Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah be pleased with him)
was asked about the reason behind his repentance. He said: 'I use to be a policeman and an alcoholic. I then acquired a maid who was very good to me. She bore a daughter of ours to whom I became very attached. I became even fonder of her when she started to crawl. Whenever I used to serve myself wine, she would come and drag my tumbler away from me and spill everything over my clothes. Our daughter died when she turned 2 and I was devastated.
The 15th of Shaban came along that year on a Friday. I went to sleep drunk and without offering my prayers. I saw in a dream that the Day of Judgment had come about; the Trumpet was blown; graves were resurrected about people were gathered and I was among them. I heard a hissing noise behind. I turned around and saw that I was being approached by a huge black and blue snake. I started to run away as fast as I could trembling with fear. I then encountered an old man who was well dressed and wore good perfume. I greeted him and asked him to help me. The old man cried and said that he was very weak and the snake was much stronger than he. However, he did tell me to keep on running in the hope that I would find something that would save me from the snake. I continued to run and climbed on top of an elevated area.
I found myself on top of a valley of fire. The horror of the fire alone made me almo
st fall into it. Then, I heard someone shouting: 'Get away from there. You don't belong there.' I found security in that shout and ran further with the snake still at my heels. I found the old man again and pleaded with him to help. Again, he started to cry and say that he was very weak and that the snake was far stronger than he. Then, the old man directed me towards a hill where he said I might find a deposit of mine that could help me. I looked at the hill, which was circular and made of silver. In the hill were pierced windows and hanging curtains.
Every window had two golden panels and each panel was adorned with silk curtains. I quickly ran towards the hill. An angel then cried: 'Raise the curtains. Open the panels and look. Perhaps this afflicted person has some sort of d
eposit here that can help him.'
I then saw faces of small children who were like small moons peeping out from the windows. Then one of them shouted: 'What's wrong with you all. Come quickly. His enemy has almost come upon him.' So they came and looked from their windows - hundreds of them. Then, I saw the face of my daughter who had died. When she saw me, she cried and said, 'By Allah! That is my father.' She then shot out of the window like an arrow from a bow and jumped into a pool of light (nur). She then appeared in front of me and extended one of her
hands to me. I grabbed and hung onto her. She put her other hand in front of the snake and drove it away. She then made me sit down and sat herself in my lap, stroked her right hand through my beard and said:
O father, Is it not time for believers to subject their hearts to the remembrance of Allah.
I started to cry and asked how she knew the Qur'an. She said they (the children) knew more than they (in the world) did. I then asked her about the snake that ran after me. She explained that it represented my bad deeds, which would drive me into Hell. I then inquired about the old man. She said he was my good deeds, which had become so weak that they were unable to defend me against my bad deeds. I then asked what they were doing inside this hill. She informed me that they were the deceased children of Muslims waiting for their parents on the Day of Judgment. Malik said: 'I woke up in a fright. I smashed all my wine containers and repented. This was how I repented.' (Ibid:49)
