There was a worshiper from Bani Israel. He diligently worshipped in his temple which was located on a hill. One day as usual he came out of his temple and walked around his surroundings to contemplate the power of Allah. On the way, he saw a human corpse that gave off a foul smell. So the worshipper took another route to avoid the stench. At that time, a demon appeared disguised as a pious man who likes to give advice. Satan said, "Truly your goodness has been lost all this time, and there is not a single good that you have with Allah. The worshiper asked, "Why is that?" Satan replied, "Because you don't want to smell humans like you."

When sadness appeared on the worshiper's face (because he thought that his good deeds had been erased), Satan said while showing a loving face and advising style, "If you want Allah to forgive your mistakes, I suggest you catch a mouse on this hill, then you hang the mouse around your neck (not to be removed) while you worship Allah all your life." The ignorant worshiper obeyed the advice of Satan who had been waiting for an opportunity to mislead the worshiper. He then looked for a rat and worshiped Allah by carrying the unclean rat carcass for more than sixty years until his death.

In a narration, it is said that the Messenger of Allah commented on the above story by saying, "Going to the assembly of knowledge is better than sixty years of worship."

Translated from "101 Kisah Teladan" written by Muhammad Amin al-Jundi, Indonesian translation by Safrudin Edi Wibowo, Lc