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Fatwa CenterHolding Oneself to Account
Question
Please tell me about holding oneself to account.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Without a doubt, holding oneself to account is one of the greatest things that concern those who have living hearts and one of the first priorities of the men of conscious minds. Having learnt that Allah, the Almighty, knows and keeps count of all their movements, keeping still, thoughts and looks, and that to Him their return will be, and upon Him their reckoning will be, they came to know that whoever calls himself to account before the day of reckoning, his reckoning on that day will be easy, his answer when questioned will be present, and his return will be good. Conversely, whoever does not call himself to account will stand for a long time on the Day of Resurrection, his sins will lead him to the destructive distresses, his regrets and grief will abide forever, and neither his wishes nor 'ifs' will avail him, nor will his confessions and seeking relief deliver him. Certain of this fact, they came to know that nothing will save them except the continuous accounting and sincere observation (of their selves and deeds). They obliged themselves to do so in all their motions, stillnesses, words, looks and thoughts, deducing this with many evident Quranic verses and Prophetic statements. Allah, the Almighty, said (what means):
· {O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow – and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.} [Quran 59:18-19]
· {And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant.} [Quran 21:47]
· {And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say, "Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?" And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one.} [Quran 18:49]
· {On the Day when Allah will resurrect them all and inform them of what they did. Allah had enumerated it, while they forgot it; and Allah is, over all things, Witness.} [Quran 58:6]
· {Indeed, to Us is their return. Then indeed, upon Us is their account.} [Quran 88:25-26]
· {That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds. So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.} [Quran 99:6-8]
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Barzah Al-Aslami 
that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "On the Day of Resurrection, the feet of every slave will not move until he is questioned about four matters: about his life, how he spent it; his knowledge, how he employed it; his property, how he earned it and how he spent it; and his youth, how he exhausted." [At-Tirmithi and Ad-Darimi]
There are many Quranic verses and Prophetic hadiths to this effect. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab used to say: "Reckon your own selves (in this world) before you will be accounted (in the Hereafter), weigh up (the deeds of) yourselves (in this world) before you (your deeds) will be weighed up (in the Hereafter), and get adorned (with the good deeds) for the greatest Day of Exhibition.”
Then he would recite (what means): {That Day, you will be exhibited [for judgment]; not hidden among you is anything concealed.} [Quran 69:18]
Allah knows best.
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