Oneself before Being Reckoned With

Oneself before Being Reckoned With

1986 7 July 19 Oneself before Being Reckoned With (392) The Prophet Mohammad once said: “Reckon with yourselves before being reckoned with.” After death, all mankind will be gathered before God to be judged. God has knowledge of the unseen. No one will be able to hide anything from Him. For this reason one whose actions are first subjected to scrutiny on Judgement Day will be doomed to damnation. As the Prophet Mohammad put it: “He who is examined will be doomed.” Wise, then, is the one who – before being subjected to cross-examination in God’s court of justice – cross-examines himself in the court of his own conscience. It is better to reckon with oneself in this world, putting one’s own house in order before it is subjected to divine inspection.

Man has been created with a conscience. This conscience irks him when he does something wrong. He also has recourse to the teachings of God and His prophets, which enable him to distinguish between right and wrong. Self-reckoning – or introspection – can be conducted in the light of these two faculties – the conscience of man and the revelation of God.

0ne instinctively feels aggrieved when mistreated or wronged by another. No one appears more abhorrent to one than one’s oppressor. One feels resentment and aversion for the way one has been treated. A true believer is one who harbours intense feelings of this nature about himself, when he goes wrong. He is alive to his own shortcomings, as normally people are to the shortcomings of others. Immediately, on the perpetration of some misdeed, he realizes with full force the consequences of his action. He knows that he has devalued himself in the sight of God and proved himself unworthy of God’s eternal blessings. So strong is the feeling of remorse that surges within him that he hates himself for what he has done. His self-scrutiny is severe and uncompromising, as is normally the case with people’s scrutiny of others.

Such people belong to God. They are the ones who have sold themselves in return for paradise with God. They will be kept away from the torment of the Fire because they kept away from evil in the world. No blame will be laid upon them in the presence of the Lord. Instead, the gates of heaven will be opened to them, and they will be allowed to enter through whichever one they please.