Fudail ibn Ayad (may Allah be pleased with him) used to be a highway robber and was madly in love with a young woman. One night as he as scaling the walls of the young woman's house, he heard someone reciting the following verse of 57:16) Is it not time for believers to subject their hearts to the remembrance of Allah.
Fudail was so taken in by that verse that he immediately repented and spent that night in a derelict place nearby. Later in the night, he heard a few travelers shout: 'Beware! Fudail is ahead of you. He will rob you!' Fudail shouted: 'Fudail has repented!' He promised the travelers safe passage. Fudail became a beacon of guidance and his sayings are still quoted today. (Muqawqif Mushriqah Fi Hayatis Salaf:24)
