2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

…and most certainly shall We grant unto such as these [i.e., the believers who do righteous deeds] their reward in accordance with the best that they ever did. - Q.16: 97

…and [on that Day] undone shall be he who bears [a burden of] evildoing -- Q.20: 111

As for that [happy] life in the hereafter, We grant it only to those who do not seek to exalt themselves on earth, not spreading corruption: for future belongs to the God- conscious * -- Q.28: 83
*This last clause makes it clear that, in order to have spiritual value, man’s ‘not seeking’ worldly grandeur or self indulgence in things depraved must have an outcome, not of indifference or of a lack of opportunity, but solely of a conscious moral choice.

Would We treat the God-conscious in the same manner as the wicked? * -- Q38: 28
*By implication, belief in resurrection, judgment and life after death is postulated in this passage (verses 27--28) as a logical corollary – almost a premise – of all belief in God: for, since we see that many righteous people suffer all manner of misery and deprivations in this world, while, on the other hand many of the wicked and depraved enjoy their lives in peace and affluence, we must either assume that (God forbid) He does not exist (because the concept of injustice is incompatible with that of Godhead), or – alternatively – that there is a hereafter in which both the righteous and the unrighteous will harvest in full what they had morally sown during their lives on earth.


Prophet said

Bibi Ayesha reported that she heard the Holy Prophet praying: “O God! take account from me lightly”. She asked what does ‘taking account lightly’ mean? He said, “God may look at my scroll (of deeds) and forgive me. O Ayesha! he, whose account is taken strictly on that Day, will infact be ruined.” -- H: Ahmed. N: Bibi Ayesha.

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

About what do they [most often] ask one another? About the awesome tiding [of resurrection], on which they [so utterly] disagree* -- Q.78:1-3

*The question which preoccupies man above all others – the question as to whether there is life after death – has been variously answered throughout the ages. Belief in an undiminished survival of the human personality and consciousness, and regard death and resurrection as the twin stages of a positive act of re-creation of the entire human personality, in whatever form this may necessarily involve: and this is the Quranic view of the life to come.

Know [O men] that the life of this world is but a play and passing delight, and a beautiful show, and [the cause of] your boastful vying with one another, and [of your] greed for more and more riches and children. * -- Q.57: 20
*whereas life in itself is a positive gift of God, the potential source of all blessings, it loses this positive quality if it is indulged in recklessly, blindly and with disregard of spiritual values and considerations: in brief, if it is indulged in without any thought of the hereafter.

Most of you love the fleeting life of this world and give no thought to the life to come [and judgment Day]! -- Q.75: 20

Prophet said

“By One in whose hand is my life, if you had known what I know, you would certainly wept much and laughed little”. – H: Bukhari. N: Abu Hurairah

In view of above, it is better to take special interest in this topic for a few Fridays


Reminder to use the honorific:
After name or title of the Prophet say: “Sal-lal- lahu ‘Alaihi wa Sal-lam”;
(peace and blessings be upon him)
After the name or the title of every prophet (nabi) and apostle (rasul) say:
“ ‘Alai hissalaam” (peace be upon him or them)
After the name of their family member, as well as a companion, say:
“Radi Allahu ‘Anhu—or ‘Anha—or ‘Anhum ”
(may God be pleased with him--or her--or them)
And for others, say: “Rahmat-Allah-e-‘Alaih”
(God’s mercy be upon him)

2.39. PROMISE AND TRUST (concluded)

God says

…And be true to every promise – for, verily, [on Judgment Day] you will be called to account for every promise which you have made!* -- Q.17:34

Verily We did offer the trust [of reason and violation] to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains:* but they refused to bear it because they were afraid of it. Yet man took it up** – for, verily, he has always been prone to be most wicked, most foolish. -- Q.33:72
*Classical commentators give all kinds of laborious explanations to the term amanah (“trust”) occurring in this parable, but the most convincing of them ( mentioned in Lane 1, 102, with reference to the above verse) are “reason” or “intellect”, and the “faculty of volition”-- i.e., the ability to choose between two or more possible courses of action or modes of behaviour, and thus between good and evil.

** Sc., “and failed to measure up to the moral responsibility arising from the reason and the comparative free will with which he has been endowed” (Zamakhshari). This obviously applies to the human race as such, and not necessarily to all of its individuals.

.…and [those] who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges; and who stand firm whenever they bear witness; -- Q.70: 32,33

Prophet said

3. “When a man passes an information and wants it to be kept a secret, it is a trust”– H: Tirmizi and Abu Daud. N: Jaber-b-Abdullah.

4. “Return the entrusted (article) to the one who entrusted (it), and do not betray one who betrayed you” – H: Tirmizi and Abu Daud. N: Abu Hurairah.

5. A trustworthy Muslim treasurer is one who carries out his duties honestly and issues what he is ordered to, and very happily hands it over in full to the person entitled to receive the same. Such a treasurer is like a person who himself donated something.” H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abu Musa Ash‘ari.
According to another Tradition, a person who hands over a thing to another person, as ordered, is also entitled to recompense of charity.

2.39. PROMISE AND TRUST (to be continued)

God says



Behold, God bids you to deliver all that you have been entrusted with unto those who are entitled thereto, …. Q.4:58



O you who have attained to faith, do not be false to God and the Apostle, and do not knowingly be false to the trust [amanah] that has been reposed to you; and know that your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a temptation, and that with God there is a tremendous reward.*-- Q.8:27

* Inasmuch as love of worldly goods and a desire to protect one’s family may lead a person to transgression, they are described as fitnah. However, contrary to the New Testament, the Qur’an does not postulate a contempt for worldly attachments as a pre-requisite of righteousness: it only demands man that he should not allow these attachments to deflect him from the pursuit of moral verities.



O you who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God, and be among those who are true to their word! -- Q.9: 119



…And be true to every promise – for, verily, [on Judgment Day] you will be called to account for every promise which you have made!* -- Q.17:34

* Lit., “every promise shall be asked about” or “investigated”.



Prophet said



1. “…a Muslim has a pledge with God and His Apostle: so (as a Muslim) don’t act treacherously about your pledge with God.”– H: Bukhari. N: Anas.



2. “Signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, speaks falsehood; when he promises, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he proves untrustworthy” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah.

2.38. SILENCE AND REFLECTION (continued)

God says

And never have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own people’s tongue, so that he might make [the truth] clear unto them; but God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and guides him that wills [to be guided] – for He alone is almighty, truly wise.* -- Q.14:4
*Or: “God lets go astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills”. All Quranic references to God’s “letting man go astray” must be understood against the background of 2 : 26-27 – “none does He cause to go astray save the iniquitous, who break their bond with God”: that is to say man’s “going astray” is a consequence of his own attitudes and inclinations and not a result of an arbitrary “predestination”. In his commentary on the above verse, Zamakhshari stresses this aspect of free choice on the part of man and points out “[God] forsakes him who, as He knows will (consciously) choose to deny the truth and will persevere in this (denial); and… He bestows His favour upon him who, as He knows, will choose faith: which means that He makes the issue dependent on (man’s) free choice (al-ikhtiyar), and thus deserving either [God’s] favour or the withdrawal of [His] aid … and does not make it dependant on compulsion [i.e., predestination], which would rule out [man’s] deserving anything of the above.”


This [message] is no less than a reminder to all mankind – to everyone of you who wants to walk a straight way. -- Q.81: 27

Prophet said

How to step out of the house in God’s care? :--
“He who on coming out of the house prays: BISMILLAHI TAWAKKALTO ‘ALAL-LAH, WALA HOWLA WA LA QOOWATA ILLA BILLAH [I go out in the name of God, with my trust in Him. None has strength except Him (to save me from evil) or has the power except Him (to enable me to do good)], then he is shown the right path and is protected, and the Satan withdraws from him.” – H: Abu Daud, Tirmizi and Nisai. N: Anas-bin-Malik.