I begin with the name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
“And We have attached every man’s deeds to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out for him a book which he will find wide open. (It will be said to him): “Read your book. You yourself are sufficient as a reckoner against you this Day.” Qur’an 17:13-14
In the creation of man, nay the entire universe, there is an absolute demonstration of the Majesty and Grandeur of Allaah Exalted be He, a sign that points to His perfect knowledge and penetrating wisdom, a sign that convinces man that all these creations were not created without a purpose. Qur’an addresses men of understanding and calls on humanity to look deep into its Words and to reflect and ponder over its meanings, perhaps it will make smooth their journey from this world to the next.
Furthermore, Qur’an never ceases to amaze anyone that interacts with it, the knowledge kept in the Word of Allaah is endless, never to be exhausted. Man has been created to worship Allaah and he has been equipped adequately to understand right from wrong and has equally been informed of the consequences of his actions and inactions and that both will be recompensed. To this end he is exposed to the reality of Allaah’s Absolute Justice, this Justice is demonstrated through Allaah’s preservation of the deeds that mankind is performing and that all of mankind will be duly recompensed.
In this 21st century, almost everyone is familiar with memory cards used for storage and transfer of information and that whatever is kept in there is what is retrieved (at least where no hackers exist). The memory card that stores the events of past decades when inserted in a computer displays all the information to the minutest detail and if it has to do with audio or video, then it seems as though the event is just taking place. However, the memory card of this world is prone to damage and even virus attack or theft which sometimes leaves man in complete and total disarray or it brings relief and a big sigh if the damaged information is incriminating.
Similarly, Allaah has inserted in the neck of man his deeds which can be likened to the memory cards of today that stores the minutest detail of every action of his, those done publicly as well as privately, those done silently as well as loudly, those done deliberately as well as mistakenly, every deed, every word. To substantiate this, Allaah Exalted be He says: “So whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall see it.” Qur’an 99:7-8. Every man fears the day his evil will be laid open for public scrutiny, or the day the private video recordings of his or private audio conversations of his will go to the public, man is constantly deleting incriminating information from his devices but what about that memory card divinely inserted in man’s neck that cannot be corrupted by any virus nor hacked by the best hacker nor deleted by best brains? This calls for a deep reflection!
In addition, there is a narration in Sahih Muslim on the strength of Abu Dhar (may Allaah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (may peace be upon him), from among the sayings he relates from his Lord, Exalted be He that He said: “O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon for you. Then I recompense you for them. The one who finds good is to give praises to Allaah. The one who finds other than this should not blame anyone but himself.” Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) in one of his famous sayings said: “Judge yourselves before you are judged, evaluate yourselves before you are evaluated and be ready for the greatest investigation (the Day of Judgement)”
Allaah in His infinite Mercy created us, showed us the two broadways (one leading to Paradise and the other to Hell). He has equally given us the ability to choose which path to follow and has informed us of the recompense that lies ahead on each path, wisdom dictates that we think before we act, that we think before we talk, that we think before we look, that we think before we touch and that we think before we move.
The verses of Qur’an 75:14-15 should serve as a motivation for each man to do righteous deeds and increase in them as well as avoid the prohibited acts. Allaah says: “Nay! Man will be well informed about himself. Though he may put forth his excuses.” meaning, he will be a witness against himself, knowing full well what he did, even though he will try to make excuses and deny it.
I end with the verse I started with, “And We have attached every man’s deeds to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out for him a book which he will find wide open. (It will be said to him): “Read your book. You yourself are sufficient as a reckoner against you this Day.” The famous scholar of Qur’an, Ibn Abbas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, this Ta’irah (deeds) of man that is fastened to his neck includes both good deeds and bad deeds, he will be forced to acknowledge them and will be rewarded or punished accordingly.” As related in the Tafseer of Ibn Katheer. I pray that Allaah give us the ability to identify the truth and follow it and to identify evil in order to avoid it.
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