Will we be called to account in the hereafter due to the sins that are few?

Will those whose repentances have been accepted or whose good deeds outweighed be called to account by their embarrassing sins in the world being shown?

Dear Brother / Sister,

People will be called to account even if their sins are fewer than their rewards. However, their accounting will be easy and they will not be tortured.

Prophets and some saints will go to Paradise without being questioned in the Gathering Place. The people who repent from their sins in this world will not be called to account for those sins in the hereafter. Even if they are, they will finally be forgiven.

The following is stated in a hadith:

"He who conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah would conceal the faults in the world and in the Hereafter." (Muslim, Dhikr, 38; Abu Dawud, Adab, 68; Ibn Majah, Muqaddima, 17. See Bukhari, Mazalim, 3 related to the same issue.)

The following is stated in another hadith:

"He who sees something which should be kept hidden and conceals it will be like one who has brought to life a girl buried alive." (Abu Dawud, Adab, 38; Nasai, Sunan al-Kubra; No: 7281; Ahmad, Musnad, IV/147; Hakim, Mustadrak, IV/383; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, No: 517; Bayhaqi, Sunan al-Kubra, VIII/331)

Man can ascend to the highest level among beings due to his ability to do good and bad deeds but he can also descend to the lowest level. All of what man, who was created with this ability, does needs to be recorded. The retention of Allah Almighty necessitates His retention of deeds and acts. It is necessary for these deeds, which are recorded, to be weighed on the scales of justice and rewarded or punished accordingly.

The following is stated in the verse that points out this fact:

“The balance that day will be true (to a nicety): those whose scale (of good) will be heavy, will prosper. Those whose scale will be light, will find their souls in perdition, for that they wrongfully treated our signs.”1

The same fact is mentioned in the following verse, which indicates that divine justice will be manifest with all its magnificence in the weighing of the deeds:

“Allah is never unjust in the least degree.”2

Then, when Allah weighs people's deeds and when he announces the decree whether they are good or bad, He will do it based on the weight of the good and bad deeds. In the book Lem’alar, the issue of Allah’s weighing people's deeds with the big scales in the Gathering Place and decreeing whether they are good or bad is based on the verse above. 3

In all of our books on creed, it is clearly stated that the issue of the deeds being weighed in the hereafter is true. However, it is not possible to express its nature with the criteria in the world. Nevertheless, it is certain that Allah Almighty will settle the accounting of people in a very short time and will show the good and bad deeds.  

Muhammed Ali as-Sabuni states the following regarding the issue:

“It is not contrary to logic to weigh good and bad deeds. Since modern sciences can measure heat, cold, wind and rain, can Allah Almighty, who has endless power, be too weak to weigh people's deeds?”4

However, it is not possible to say something definite about how weighing deeds will take place. For, the states of Paradise and the hereafter cannot be expressed by using the criteria in this world. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in al-Bidaya:

“Mizan (the Scales) is something that determines the amounts of deeds; human mind is too weak to know its nature. It is not possible to liken it to the scales in the world. To surrender to the Quran and hadiths (nass) is the best way.”5

Then, Allah Almighty will definitely weigh deeds. He will weigh people's good and bad deeds with a Mizan, whose nature we do not know, and will manifest His justice. If a person's good deeds are more than his bad deeds, he will be saved. If it is the opposite, he will be tortured. However, Allah may forgive him with His mercy. If he is a believer, he will enter Paradise after he is punished. He will receive endless mercy of Allah.

However, we understand from some hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) that the weighing of the deeds and being called to account will not be easy. It is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) often prayed as follows:

“O Allah! Make my accounting easy!”

We also understand from hadiths that man needs Allah's mercy and forgiveness more on that day and that man will be in a difficult situation during reckoning but for the endless vastness of His mercy.6

To sum up, every deed in the book of deeds will be weighed finely on that day and the balance of everybody will be clear; then, accounts will be settled. A person will be among those who are saved if his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds. If his thawabs turn out to be fewer than his sins, he will be harmed.

The duty of a believer is to do deeds in such a way that his good deeds will be more than his bad deeds and his profits will be more than his losses; and he needs to be prepared for that Day of Reckoning very well. And he needs to pray to Allah by saying, “O Allah! Make my accounting easy!”

Footnotes:

1. al-A'raf, 7/8,9.
2. an-Nisa, 4/40.
3. Lem'alar, p. 81.
4. Safwatut-Tafasir , I/437.
5. al-Bidaye fi Usulid-Din, p. 92.
6. Musnad, VI/48.

(Mehmed Paksu, Meseleler ve Çözümleri -2)

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