Weigh Your Deeds

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

When the Day comes, our deeds will be placed on the Scale. If it is heavy with good deeds, then we will have a pleasant life afterwards. If it is light with good deeds and heavy with bad deeds, then it will be great torment for a long time.

ٱلْقَارِعَةُ ﴿١﴾ مَا ٱلْقَارِعَةُ ﴿٢﴾ وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْقَارِعَةُ ﴿٣﴾ يَوْمَ يَكُونُ ٱلنَّاسُ كَٱلْفَرَاشِ ٱلْمَبْثُوثِ ﴿٤﴾ وَتَكُونُ ٱلْجِبَالُ كَٱلْعِهْنِ ٱلْمَنفُوشِ ﴿٥﴾ فَأَمَّا مَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ ﴿٦﴾ فَهُوَ فِى عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ ﴿٧﴾ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ ﴿٨﴾ فَأُمُّهُۥ هَاوِيَةٌ ﴿٩﴾ وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا هِيَهْ ﴿١٠﴾ نَارٌ حَامِيَةٌۢ ﴿١١

The Striking Calamity - (1) What is the Striking Calamity? (2) And what can make you know what is the Striking Calamity? (3) It is the Day when people will be like moths, dispersed, (4) And the mountains will be like wool, fluffed up. (5) Then as for one whose scales are heavy [with good deeds], (6) He will be in a pleasant life. (7) But as for one whose scales are light, (8) His refuge will be an abyss. (9) And what can make you know what that is? (10) It is a Fire, intensely hot. (11)

[Qur'an Al-Qari'ah 10:1-11]

How do you ensure that your scale pan is heavy with good deeds? Take this advice from Omar Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.

Take account of yourselves before you are taken to account [by someone else], weigh your deeds before they are weighed [by someone else].

The one who does not watch over himself in this life will end up feeling sorry for himself in the Day of Judgment. What a great calamity that will be?

So before our deeds are weighed, take accounting of ourselves. When we take account of our own deeds, we are able to realize our mistakes and correct them. Those who do not engage in accounting their own deeds, only condemn themselves before Allah.

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَٔلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿٩٢﴾ عَمَّا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٩٣

So by your Lord, We will surely question them all (92) About what they used to do. (93)

[Qur'an al-Hijr 15:92-93]

A true accounting of oneself is to take each of our sin, make a sincere repentance and make amends with the creation and with Allah.

We need to pay special attention to the rights of others. A believer has to honor and respect people. We cannot oppress people. Oppression is not just killing people, putting people in jail without just cause, or beating up your wife, but causing any harm to another, no matter how slight or how insignificant we might think.

Be careful not to make fun or mock people (Muslim or non-Muslim). Even if they laugh with you, that doesn't mean they don't feel hurt. One of the serious oppression of another is gossiping, backbiting, slandering and talebearing. These are extremely common calamities that afflict us. Be careful when you sit together with your friends or even your own family members for an innocent talk can turn into backbiting.

Any wrong you have done to others, make amends with the person you have wronged before you die, that means now--because you don't know when you will die. Otherwise, the person will surely come on that Day to claim his/her rights before Allah, even for a old useless pen that you took without asking. On that Day everyone only care about his own soul. The person will not want back his old pen because he won't have any use for it anymore, but he will want your good deeds and if you don't have any good deeds, you will have to settle it with taking his bad deeds. Imagine, if you used to beat up your ex-wife when you two were married, all your good deeds will just make your ex-wife very happy in the Day of Judgment.

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices by overbidding against one another; do not hate one another; do not harbor malice against one another; and do not enter into commercial transaction when others have entered into that (transaction); but be you, O slaves of Allah, as brothers. A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor does he look down upon him, nor does he humiliate him. Piety is here,(and he pointed to his chest three times). It is enough evil for a Muslim to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All things of a Muslim are inviolable for his brother-in-faith: his blood, his property and his honor.

[Muslim]

May Allah have mercy on us and make our Scale heavy with good deeds. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam