On that Day, we will be presented at the infallible
court of Allah (twt), ‘Master of the Day of Judgement’. On the hour of
reckoning, the most comprehensive Book of Records will be unveiled; it is for
us, each individual in her own merit, to face our beliefs, words, intentions
and deeds- actions in complete detail- and to account for them in all fairness
and justice. Our souls as well as our limbs will testify- for or against us. As
the Holy Qur’an indicates:
‘When the Trumpet is sounded a single time, when the
earth and its mountains are raised high and then crushed with a single blow, on
that Day the Great Event will come to pass. The sky will be torn apart on that
Day, it will be so frail. The angels will be on all sides of it and, on that
Day, eight of them will bear the throne of your Lord above them. On that Day
you will be brought to judgement and none of your secrets will remain hidden.’ (69:
14-19)
‘We have bound each human being’s destiny to his neck.
On the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out a record for each of them, which
they will find spread wide open, ‘Read
your record. Today your own soul is enough to calculate your account.’ (17:14-15).
‘On that Day, man will be told about all his commissions and omissions. Truly, man is a clear witness against himself, despite all the excuses he may put forward.’ (75: 13-16)
A Sound Heart
According to the Holy Qur'an, our wealth, possessions and children cannot avail us on that fateful Day. Only a 'sound-heart' will enable someone to pass the rigours of the Divine Judgment. Hence, it is critical to strive to keep our sensory organs free of impurity and filth, free from evil impulses and satanic temptations that are easily excited through hearing and listening, looking and watching without applying discretion and prudence. True believers need to dress appropriately, 'lower their eyes' and 'stay behind screens' so as to maintain modesty and the purity of hearts recognizing the dignity of every person involved, counsels the Holy Qur'an (24: 31-32; 33: 54):
‘Do not follow blindly
what you do not know to be true: ears, eyes, and heart, you will be questioned
about all these.’ (17: 37)
‘On that Day We shall seal up their mouths, but their
hands will speak to Us, and their feet bear witness to everything they have
done.’ (36:66)
‘on the Day when their own tongues, hands, and feet will
testify against them about what they have done– on that Day, God will pay them
their just due in full– and they will realize that God is the Truth that makes
everything clear.’ (24: 25-26)
‘On the Day when God’s enemies are gathered up for the
Fire and driven onward, their ears, eyes, and skins will, when they reach it,
testify against them for their misdeeds. They will say to their skins, ‘Why did
you testify against us?’ and their skins will reply, ‘God, who gave speech to
everything, has given us speech– it was He who created you the first time and to Him
you have been returned– yet you did not try to hide yourselves from your ears, eyes,
and skin to prevent them from testifying against you. You thought that God did
not know about much of what you were doing, so it was the thoughts you
entertained about your Lord that led to your ruin, and you became losers.’ (41:
20-24)
‘We will set up scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection so that no one can be wronged in the least, and if there should be even the weight of a mustard seed, We shall bring it out– We take excellent account.’ (21:48)
‘On that Day, people will come forward in separate groups to be shown their deeds: whoever has done an atom’s-weight of good will see it, but whoever has done an atom’s-weight of evil will see that.’ (99: 7-9)
‘those whose good deeds weigh heavy will be successful, but those whose balance is light will have lost their souls forever and will stay in Hell’. (23:103-104)
‘On that Day the weighing of deeds will be true and just: those whose good deeds are heavy on the scales will be the ones to prosper, and those whose good deeds are light will be the ones who have lost their souls through their wrongful rejection of Our messages’. (7: 9-10)
‘Hurry towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a Garden as
wide as the heavens and earth prepared for the righteous, who give, both in prosperity
and adversity, who restrain their anger and pardon people– God loves those who
do good– those who remember God and implore forgiveness for their sins if they
do something shameful or wrong themselves– who forgives sins but God?– and who
never knowingly persist in doing wrong. The reward for such people is
forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens graced with flowing streams, where
they will remain. How excellent is the reward of those who labour! [3: 134-137]
‘You can warn only those who will follow the Qur’an and hold the Merciful
One in awe, though they cannot see Him: give such people the glad news of
forgiveness and a noble reward. We shall certainly bring the dead back to life,
and We record what they send ahead of them as well as what they leave behind:
We keep an account of everything in a clear Record.’ (36:12-13)
Indeed, true believers are promised easy reckoning on the Day of Meeting: ‘whoever is given his record in his right hand will have an easy reckoning’ (84:8-9).
In a beautiful Hadith, the Holy Prophet (sa) says of the Day of Judgement:
‘God will draw near his believing servant and place
him in a private chamber and veil him from others. He will then ask him to
acknowledge his sins, showing each one to him saying, Do you remember this? Do
you acknowledge this? Do you recall this? Until He forces him to acknowledge
them, and the man believes that he will perish from them; God then says, “Just
as I veiled them for you in that life, I forgive you for them today”; then he
is given the book containing only his good deeds.’
May Allah (swt), in His infinite Grace, include and
envelop us in His Mercy; accept our good deeds, forgive our bad deeds, over
look our mistakes and blot out our minor sins; may we have an easy reckoning on the
Day of Judgement in our meeting with the Divine, Aameen, Summa Aameen, Ya Rabb’il Aalameen.