2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

Truly man is to his Lord, ungrateful; and to that (fact) he bears witness (by his deeds); - Q.100:6-7

You are obsessed by greed for more and more until you go down to your graves.*
--Q.102: 1,2
*The term takasur bears the connotation of “greedily striving for an increase”, i.e., in benefits, be they tangible or intangible, real or illusory. In the above context It denotes man’s obsessive striving for more and more comforts, more material goods, greater power over his fellow-men or over nature, and unceasing technological progress. A passionate pursuit of such endeavors, to the exclusion of everything else, bars man from all spiritual insight and, hence, from the acceptance of any restrictions and inhibitions based on purely moral values – with the result that not only individuals but whole societies gradually lose all inner stability and, thus, all chance of inner happiness.

Woe unto every slanderer, fault-finder!* -- Q.104:1
*I.e., everyone who tries to uncover real or imaginary faults in others.

Beware of the inner self because “verily, man’s inner self does incite [him] to evil,”(12:53) – i.e., it's impulses often clash with morals-- “saved are only they upon whom my Sustainer bestows His grace. Behold, my Sustainer is much forgiving, most gracious!”


Prophet said

“A man says: My property, my property! But, verily, his properties out of his wealth are three: what he puts on and is worn out; what he gives away (in charity) out of what he has hoarded; what is besides that is perishable and he will leave it for people.” -- H: Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah.

A number of verses given in the series of The Day Of Accountability are not about the Day itself but given as reminder of the Day, in order to prepare for it, now that we still have time. For the same purpose next Friday, insha Allah, will be given one verse.

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

“….and on that Day you will most surely be called to account for [what you did with] the boon of life!” -- Q.102:8

Prophet said

“Call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh up your deeds before they are weighed for you” -- Hadith quoted by Tirmizi.

Best time to do this is in the night just before sleep: going over day’s actions, repenting and begging forgiveness for the wrongs committed. God is much forgiving, most gracious!

What you simply know of right and wrong is only knowledge, which is like sugar: one cannot know unless one tastes it. Knowledge should lead to belief and belief to action.

Infirm belief in the hereafter tends to make one forget that one will have to give account for whatever one does. Make sure.

“The astute man is one who passes judgment and works for what is after death, and the fool is one who pursues vain pleasures and counts on God the Exalted to realize his wishes” – Hadith quoted by Tirmizi, Ibn Maja and Ibn Hanbal.

Of the 2892 minutes in a weekend it would take barely 10 minutes to go through the Friday Post. Then the whole week to imbibe and shape one’s course! Is that too much to save the Day?

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

And as for him whose record shall be placed in his right hand, he will in time be called to account with an easy accounting, and will [be able to] turn joyfully to those of his own kind.* But as for him whose record shall be given to him behind his back, he will in time pray for utter destruction: but he will enter the blazing fire. Behold, [in his earthly life] he lived joyfully among people of his own kind** -- for, behold, he never thought that he would have to return [to God]. -- Q.84:7-14
*Lit., “his people” – i.e., those who, like him, were righteous in life.
*Lit., “his people” – i.e., people of the same sinful inclination.

To happiness [in the life to come] will indeed attain he who attains to purity [in this world], and remembers his Sustainer’s name, and prays [unto Him] -- Q.87:14,15

…for, behold, unto Us will be their return, and, verily, it is for Us to call them to account. -- Q.88:25,26

…. he who is truly conscious of God: he that spends his possessions [on others] so that he might grow in purity – not as payment for favours received, but only out of a longing for the countenance of his Lord, the All-Highest: and such, indeed, in time will be well-pleased. -- Q.92:17-21

….and on that Day you will most surely be called to account for [what you did with] the boon of life! -- Q.102:8

Consider the flight of time! Verily, man is bound to lose himself unless he be of those who attain to faith, and do good works, and enjoin upon one another the keeping of truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity. -- Q.103


Prophet said

According to a Tradition quoted by Tirmizi and Ibn Hanbal on the authority of Abu Hurairah, on the Day of Judgment the earth will bear witness, as it were, to all that has ever been done by man.

“Everyone will be resurrected in the condition in which he died”. – H; Muslim. N: Jabir.

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

Verily, We have warned you of suffering near at hand – [suffering] on the Day when man will [clearly] see what his hands have sent ahead, and when he who has denied the truth shall say, “Oh, would that I were mere dust…! -- Q.78:40

Woe unto those who give short measure: those who, when they are to receive their due from [other] people, demand that it be given in full – but when they have to measure or weigh whatever they have to give to others, give less than what is due!*
-- Q.83:1-3

*This passage (verses 1-3) does not, of course, refer only to commercial dealings but touches every aspect of social relations, both practical and moral, applying to every individual’s rights and obligations no less than his physical possessions.


Prophet said

According to a Tradition quoted by Tirmizi and Ibn Hanbal on the authority of Abu Hurairah, on the Day of Judgment the earth will bear witness, as it were, to all that has ever been done by man.

“Everyone will be resurrected in the condition in which he died”. – H; Muslim. N: Jabir.

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

[Think now of] the time when He shall gather you all together unto the Day of [Last] Gathering – that Day of Loss and Gain! -- Q.64:9

O you who have attained to faith! Ward off from yourselves and those who are close to you* that fire [of the hereafter] whose fuel is human beings and stones…. Q.66:6
*Lit., “your families” or “your people”.
A warning for the believers!

Consider these [messages] that spread the truth far and wide, and thus separating [right and wrong] with all clarity* and then giving forth a reminder, [promising] freedom from blame or [offering] a warning!**
Behold, all that you are told to expect will surely come to pass. – Q.77:3-7

*Lit., “with all separation” (furqan): Cf. 8:29 “O you who have attained to faith! If you remain conscious of God, He will endow you with a standard (furqan: faculty of moral evaluation) by which to discern the true from false,”
** I.e., showing what leads to freedom from blame – in other words the right conduct – and what is ethically reprehensible and, therefore, to be avoided.

Did We not destroy [so many of] those [sinners] of olden days? And shall let them be followed by those of later times:* -- 77: 16,17
*The use of the conjunction thumma – which in this case has been rendered as “And”-- implies that suffering in the hereafter is bound to befall the sinners of later times (al-akhirun) even if God, in His unfathomable wisdom, wills to spare them in this world.


Prophet said

“…he whose account will be strictly taken will be ruined” – H: Baihaqi and Muslim. N: Bibi Ayesha.

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

Now as for those who indulge in sinful doings – do they think that We place them, both in their life and their death, on an equal footing with those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds?* … Q.45:21
*The meaning is twofold: “that We consider them to be equal to those who …”, etc., and “that We shall deal with them in the same manner as We deal with those who…”, etc. The reference to the intrinsic difference between these two categories with regard to “their life and their death” points not only to the moral quality of their worldly existence, but also, on the one hand, to the inner peace and tranquility with which a true believer faces life’s tribulations and the moment of death, and on the other, to the nagging anxiety which so often accompanies spiritual nihilism, and the “fear of the unknown” at the time of dying.


Who is it that will offer up unto God a goodly loan, which He will amply repay?*
For such [as do so] shall have a noble reward on the Day when thou will see all believing men and believing women, with their light spreading rapidly before them and on their right, [and with this welcome awaiting them:] “A glad tiding for you today: gardens through running waters flow, therein to abide! This, this is the triumph supreme!”
On that Day shall the hypocrites, both men and women** speak [thus] unto those who have attained to faith: “Wait for us! Let us have a [ray of] light from your light!” [But] they will be told: “Turn back, and seek a light [of your own]!*** … Q.57:11-13
* Identical phrase has been used in 2:245. In the present instance the meaning is apparently much wider, applying to all that man may do selflessly, for the sake of God alone. Whereas in 2:245 it is parabolically connected with the subsequent call to the faithful to be ready to lay down their lives in God’s cause: an illustration of the fact that fear of physical death leads to the moral death of nations and communities, just as their regeneration (or “coming back to life”) depends on their regaining their moral status through overcoming the fear of death.

**Meant here are, apparently, not only outright “hypocrites, but also people who, being shaky in their beliefs and uncertain in their moral convictions, are inclined to deceive themselves.

***I.e., “you should have sought light while you lived on earth”.


Prophet said

“O God! I declare sinful any failure to safeguard the rights of two weak ones, namely, orphans and women”. – H: Nisai. N: Abu Shuraih Khuwalidi Ibn Amr Khuza’i.

2.40. THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY (to be continued)

God says

Every human being is bound to taste death: but only on the Day of Resurrection will you be requited in full [for whatever you have done on earth] – whereupon he that shall be drawn away from the fire and brought into the paradise will indeed have gained a triumph: for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion -- Q.3:185

But he who commits a fault or a sin and then throws the blame therefor on another innocent person burdens himself with the guilt of calumny and [yet another] flagrant sin. --Q.4:112

Now whoever surrenders his whole being unto God, and is doer of good withal, has indeed taken hold of a support most unfailing: for with God rests the final outcome of all events. -- Q.31:22
*All forms of verb “aslama” occurring in the Quran, and terms muslim and Islam, repeated in the Quran several times, are translated in accordance with their original connotations, namely, “one who surrenders [or “has surrendered”] himself to God”, and “man’s self-surrender to God”. It should be borne in mind that the “institutionalized” use of these terms – that is their exclusive application to the followers of the Prophet Muhammad – represents a definitely post-Quranic development and, hence, must be avoided in the translation of the Quran.


Prophet said

“Wealth does not (necessarily) cause evil… Whoever acquires it lawfully and spends it lawfully, how excellent is his labour….” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abu Sayeed.