Once, Omar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph, saw two men approaching the House of the Court dragging a young man. Seeing the scene, he asked, "What is going on? Why are you dragging him to the Court House?"
One of the men replied, "This boy killed our father!"
Then, Omar asked the young man, "Did you really kill their father?"
The young man replied, "Yes, I did. But it was an accident! My camel was grazing on their father's property. One day, he picked up a rock and hit my camel's eye. I was furious to see my camel suffer. So, I took a stone and threw it on him. However, he died. "
Omar asked the men, "Will you forgive this boy for the accident that occurred?"
"No! We want the talion!"
Omar addressed the young man: "Do you have any last wishes, anything you want to say?"
"Yes. My father passed away and bequeathed to my younger brother a cash inheritance. I would like three days to collect the amount, which is hidden. So I will be sure that my brother will have access to the money."
Omar imagined the boy had made up the story, so he asked, "Boy, what are you saying? What money? What father? What brother?"
The young man replied, "Trust me."
Omar complied: "Okay, I'll trust you. However, find a guarantor for you."
The boy looked around the Court House, however, everyone looked away from him, no one was willing to help him.
Suddenly, from the back of the Court House, a hand went up. It was Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, an illustrious companion who spread Islam to countless tribes. He said, "I will be the guarantor of this young man!"
Upon becoming the boy's guarantor, al-Ghifari agreed to be executed if the boy did not return. So he left.
On the first day, there was no sign of him. The same happenned on the second day. At the time of Asr, on the third day, there was still no sign of the boy. Then the two men went to al-Ghifari, saying, "Come with us to the Court House. The time has come."
Al-Ghifari agreed, but said, "I will go to the Court House. However, the day does not end until the Maghrib is reached."
As he approached the Court House, people gathered, approached and speculated about what would happen to al-Ghifari. Time passed and the Court House was getting more and more full of people.
The call to prayer was about to be made when suddenly the boy appeared at the Court House. When the call was closed, Omar went to talk to the young man: "Oh, boy! Why did you come back? I didn't send any spies after you, I didn't even tell anyone to follow you. What made you come back?"
The boy said, "I came back because I didn't want to be told that a Muslim gave his word and didn't keep it. So I came back."
Omar turned to al-Ghifari and asked, "What made you want to be his guarantor?"
Al-Ghifari said: "I saw a Muslim in need. I would not like to be told that a Muslim was in need and that no one helped him."
So the two brothers reflected on the situation and one of them said, "When we have people like that, how can a Muslim ask for forgiveness and nobody be there to forgive him?" So the men forgave the boy, who was spared.