A verse to reflect on
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾“O you who believe, fear Allah, and let every soul look to what it has sent ahead for tomorrow. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is aware of what you do.”
al-Hashr 59:18 · translation of the meaning · Quran.com
Ibn Kathir said in his tafsir of it: take account of yourselves before you are taken to account, and look at what good deeds you have stored up for the Day of your return.
The Day of Judgement is called “tomorrow” because it is near. Self-reckoning is not self-punishment; it is an honest look to see where you stand, so you know how to move forward.
Today’s hadith
“The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about his life and how he spent it, about his knowledge and what he did with it, about his wealth, where he earned it and how he spent it, and about his body and how he used it.”
al-Tirmidhi (2417), narrated by Abu Barzah al-Aslami; he graded it hasan sahih
Four questions known in advance: your life, your knowledge, your wealth and your body. Whoever knows the questions before the exam prepares for them. Make them your mirror for self-reckoning.
Today’s story: the truthfulness of Ka‘b ibn Malik
Ka‘b ibn Malik stayed behind from the expedition of Tabuk without an excuse. He kept putting off leaving, day after day, until the army had gone.
When the Prophet ﷺ returned, those who had stayed behind came making excuses and swearing oaths, and he accepted what they showed outwardly. But Ka‘b took himself to account and told the Prophet ﷺ that he had no excuse, and that he had never been stronger or better off than when he stayed behind.
The Prophet ﷺ told the people not to speak to him and his two companions, until the earth, wide as it is, felt narrow for them, for fifty nights. Then their repentance was revealed from above the seven heavens. Ka‘b said afterwards that after Islam, Allah had never given him a greater blessing than his truthfulness that day. (al-Bukhari 4418, Muslim 2769)
The lesson: honest self-reckoning can feel heavy in the moment, but it is the road to a repentance that Allah accepts.
Today’s task
Start the habit of self-reckoning tonight: five minutes before sleep, ask yourself three questions. What did I do well today? Where did I fall short? What will I do better tomorrow?
Today’s dua
اللهم آتِ نفسي تقواها، وزكّها أنت خير من زكّاها، أنت وليّها ومولاهاO Allah, give my soul its piety and purify it, for You are the best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Master.
Muslim (2722), narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam
You ask Allah to give your soul piety and to purify it, and you admit that He alone purifies it. However much you hold yourself to account, success comes from Him.
A question for self-reckoning
If you were asked now how you spent your life over the past month, what would you answer?