saw Ka'b, he stood up for him, hugged and congratulated him. Hence, Ka'b's admiration increased for him, so much so that he would say after Talhah's death, whilst narrating this story years later: "By Allah! I will never forget what Talhah did!" And what did Talhah do to captivate the heart of Ka'b? He demonstrated a great skill, by showing concern for him and sharing in his moment of happiness with him, and hence he became beloved to Ka'b. Being compassionate and sympathising with people captivates their hearts. If one was in the midst of his exams and received a text message saying: "Give me some good news about your exams. By Allah, I am concerned about you and praying for you.