How reckoning will take place on Day of Judgment

How reckoning will take place on Day of Judgment

Question

Assalaamu alaykum. I have heard that we will be asked to account for the blessings we are given. What is meant by that? How will it be done? If Allah asks every muslim about His blessings, it will take a long long time. And the Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate: "O Allah, grant me an easy reckoning." What is meant by this? And how will this happen on the Day of Judgment? May Allah bless us and reward you with good.

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, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know that scholars of Tafseer (Quran exegesis) held different opinions on the interpretation of the verse: {Then you will surely be asked that Day about pleasure.} [Quran 102:8]
They differed on whether the verse applies to all people in general or to the disbelievers in particular.Some of them held that it applies to the disbelievers, while others held that it applies to all people in general.
The second view is the preponderant one in this regard, as evidenced by the following hadith:"When the verse {Then you will surely be asked that Day about pleasure} was revealed, Az-Zubayr said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what pleasure shall we be asked about? (meaning that they only had dates and water).' The Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, replied, 'Verily, it will happen.'" [Ahmad, At-Tirmithi, and Ibn Maajah]
In his Tafseer, Al-Qurtubi quoted from Al-Qushayri that he said, "The reconciliation between the relevant reports is that all people shall be questioned; however, questioning the disbelievers shall be for the purpose of rebuke and reproach, because they did not thank Allah (for His blessings), and questioning the believers shall be for honoring them, because they did thank Allah."
As for the manner in which the people shall be asked about the worldly pleasures, the Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, "Allah, the Exalted, shall say to the believer and the disbeliever, 'O so-and-so! Did I not honor you and give you authority and pair you up and subdue for you the horses and camels and let you rule over your subjects...'" [Al-Bukhaari]
Saying that this will take a long long time, if you mean that this is a huge matter by human standards, then it is simple by the standards of the Lord of the worlds. Verily, Allah, the Exalted, is Able to do all things as He wishes. Allah says (what means): {Those will have a share of what they have earned, and Allah is swift in account.} [Quran 2:202]
Al-Qurtubi commented on the verse saying, "Al-Hasan said, The reckoning shall be faster than the blink of an eye ... The Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, 'The reckoning would take the time it takes to milk a sheep.' ... It was said to ʻAli ibn Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, 'How will Allah ask all people in one day?' He replied, 'Just as He provides for them in one day.'"
The easy reckoning mentioned in the verse: {He will be judged with an easy account.} [Quran 84:8] was explained in the Sunnah as the mere presentation of the deeds; i.e. without any questioning.
Al-Bukhaari narrated that whenever ʻAa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, heard anything which she did not understand, she used to ask again till she understood it completely. Once, the Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, "Whoever will be called to account (about his deeds on the Day of Resurrection) will surely be punished." ʻAa’ishah said, "Does not Allah say: {He will be judged with an easy account.} [Quran 84:8]?" He replied, "This refers to the presentation (of deeds), but whoever is thoroughly questioned in the reckoning will certainly be doomed."

Reference Link

Call yourself to account before you are called to account

First of all, have you ever been alone and checked and weighed what you have said or done previously? Have you ever tried to list your bad deeds in the same way as you think of your good deeds? Have you ever thought how you will be held accountable before Allah The Almighty while you are carrying such a heavy load of sins?
How can you yield yourself to a state that is far too dangerous for you to handle?

Allah The Almighty Says (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.}
[Quran 59:18-19]
⦁ {And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped...}
[Quran 39:54]

‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed, as calling yourselves to account today will make it easier for you when you are called to account tomorrow, and be adorned for the great appearance: that Day shall you be brought to Judgment, and not a secret of you will be hidden.”

Quotes about Self-Reckoning

1.‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to one of his appointed governors saying, “Call yourself to account when you are in bliss before the reckoning of that severe Day, for whoever calls himself to account when he is in bliss will win the pleasure of Allah and achieve happiness, and whoever allows his life and desires to occupy all his attention and cause him to be negligent will be a regretful loser.”
2. Al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The worshiper will be in a safe position as long as he keeps admonishing his own self and continuously calls his soul to account.”
3.Maymoon ibn Mihraan said, “A slave will not be pious until he holds himself to account more severely than a man does with his business partner; that is why it was said that the soul is like the untrustworthy partner whom, if you do not call to account, will flee with your capital.”
4.Imaam Ahmad narrated that Wahb said, “It is written in the wisdom of the family of Daawood (David) that an intelligent person should not be negligent of four times; a time to supplicate his Lord, a time to hold himself to account, a time with his truthful friends who inform him of his shortcomings, and a time when he is alone with himself and its lawful desires, as this time will help him through the other times and will comfort his heart.”
5. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “The true believer is a guardian of his own self and continuously calls his soul to account for the sake of Allah. The reckoning of the Day of Resurrection will only be easy for those who continuously call their souls to account in the life of this world. The reckoning of the Day of Resurrection will only be difficult for those who live the life of this world without ever examining their conscience and calling themselves to account.”
6. Ibn Abi Mulaykah said, “I have met thirty companions of the Prophet and each one of them feared that he may be afflicted by hypocrisy and none of them said that his faith is like that of Jibreel or Meekaa’eel.”
7. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “Whoever contemplates the circumstances of the Companions of the Prophet would find them doing many good deeds with much fear while we fall short of doing good deeds or rather are negligent about that and at the same time we feel secure (from punishment).” This is what Ibn Al-Qayyim said about himself and the time he lived in, so what should we say about ourselves and the time in which we live!

Categories of Self-reckoning
Self-reckoning is of two kinds and they are as follows:

The first kind: self-examination before starting any action. That is, one should check every idea that comes to his mind and not take any action until he considers which is preferred; carrying it out or leaving it. Al-Hasan said, “May Allah The Almighty Be merciful upon the one who examines every matter well and then (decides that) if it is for the sake of Allah The Almighty he executes it, and if not, he overlooks it.”

The second kind: self-examination after doing any action and it is of three types which are as follows:
1. One should call his soul to account and reproach it for its negligence in the acts of worshiping Allah The Almighty; for not having performed them properly.
2. One should call his soul to account for any action that he did while it would have been better for him not to do it.
3. One should cast a critical look back at whatever permissible act or habitual act that he did and ask himself why he did it. Did he do it for the Sake of Allah The Almighty and the Hereafter? If so, he will be rewarded greatly. Or, did he do it for this world and its trifling gains? If so, he will miss many great rewards.

Remembering Our Final Destination

Allah The Almighty has called death a great affliction and disaster. He, The Almighty Says (what means): {“and the great affliction of death befalls on you”} [Quran, 3: 106].
A person may have one of two states of mind at the time of death: if he was obedient he regrets that he did not do more righteous deeds at the time of his death; but if he is disobedient, he regrets his shortcomings and wishes to return to this life so that he could repent and act righteously. However, by then it is too late. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {“and if they seek to please Allah, yet they are not of those who will ever be allowed to please Allah.” [Quran, 41: 24] and also: {“Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah), he says: My Lord! Send me back,So that I may do good in that which I have left behind!'' No! It is but a word that he speaks; and behind them is Barzakh (a barrier) until the Day when they will be resurrected.”} [Quran, 23: 99-100]
Death is an indisputable fact; Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {“And the stupor of death will come in truth: This is what you have been avoiding!”} [Quran, 50: 19]. Who can argue about death and its agonies after hearing these words? Who can dispute the pressing of the grave? Who can delay his death from its appointed time? Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {“When their term comes, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment)”} [Quran, 7: 34]
We must ask ourselves: why are we so arrogant when we will soon be consumed by the earth? Why do we transgress when we know our final destination is a hole under the ground? Why do we put off obedience and continue to stay heedless when you know that death comes suddenly, without warning?
Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
⦁ {“Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.”} [Quran, 3: 185]
⦁ {"Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish".} [Quran, 55: 26]
⦁ {“And invoke not any other Ilaah (god) along with Allah, Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He).”} [Quran, 28: 88]
He who thinks that death is the final stage of his existence, after which there will be no accountability, no Paradise or Hellfire and no life after that, is in serious error. If this was the case, there would have been no wisdom behind creation and existence to start with, and all people would have been equally at rest after death. The believer and the disbeliever would have been the same, as would the murderer and his victim; the oppressor and the oppressed; the obedient and the disobedient, the adulterer and the one who guarded his prayers, and so on. This is the belief of the polytheists as Allah The Almighty Says (what means):{“The disbelievers pretend that they will never be resurrected (for the Account). Say (O Muhammad ): Yes! By my Lord, you will certainly be resurrected, then you will be informed of (and recompensed for) what you did; and that is easy for Allah.”} [Quran, 64 : 7] and also: {"And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: Who will give life to these bones after they are rotten and have become dust'' Say (O Muhammad ): He will give life to them Who created them for the first time! And He is the All-Knower of every creation!''} [Quran, 36: 78-79]
By remembering death often we can purify ourselves and our actions to attain success in this world and the Hereafter. Let us not ever forget that this moment could be our last, and not put off until tomorrow what can, and should be done today.