Sunnis and self-reckoning

'Umar Ibn Al Khattab said: "Reckon yourselves before God reckons you, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed, as reckoning yourselves today will make it easier for you to be reckoned tomorrow, and be adorned for the greatest exhibition, “That Day, you will be exhibited [for judgment]; not hidden among you is anything concealed” [Al Haqqah 69:18]" (Al Helia: 1/52)

  • Categories: Islamic Morals -

 



In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful

Praise be only to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the last Prophet, and so:

From the advantages of the Sunnis: Reckoning their selves a lot, and their perfect wakefulness in considering defects and faults, and correcting all these faults by regret, asking for forgiveness and repentance, and from the known information about them concerning self-reckoning and blaming:

Detesting the self:

Abu Bakr may God be pleased with him said: "who detested himself for God's ego, God will save him from his detest"(the companions' preachments (Mawa'ez Al Sahaba): 95)

Reckon yourselves:

'Umar Ibn Al Khattab said: "Reckon yourselves before God reckons you, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed, as reckoning yourselves today will make it easier for you to be reckoned tomorrow, and be adorned for the greatest exhibition, “That Day, you will be exhibited [for judgment]; not hidden among you is anything concealed” [Al Haqqah 69:18]" (Al Helia: 1/52)

{يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَضُونَ لَا تَخْفَىٰ مِنكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ}
Transliteration: Yawma'idhin Turađūna Lā Takhfaá Minkum Khāfiyatun

Hate yourselves:

Ibn Al Molok said: "In the past the righteous people's souls used to push them to towards good deeds spontaneously, but ourselves are inciting us only on every bad thing, so we must hate it" (Mohasabat Al Nafs: 143)

The believer's character (attribute):

Al Hassan said about the verse of Allah the Almighty: “And I swear by the reproaching soul [to the certainty of resurrection]” [Al Qiyamah 75:2]

{وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ}

Transliteration: Wa Lā 'Uqsimu Bin-Nafsi Al-Lawwāmahi

He said: "You can't meet the believer except that you find him blaming himself, what is the point from what I said? What is the point from what I ate? what is the point from what I drunk?.... and the deficient (decrepit) is the one who continues without reckoning his self" (Mohasabat Al Nafs: 32)

Don't hurt yourself:

Sofian Ibn 'Oiaina said: "The Sunni used to meet one of his companions (brothers) and say: Hey you, if you want to hurt the people you love go ahead and do it?"

So a man said: "And can the man hurt the people he loves?"

He replied: "yes, as your self is the dearest soul to you, so when you disobey Allah you hurt it"(Hefz Al 'Omr: 68)

A discussion with the soul:

Ibrahim Al Taimy said: "I acted as if I am in paradise, eating its fruits, drinking from its rivers, and hugging its virgins, then I acted as if I am in hell, eating from its Zaqqum, drinking from its festering water, and handling its chains and shackles, so I told myself: what do you want to do?, it replied: I want to return to the world to be good, so I said: you are in the wish so work" (Mohasabat Al Nafs: 34)

Didn't you do that (Aren't you responsible of that)?

Malik Ibn Dinar said: "May God have mercy on a servant who told his self: Didn't you that? Didn't you that? Then he tightened it, then he humbled it, then he obligated it by the Holy Qur'an, so it (Qur’an) becomes its leader" (Mohasabat Al Nafs:34)

The character of the devout:

Maimon Ibn mahran said: "The man can't be from the devourers except by reckoning his self harder than reckoning his partner, until he knows the source of his food, drink, and clothes, are they from an allowed or forbidden source?" (Al Helia 4/89)

O God, your forgiveness:

Khowail Ibn Muhammad said: "As if Khowail was reckoned by God, and he was told: O Khowail Ibn Muhammad, we let you live for sixty years, so how did you spend it?, so I added all my sleeping hours during the sixty years with the morning nap, then a part of my life was sleeping, I added my eating hours, so a part of my life was spent on eating, then I added all the hours that I used to perform ablution, so a part of my life was spent on ablution, then I looked at my prayer, and found deficient prayer and imperfect fasting, so either God forgiveness or destruction" (Sefat Al Safwa 3/348)

Leave whatever doesn't belong to you (is not your concern):

Hassan Aby Sannan passed by a room, and said: when did you build it? Then he talked to his self and said: you are asking about something that isn't you concern? I will punish you by fasting a whole year and he did it" (Al Helia 3/39)

'Umar is reckoning his self:

Anas Ibn Malik said: 'Umar Ibn Al Khattab may God be pleased with him entered a wall and I heard him saying –and there is a wall between us- Caliph 'Umar Ibn Al Khattab well done! By God O Ibn Al Khattab either you obey God or you will be tortured" (Mohasabat Al Nafs: 31)


The martyr of reckoning:

Tawba Ibn Al Samma used to reckon his self, he claimed that he is sixty years old, so he calculated the number of days and they were twenty one thousand and five hundred days, so he screamed and said: "Woe! Will I meet the most powerful King by twenty one thousand sins how? And in everyday I will make ten thousand sins, then he fainted and died" (Hifz Al 'Omr: 69)

The best deeds:

'Umar Ibn Abd Al 'Aziz said: "The best deeds are the deeds which the self is forced to do" (Mohasabet Al Nafs: 82)

The reasonable people:

Wahb Ibn Monabeh said: "It is written in the wisdom of Al Dawud that the reasonable shouldn't miss out four hours: an hour in which he talks to God, an hour to reckon his self, an hour to spend with his companions who tell him about his disadvantages and are truthful with him, and an hour to be alone with his self and its desires and, as this hour will help him to attain the other hours, and comforting the hearts" (Mohasabat Al Nafs: 36)

My brother….

I am crying on myself and nothing else *** I have a worry in myself for myself

Translated by
Wathakker.info website