Al Fuḍayl ibn ‘Iyāḍ was a thief who renounced his crimes and became a Muslim ascetic. Al Fuḍayl led a group of bandits in Syria raiding caravans and robbing travelers.

He was deeply in Love with a woman, and would often send her tokens from his stolen treasures.

When Al Fuḍayl heard someone reciting the Quranic chapter of Al-Hadid he realised that he was a hypocrite to claim both submission to God, and banditry.

With his new found piety, he left his criminal ways and wandered through the desert acknowledging that he had repented and was no longer a danger.

After this, he tried to visit each of his known victims to repay them what he had stolen from them, and when he ran out of available goods, he visited them to beg their forgiveness.

Still he was noted for his anti-social nature, and many examples exist of this. He was rather noted for his preference for solitude.

I am grateful to a man who does not greet me when he sees me and does not visit me when I am sick.

When Al Fuḍayl understood that his death may be near, he told his wife to take his daughters to Mount Abu Qais, in Mecca, and tell God that Al Fuḍayl had cared for them all his life and now they were in God’s hands.

Following his wishes, his widow took their two daughters to Mount Abu Qais, where they were greeted by the King of Yemen who was travelling with his two sons, and two marriages were thus arranged.