God revealed to Prophet Musa: Our friend has died in such and such place.

God revealed to Prophet Musa: Our friend has died in such and such place. Go, give him ablutions and bury him. When Musa reached the place, he found the person to be the same corrupt youth and so said to God: O’ Lord! Is he not the same sinning youth whom You had ordered me to expel from the city? God revealed: O’ Musa! I exhibited Mercy towards him.

Due to his weeping, lamentations, sickness, separation from his land and relatives, confession of his sins and seeking forgiveness, I have forgiven him. [^3] Prophet Isa and Praying for the Rains Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) and his companions came out of the city and into the deserts to pray for the rains. There he (peace be upon him) said to them: Those of yo, who have committed sins should return to the city. Hearing this instruction all of them returned back except one person.

Turning to him, Isa (peace be upon him) said: Have you not committed any sin? He replied: I don’t remember having committed any except for one instance when, as I stood engaged in prayers, a lady passed by before me. I looked at her and my eyes continued to follow her. But as soon as she had left, I had thrust my finger into the eyes and, pulling it out, had thrown it in the direction where the lady had gone. Isa (peace be upon him) said: Pray and I shall say Aameen.

He prayed and the rains began to pour.[^4] The Reason for this Sin Regarding this sin, i.e. female infanticide in the Arabian Peninsula, it has been recorded that: Once, during the reign of a king, one of the tribes rose up in revolt against him. In order to crush the rebellion, he dispatched an army. The army marched upon them, plundering their property and taking their ladies as captives, while the males fled from the scene of carnage.

When the ladies were brought before the king he ordered his soldiers to take one of them for themselves. Meanwhile, the men of the tribe who had taken to flight regretted their action and said to their poets: Go before the king and recite verses, which indicate our repentance and speak of our apologies. The poets, arriving before the king, conveyed their message to him and requested him to return the ladies to the tribe. The king said: We have distributed the ladies amongst the men.

We have left the choice upon them whether or not they wish to return with you. If they desire, they can return and if they desire, they can remain here. Qais Ibn A’asim had a sister, who had been given to a strong and handsome youth.