Reckon yourselves before being reckoned!
Since 2012-11-22
Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The servant would continue to be all right as long as there is a preacher inside him and he cares most for reckoning himself."
All praise is due to Allah alone and prayers and peace of Allah be upon whom there is no prophet after him.
Dear beloved Muslim brother, have you ever sat down with yourself to reckon it for its sayings and actions?! Have you ever counted your evil deeds as you count your good deeds?! Even more, have you ever reckoned your worship that you boast with?! If you found that many of your acts of worship are accompanied with dissimulation and hypocrisy, how would you tolerate that, although your path is surrounded with evils and dangers?! How will you meet Allah with your evil burdens and wrong deeds?! Allah almighty said: {O you who believe! Fear Allâh and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is All-Aware of what you do. nd be not like those who forgot Allâh (i.e. became disobedient to Allâh), and He caused them to forget their ownselves, (let them to forget to do righteous deeds). Those are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh)} [Surat Al-Hashr 59:18-19].
{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿18﴾ وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّـهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ} الحشر: 18-19
Transliteration: Ya ayyuhaallatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waltanthur nafsun maqaddamat lighadin waittaqoo Allaha inna Allaha khabeerun bima taAAmaloona (18) Wala takoonoo kaallatheena nasoo Allaha faansahum anfusahum
And He almighty said: {And turn in repentance and in obedience with true Faith (Islâmic Monotheism) to your Lord and submit to Him (in Islâm) before the torment comes upon you, (and) then you will not be helped} [Surat Az-Zumar 39:54].
{وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمْ الْعَذَابُ ثُمَّ لا تُنْصَرُونَ}الزمر: 54
Transliteration: Waaneeboo ila rabbikum waaslimoo lahu min qabli an yatiyakumu alAAathabu thumma la tunsaroona
Omar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Reckon yourselves before being reckoned and measure them before you will have them measured, because it is easier for you at the reckoning of tomorrow to reckon yourselves today. And be prepared to the greatest scene. That Day you will be brought to Judgment, not a secret of you will be hidden.”
Worship and fear:
Allah almighty praised the people who obey Him by His saying: {Verily those who live in awe for fear of their Lord; (57) And those who believe in the Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of their Lord; (58) And those who join not anyone (in worship) as partners with their Lord; (59) And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear (whether their alms and charities have been accepted or not), because they are sure to return to their Lord (for reckoning). (60) It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in them [e.g. offering the compulsory Salât (prayers) in their (early) stated, fixed times and so on]} [Surat Al-Mu’minûn 23:57-61].
{إِنَّ الَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ ﴿57﴾ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿58﴾ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِرَبِّهِمْ لَا يُشْرِكُونَ ﴿59﴾ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ ﴿60﴾ أُولَـٰئِكَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ} المؤمنون: 57-61
Transliteration: Inna allatheena hum min khashyati rabbihim mushfiqoona(57) Waallatheena hum biayati rabbihim yuminoona (58)Waallatheena hum birabbihim la yushrikoona (59) Waallatheena yutoona ma ataw waquloobuhum wajilatun annahum ila rabbihim rajiAAoona (60) Olaika yusariAAoona fee alkhayrati wahum laha sabiqoona
And it is narrated on the authority of ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she asked the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) about this verse {And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear (whether their alms and charities have been accepted or not)} and said: “Are these who drink alcoholics and commit adultery and steal?” whereupon the Prophet said: “O daughter of As-Sidîq, no; rather they are these who fast and pray and give charity while fearing that it may not be accepted from them. It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in them.” [Reported by At-Tirmidhi and declared authentic by Al-Albani]
«وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت: سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن هذه الآية {وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ} قالت عائشة: أهم الذين يشربون الخمر ويسرقون، قال: لا يا بنت الصديق ولكنهم الذين يصومون ويصلون ويتصدقون وهم يخافون أن لا تقبل منهم أولئك الذين يسارعون في الخيرات وهم لها سابقون» رواه الترمذي وصححه الألباني
Dear Muslim brother, that was the status of our righteous forefathers; they used to seek nearness with Allah by the acts of obedience and compete to Him by the supererogatory acts and reckon themselves for any wrongdoing and then feel fear that Allah may not accept their good deeds.
Abu Bakr As-Sidîq (may Allah be pleased with him) used to cry a lot and say: “Cry, and if you could not cry, you should try to cry.” He also said: “By Allah, I hoped that I was this tree, which gets eaten and cut.”
When Omar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) recited Surat At-Tur and reached to the saying of Allah almighty: {Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass} [Surat At-Tur 52:7].
{إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ لَوَاقِعٌ} الطور: 7
Transliteration: Inna AAathaba rabbika lawaqiAAun
he cried severely till he became ill and people visited him. Also, he used to pass by some verses, during his recitation to the Holy Qur’an at the night, make him frightened; so he would stay in the house for days and people come to visit him thinking that he is ill. And there were two black lines in his face as a result to his cry!
Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father too) once said to Omar: “Allah has made you reason for spreading Islam in countries and joining them to the Muslim empire and so and so.” Whereupon Omar said: “I hope safety with no reward or punishment.”
And whenever ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affân (may Allah be pleased with him) went to grave he used to cry till his beard get wet and say: “If I were in a place between Paradise and Hellfire while knowing nothing about where I will go, I would choose to be ashes before knowing to which of them will I go.”
‘Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) used to cry and fear much and reckon himself all the time, and he used to fear two things most; hopping much and following the whims. He said: “As for hopping much, it leads to forgetting the hereafter, and as for following the whims, it leads to neglecting what is right.”
Allah’s preacher in the heart:
It is narrated on the authority of An-Nawwas ibn Samaan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah puts forward the example of straight path there are two fences with opened gates at its sides and there are lowered curtains over the gates and there is a caller, at the end of the path, says ‘hold fast to the straight path and do not go stray’ and there is another caller above him, whenever he sees someone intend to open one of these gates he says ‘Woe to you, never open it; because if you opened it, you would enter in it.’” Then he explained that and said that the straight path is Islam and the opened gates are what are declared inviolable by Allah and the lowered curtains are the described punishments of Allah and the caller at the end of the path is the Holy Qur’an and the caller that is above him is Allah’s preacher in every believer’s heart.” [Authenticated by Al-Albani]
«ضرب الله مثلا صراطا مستقيما، وعن جنبتي الصراط سوران فيهما أبواب مفتحة، وعلى الأبواب ستور مرخاة، وعند رأس الصراط داع يقول: استقيموا على الصراط ولا تعوجوا؛ وفوق ذلك داع يدعوكلما هم عبد أن يفتح شيئا من تلك الأبواب؛ قال: ويلك! لا تفتحه، فإنك إن تفتحه تلجه، ثم فسره، فاخبر أن الصراط هو الإسلام، وأن الأبواب المفتحة محارم الله، وأن الستور المرخاة حدود الله، والداعي على رأس الصراط هو القرآن، والداعي من فوقه هو واعظ الله في قلب كل مؤمن» صححه الألباني
Therefore; would you, dear Muslim brother, respond to Allah’s preacher in your heart? Would you guard what are declared inviolable by Allah? Would you defeat your enemy and Allah’s enemy? Allah almighty said: {Surely, Shaitân (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire} [Surat Fatir 35:6].
{إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا ۚ إِنَّمَا يَدْعُو حِزْبَهُ لِيَكُونُوا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ} فاطر:6
Transliteration: Inna alshshaytana lakum AAaduwwun faittakhithoohu AAaduwwan innamayadAAoo hizbahu liyakoonoo min ashabi alssaAAeeri
It is narrated that Khalid ibn Madan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “There is no servant but there are two eyes to him in his face, by them he sees the affairs of life, and there are two eyes in his heart, by them he sees the affairs of Hereafter, and when Allah wants good to a servant, He opens to him his two eyes, that are in his heart, to see what Allah has promised. On the other hand, if He wanted evil to him, He would leave him as he is.” Then he (i.e. Khalid ibn Madan) recited: {or are their hearts locked up (from understanding it)} [Surat Muhammad 47:24].
{أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا} محمد: 24
Transliteration: am AAala quloobin aqfaluha
Sayings about self reckoning:
1- Omar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once wrote to some rulers were appointed by him: “Reckon yourself at the time of affluence before the reckoning hard times. Indeed, he who reckons himself at the time of affluence before the coming of the hard time, he would find satisfaction and pleasure. On the other hand; he who has become busy with life and whims, he would find regret and loss.”
2- Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “You would see the believer reckon himself all the time; what did you intend to do? What did you intend to eat? What did you intend to drink? While the dissolute goes ahead without reckoning himself.”
3- Qatada said about the saying of Allah almighty: {and whose affair (deeds) has been lost} [Surat Al-Kahf 18:28]
{وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا} الكهف: 28
Transliteration: wakana amruhu furutan
“It means that he lost and wronged himself; however, he still guards his money and wastes his religion.”
4- Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The servant would continue to be all right as long as there is a preacher inside him and he cares most for reckoning himself.”
5- Maymoun ibn Mahran said: “The servant would never be pious unless he reckons himself harder than the reckoning of the partner. That is why it is said ‘The self is like the disloyal partner; if you didn’t reckon him, he would take your money.’”
6- And it is narrated on the authority of Imam Ahmad that Wahb said: “It is recorded in the wisdom of Dawud family: The prudent person should never overlook four hours; one in which he supplicates his Lord, another in which he reckons himself, another in which he meets his brothers who display to him his vices and talk to him honestly about himself and another in which he leaves himself take whatever he likes as long as it is lawful and allowed. Indeed, the last time helps and supports the other three times and refreshes the heart.”
7- Al-Ahnaf ibn Qayss used to approach the lamp and put his finger in it then says: “O Ahnaf, feel it. Why did you do what you did in such and such day? Why did you do what you did in such and such day?”
8- Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The believer cares for himself; he reckons himself for the sake of Allah. Indeed; reckoning will be light, on the Day of Judgment, for people had reckoned themselves in the worldly life. On the other hand; reckoning will be heavy, on the Day of Judgment, for people had never reckoned themselves.”
When the believer suddenly faces something he likes, he says ‘by Allah I crave for you and you are my desire; however, by Allah, there is no way to you, how impossible! There is a curtain between you and me!’ and when he misses something he comes back to himself and says ‘what did I want from that? What would I do with that? By Allah, I would never return to it again.’
The believers are people who have been stopped by the Holly Qur’an, which made a curtain between themselves and their destruction.
The believer is captive in the worldly life seeks his release; he never feels safety till he meets Allah. He knows that everything he hears, sees, talks or does is recorded for him or against him.
9- Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah mercy him) said: “The good servant is the one who says to himself ‘are not you the doer of so and so?! Are not you the doer of so and so?!’ then makes it hold fast to the straight path and take the Book of Allah (the Exalted the Glorious) as leader.”
10- Ibn Abu Malika said: “I met thirty of the companions of the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) all of them fear being hypocrites; none of them could say that he has the faith of Jibreel and Mikhaîl!”
Dear successful Muslim brother,
Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi said: “The most astonishing thing is that the faithful people fear having luxury while those who have luxury feel safety!”
Abu Bakr As-Sidîq (may Allah be pleased with him) caught his tongue and said: “It is this that led me to destructions.”
Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “O Hudhaifa, am I among them (i.e. the hypocrites)?” while who are inferior to Omar enjoy feeling safety!
Imam ibn Al-Qayim (may Allah mercy him) said: “He who considers the status of the companions would find that they used to work much and fear much, while we have combined between delinquency (even negligence) and feeling safety!”
This is the saying of Imam ibn Al-Qayim (may Allah mercy him) about himself and his time. Hence, what could we say about ourselves and time?!
Dear beloved brother,
Never waste your days, because they are your capital, and you are able to win as long as you have your own capital. And the goods of Hereafter are cheap today; so you should do your best to collect it at the time of its cheapness, because there will come a day in which this goods will be rare. Therefore, you should take as much goods as you can in the day of cheapness to take benefits from it in the day of rareness, because you will not be able to seek it in this day.
Kinds of self reckoning:
There are two kinds for self reckoning; one before the action and another after it
The first kind: Reckoning the self before the action means to consider at the time of the intention and not to do the action before making sure that doing it is better than neglecting it. Al-Hassan (may Allah mercy him) said: “May Allah mercy a servant considers at the time of intention, and then if he found it for the sake of Allah, he would go ahead; and if he found it for anyone else, he would refrain.”
The second kind: Reckoning the self after the action.
And it has three subdivisions:
First: Reckoning the self for not doing an act of obedience perfectly.
Actually, there are six rights for Allah in the act of obedience:
1- Having sincerity in doing the action.
2- Doing it for the sake of Allah.
3- Doing it like the doing of the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him).
4- Doing the supererogatory acts that relate to it.
5- Acknowledging Allah’s grace in this action.
6- Acknowledging not doing it perfectly.
The servant should ask himself: Did he fulfill these six rights perfectly?
Did he accomplish them all in the act of obedience?
Second: Reckoning the self for doing something neglecting it is better than doing it.
Third: Reckoning the self for something lawful or accustomed; why did he do it? Did he do it only for the sake of Allah and the hereafter? If yes, he would be winner. Did he do it for the worldly life and its temporary pleasures? If yes, he will lose instead of winning and gaining the prize.
Reasons that help in reckoning the self:
There are reasons that help the person to reckon himself and make reckoning easy. The following are some of these reasons:
1- Knowing that when he does his best in reckoning himself today, he will have comfort tomorrow; while when he neglects reckoning himself today, he will find it hard tomorrow.
2- Knowing that the result of self reckoning and watching it is having Paradise and looking at the Lord’s Face and being neighbor to the prophets and pious righteous people.
3- Considering the result of not reckoning the self, having destruction, ruin, entering Hellfire, being prevented from seeing Allah Almighty and being neighbor to the infidel and stray and black-hearted people.
4- Accompanying none but the righteous people who reckon themselves and indicate to him his own defects.
5- Considering the stories of those who used to reckon themselves among our righteous forefathers.
6- Visiting the graveyards and considering the dead people who cannot reckon themselves or fulfill what they missed.
7- Attending the gatherings of knowledge, preaching and reminding, because it incites self reckoning.
8- Praying at night, reciting the Holy Qur’an and seeking nearness with Allah Almighty by the acts of obedience.
9- Staying away from the places of diversion and inattentiveness, because it makes the person forget self reckoning.
10- Remembering Allah almighty and asking Him to make him among those who reckon themselves and watch themselves, and asking Him to facilitate to him every good.
11- Not thinking well in the self, because thinking well in the self leads to forgetting calling it to account. Furthermore; the person may see his defects as perfection, because of thinking well in himself.
Dear beloved brother,
The prudent person who believes in Allah and the Final Day should not forget reckoning himself and considering all its actions and deeds. Actually, every breath the person breathes in his life is a gem could buy a treasure has eternal blessing; hence, wasting these breathes or bringing what leads to destruction is grave loss could not be allowed but by the most ignorant and the most foolish person. In fact, such person will discover this grave loss in the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain {On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the good he has done, and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between him and his evil} [Surat Al-Imran 3:30].
{يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُّحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِن سُوءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ أَمَدًا بَعِيدًا} أل عمران: 30
Transliteration: Yawma tajidu kullu nafsin ma AAamilat min khayrin muhdaran wama AAamilat min sooin tawaddu law anna baynahawabaynahu amadan baAAeedan
Dear generous brother,
Taubah ibn As-Summah was one of those who reckon themselves. At some day he counted his age and found that he is sixty years old, then he counted its days and found that they are about 21500 days; so he cried: “Woe to me, would I meet my Lord with 21000 sins? How?! Indeed, there are thousands of sins in every day!” Then he fell in a swoon and people discovered that he died. Then they heard caller says: “How great your ascending to Paradise is!”
How to reckon yourself:
Imam ibn Al-Qayim (may Allah mercy him) mentioned that reckoning the self should be in the following way:
First: To start with the obligatory acts, if the person discovered defects in them, he should set them right.
Second: Considering the prohibitions, if the person found that he committed any of them, he should follow it with repentance and seeking forgiveness and doing good deeds obliterate it.
Third: Reckoning the self for any inattentiveness, it should be redressed by remembrance and seeking nearness with Allah.
Fourth: Reckoning the self for the deeds of the body parts, the speech of the tongue, the walk of the legs, the grasp of the hands, the look of the eyes and the listening of the ears. What did you intend by that? To whom you did it? How did you do it?
Advantages of reckoning the self:
There are great advantages for reckoning the self, such as:
1- Knowing the defects of the self, he who does not know his defect will never be able to remove it.
2- The repentance and regret and compensating what is missed as long as there is time for that.
3- Knowing the rights of Allah almighty, because the basis of reckoning the self is to reckon it for missing the rights of Allah almighty.
4- Feeling humiliation between the Hands of Allah the Exalted the Glorious.
5- Knowing the Grace and Forgiveness of Allah (the Exalted the Glorious) and His Mercy to His servants by not punishing them immediately for their sins and violations.
6- Hating the self and contemning it and getting rid of pride and not boasting the good deeds.
7- Doing the best in fulfilling the acts of obedience and abstaining from disobedience, to make the reckoning easy.
8- Paying back the rights and giving up malice and having good manners; indeed, this is one of the greatest fruits of reckoning the self.
The train of life:
Dear Muslim brother,
Al-Fudail said to a man: “How old are you?” the man replied: “Sixty” whereupon Al-Fudail said: “From sixty years you walk to your Lord, you are about to arrive!”
Abu Ad-Dardâ’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “You (i.e. life) are just days, whenever a day of you passes, some of you passes.”
O you who are in the twentieth of your age, how many mates to you have died in your life!
O you who are in the thirtieth of your age, you have recently missed your youthfulness and did not feel regret!
O you who are in the fortieth of your age, youngness has gone and you still play!
O you who are in the fiftieth of your age, you have reached the middle of the hundred and did not be just yet!
O you who are in the sixtieth of your age, you have approached death. Do you still play and have fun?! You have dissipated!
And it is reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari that the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah will not accept the excuse of any person whose instant of death is delayed till he is sixty years of age.”
«أعذر الله إلى امرئ أخر أجله حتى بلغه ستين سنة» رواه البخاري
Dear beloved brother,
How many prayers have you missed? … How many Fridays have you tolerated missing them? … How many fasts have you neglected? … How many charities have not you given? … How many pilgrims have you missed? … How many favors have you become lazy to do? … How many evil deeds have not you prevented? … How many unlawful looks have you looked? … How many evil words have you uttered? … How many times have you enraged your parents and did not obey them? … How many times have you wronged weak persons and did not feel pity for them? … How many persons have you maltreated? … How many persons have you taken their properties? …
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do you know who the bankrupt is?” They (the Companions of the Prophet) said: “A bankrupt man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth.” He (the Prophet) said: “The bankrupt of my Umma would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and Zakat but (he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues) since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others and unlawfully consumed the wealth of others and shed the blood of others and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the accounts of those (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the accounts, then their sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in Hellfire.” [Reported by Muslim]
«أتدرون ما المفلس؟، قالوا: المفلس فينا من لا درهم له ولا متاع. فقال: إن المفلس من أمتي، يأتي يوم القيامة بصلاة وصيام وزكاة، ويأتي قد شتم هذا، وقذف هذا، وأكل مال هذا، وسفك دم هذا، وضرب هذا. فيعطى هذا من حسناته وهذا من حسناته؛ فإن فنيت حسناته، قبل أن يقضى ما عليه، أخذ من خطاياهم فطرحت عليه، ثم طرح في النار» رواه مسلم
We feel Joy in days that are passing
And every passing day brings us closer to our fate
Act for your sake before you die striving
As winning and losing is in the deeds
And prayers and peace and blessings of Allah be upon our prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
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