The story of Tha‘labah who saw a woman doing ghusl, and died from fear of Allah

Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan was an orphan boy of the Ansaar, who was no older than sixteen years. He often used to sit with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who sent him on an errand one day to the markets of Madinah. He passed by one of the houses of the Ansaar, and looked at the door of the house, which was open. There was a curtain to the hamaam (bathroom) that was closed, but the wind came and lifted the curtain, behind which there was a woman who was doing ghusl(Bathing). He glanced at her once or twice, then he realised what was happening and took the matter very seriously. He was afraid that verses would be revealed concerning him and that he would be described as one of the hypocrites because of this sin. He was afraid to go back to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so he went out into the desert, and no one knew where he had gone. When three days had gone by, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) instructed some of the Sahaabah to go and look for him in Madinah, but they found no trace of him. He waited until forty days had passed, then he instructed them to look for him in the wilderness areas, because he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was worried about him. They went and looked for him, and they came to a group of Bedouin and described him to them. The Bedouin said: Perhaps you are looking for the weeping boy? They said: Where is he? They said: On the slopes of this mountain; he will come down at the end of the day. So they lay in wait for him then they caught him and carried him to his house, because he was exhausted from weeping so much. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) went to him, and Tha‘labah asked him whether any verses had been revealed concerning him. He said: “No.” Tha‘labah became very sick, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sat beside him until he died (may Allah be pleased with him). Then they offered the funeral prayer for him and when they carried the bier to bury him, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was walking on tiptoe. ‘Umar asked him about that and he said: “Woe to you, O ‘Umar. By Allah, I cannot find any place to put my feet because so many of the angels are crowding around me.