عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ رضى الله عنه، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «مَا مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا سَيُكَلِّمُهُ رَبُّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ تُرْجُمَانٌ، فَيَنْظُرُ أَيْمَنَ مِنْهُ فَلا يَرَى إِلَّا مَا قَدَّمَ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ، وَيَنْظُرُ أَشْأَمَ مِنْهُ فَلا يَرَى إِلَّا مَا قَدَّمَ، وَيَنْظُرُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَلا يَرَى إِلَّا النَّارَ تِلْقَاءَ وَجْهِهِ، فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ وَلَوْ بِشِقِّ تَمْرَةٍ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ، فَبِكَلِمَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ».
‘Adiy ibn Ḥātim narrated that God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
God shall speak to every single one of you, with no interpreter between Him and you. A person shall look to his right and will see nothing but what he has done; and shall look to his left and will see nothing but what he has done; and shall look in front of him and only see the Fire facing him. Guard yourselves against the Fire, even with half a date. Whoever does not find that, then even with a good word.
Related by al-Bukhari, 7512; Muslim, 1016.
1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us that every single person shall stand before God who will hold him to account for his deeds. God will speak to every person without an intermediary or an interpreter. Everyone will come alone, with none to defend or intercede for them.
God says:
‘And now, indeed, you have come to Us individually, just as We created you in the first instance; and you have left behind all that We conferred on you. Nor do We see with you those intercessors of yours whom you had claimed to be partners in your affairs. Broken are the ties which bound you, and that which you have been asserting has failed you’.
(6: 94)
2. When a person stands in front of his Lord, he will have no support from any quarter except his own deeds. He will look around, seeking support from anyone who could save him the hardship of reckoning. The Prophet says: ‘Whoever is made to go through the reckoning is doomed’.[1] He looks to the right and left, but he sees nothing other than his own deeds. He then looks in front of him and he will only see the Fire facing him. The reason is that Hell will be ahead of him and he cannot evade it, because he must go along the path.
3. Since this will be the situation faced by everyone on the Day of Resurrection, then it is wise to guard against Hell and hope for safety from it. He should then present the best of good deeds and be keen to draw closer to God at all times, not disdaining any good deed, however small or simple. One such easy deed is to give whatever one can in charity, i.e. ṣadaqah, even if it is merely half of one date.
4. If one has nothing to donate, then a good word said to please God may be all you need to save yourself from the Fire.
1. Remember that you will stand in front of God, alone, with none of your family or friends giving you support, and having nothing of your wealth, position or social status to assist you. We all need to be ready for this event, but we should also remember that
‘for those who stand in fear of their Lord’s presence there shall be two gardens’.
(55: 46)
2. It is important not to disdain any deed, whether good or bad nor however trivial it looks. The largest mountains are composed of heaps of sand and pebbles.
God says:
‘Whoever does an atom's weight of good shall see it then, (7) and whoever does an atom's weight of evil shall see it then also.
(99: 7-8)
3. One of the most effective deeds that remove a person from Hell is charity, i.e. ṣadaqah. Hence, the hadith urges it. Moreover, God says: ‘Give, then, out of what We have provided for you, before death comes to any of you, and
then he says,
“My Lord, if You would grant me a delay for a short while, I would give in charity and be one of the righteous”’.
(63: 10)
4. Do not delay giving a needy person even a drink of water, or saying a single glorification of God, or reciting even a single verse of the Qur’an. Do not say that you want to prepare yourself to do more. Things occur to distract you and draw your attention to something else. ‘A beggar knocked at ‘Āʼishah’s door. She said to her servant to give him some food. The servant went then came back and said: “I found nothing to give him”. ‘Āʼishah told her to try again and find something. The servant did so and brought one date. ‘Āʼishah said to her: “Give it to him. It consists of many atom weights, if it is accepted by God”’. [2]
5. Many are the good deeds that are equal to, or greater than, half a date, such as pleasing one’s parents or family with some conversation or service, carrying an elderly or weak person’s heavy article, giving a poor person a needed article of clothing, taking care of a widow or an orphan, etc. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Do not belittle any act of kindness, not even that you meet your brother with a cheerful face’.[3]
6. A person’s tongue may either take that person to an eternal Heaven or may drive him to Hell. Thus, a person’s destiny is determined by his own tongue which will either save or condemn him.
7. Sit down with your family or your students and discuss the good deeds that you are able to accomplish, without placing yourselves under undue strain or hardship. Thus you will be able to motivate one another.
