What is meant by the Reckoning and Requital is that Allah, The Most Exalted, will make His slaves (all people) stand before Him on the Day of Judgment, and He will remind them of the deeds that they did, the words that they said, the faith or disbelief that they followed in this world, whether they followed the Straight Path (Islam) or deviated from it, whether they were obedient or disobedient. He will tell them what rewards or punishments they deserve, and the slaves will be given their books (records of their deeds) in their right hands if they were righteous and in their left hands if they were evil.
The Reckoning includes what Allah will Say to His slaves, what they will say to Him, the proof and evidence that will be established against them, the testimony of the witnesses and the weighing of their deeds.
Some of the Reckoning will be difficult and some will be easy; some of it will involve honoring and some will involve rebuking; some will involve generosity and forgiveness, and the One Who is in charge of that is Allah, The Most Generous.
The Scene of the Reckoning
Our Lord has described for us the scene of the Reckoning and Requital on the Day of Reckoning in many Quranic verses, for instance Allah Says (what means): {And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord and the record [of deeds] will be placed, and the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought, and it will be judged between them in truth, and they will not be wronged.} [Quran 39: 69]
Knowing that the Judge and Reckoner on that Day is The Most Wise and Most Just, The Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, is sufficient explanation of how great, majestic and frightening that scene will be. The shining referred to in the verse, the meaning of which is quoted above, will happen when the Majestic Sovereign (Allah) comes to pass judgment.
Allah Says (what means): {Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them in the covers of the clouds and the angels? [Then] the case would be already judged. And to Allah return all matters [for decision].} [Quran 2: 210]
Allah knows best the precise nature of this coming; we believe in it and know that it is true, and we do not take it for anything other than face value; we do not twist its meaning or reject it. The verse also states that the angels will come. This is a majestic scene in which the angels of the Most Merciful will bring the books of deeds in which are recorded all the deeds, actions and words of mankind, to be used as evidence against His Slaves. This is the book which leaves neither a small thing nor a big thing, but has recorded it with numbers. Allah Says (what means): {And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open] and you will see the criminals (polytheists, sinners) fearful of that within it, and they will say, “Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?” And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one.} [Quran 18: 49]
The Messengers, may Allah exalt their mention, will be brought forth in the arena of judgment and reckoning, and will be asked about the matter with which Allah entrusted them; namely the conveying of the Revelation of Allah to those to whom they were sent. And they will testify against their people concerning what they know about them.
On that great Day, the witnesses will stand up and testify against the people, speaking of what they did. These witnesses are the angels who used to record everything that a person did. The Prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, and scholars may Allah have mercy upon them will also testify against people, as will the earth, the sky, nights and days, etc.
The people will be brought in rows before Allah to bring them to account, as Allah Says (what means): {And they will be set before your Lord in [lines as] rows...} [Quran 18: 48]
The sinners among them will be brought forth; among them are those who rejected the Messengers, may Allah exalt their mention, and rebelled against their Lord, and were arrogant in the earth. They will be bound in fetters, wearing garments of pitch, as in the verse (which means): {And you (O Muhammad) will see the criminals (disbelievers, polytheists] that Day bound together in fetters. Their garments will be of liquid pitch, and fire will cover their faces. That Allah may requite each person according to what he has earned. Truly, Allah is Swift at reckoning.} [Quran 14: 49-51]
Because of the intensity of the horrors, the nations will be brought to their knees when the people are called for the reckoning, due to the enormity of what they are witnessing and the state they are in. Allah Says (what means): {And you (O Muhammad) will see each nation humbled to their knees [kneeling], each nation will be called to its Record [of deeds]. This Day you shall be recompensed for what you used to do.} [Quran 45: 28]
This is a great and majestic scene indeed. We ask Allah to save us by His Grace, Bounty and Generosity.
In part one of this article, the definition of Reckoning and an introductory explanation of its scene were discussed. In this part, an important question is to be answered as regards whether or not the disbelievers will be questioned on the Day of Judgment.
Will the disbelievers be questioned and why?
The Muslim scholars may Allah have mercy upon them differed as to whether the disbelievers will be brought to account and questioned on the Day of Judgment or that they will be ordered straight away to go to Hell without any questioning, because their deeds are all false and worthless, so there is no point in questioning them. If they are to be brought to account and questioned, what is the point of that reckoning and questioning?
Ibn Taymiyyah may Allah have mercy upon him said: "This issue was a subject of disagreement among the later scholars and the scholars of the Hanbali School of jurisprudence [i.e. the School of Ahmad Ibn Hambal] and others may Allah have mercy upon them. Among those who said that they (disbelievers) would not be brought to account were Abu Bakr ‘Abdul-‘Azeez, Abul-Hassan At-Tameemi, Al-Qaadhi Abu Ya’la and others may Allah have mercy upon them. Among those who said that they would be brought to account were Abu Hafs Al-Barmaki among the scholars of the Hanbali School of jurisprudence and Abu-Sulaymaan Ad-Dimashqi and Abu Taalib may Allah have mercy upon them."
The correct view is that the disbelievers will be brought to account and questioned, and their deeds will be weighed in the Scales. This is indicated by many Quranic verses; for instance Allah Says (what means): #{And [warn of] the Day He will call them and say, "Where are My 'partners' which you used to claim?}## [Quran 28: 62]
Allah also Says (what means): #"And [mention] the Day He will call them and say, "What did you answer the Messengers?"## [Quran 28: 65]
There is no doubt that these verses are speaking of the disbelievers and the polytheists.
1 - With regard to why they will be brought to account and their deeds will be weighed in the Scales even though their deeds are worthless and will be rejected, then this is for a number of reasons:
A - To establish evidence against them, and to make manifest Allah's justice towards them. There is none to whom justification of actions is dearer than Allah. He is the One Who is absolutely Just. Hence He will question them and bring them to account, and will examine their records which contain their deeds. The Balance will demonstrate how great their bad deeds are and how evil their actions are. Allah, The Most Exalted, Says (what means): #{And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight — of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as Reckoners.}## [Quran 21: 47]
Al-Qurtubi may Allah have mercy upon him said in At-Taareekh: "The Creator will question His Creatures in this world and in the Hereafter, in order to establish evidence and demonstrate His Wisdom."
B - Allah will bring them to account in order to rebuke them. Ibn Taymiyyah may Allah have mercy upon him said: "The Reckoning may mean showing the disbelievers their deeds and rebuking them accordingly, or it may mean weighing their good deeds against their bad deeds. If the first meaning is intended, then undoubtedly they will be brought to account in this sense. If the second meaning is intended, implying that the disbelievers may have good deeds to their credit for which they may deserve Paradise, then this is obviously mistaken."
This rebuke is clearly mentioned in many texts, such as the verse (which means): #{If you could but see when they (disbelievers) will be made to stand before their Lord. He will say, 'Is this not the truth?' They will say, 'Yes, by our Lord.' He will [then] say, 'So taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve.}## [Quran 6: 30]
Ibn Katheer may Allah have mercy upon him said: "As for the disbelievers, their deeds will be weighed even though they have no hasanaat (good deeds) which can benefit them and counterbalance their disbelief, in order to demonstrate that they are doomed and to expose them before all of creation."
C - The disbelievers are obliged to follow the basic principles of the Sharee'ah (Islamic Law) just as they are obliged to follow its minor issues. They will be questioned about their shortcomings and transgressions in that regard. Al-Qurtubi may Allah have mercy upon him said: "In the Quran there is evidence that the minor issues of the Sharee'ah are addressed to them and they will be questioned about them, and be brought to account for that, and they will be punished for not doing that, because Allah Says (what means): #{… And woe to those who associate others with Allah —Those who do not give Zakah …}## [Quran 41: 6-7]
D - The disbelievers vary in the degree of their disbelief and sin, and they will be punished in Hell according to their degree of their sins. The Hellfire is composed of levels, one beneath another, just as Paradise is composed of degrees, one above another. The more intense a person's disbelief and misguidance were, the more severe will be his torment and the lowest their level will be.
2 - Because it is reported that the Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) said: "Allah does not deal unjustly with the believer with regard to his good deeds. He gives him things in return for it in this world (according to one narration, he rewards him for it with provision in this world), and will reward him for it in the Hereafter. But as for the disbeliever, he will be granted provision by virtue of his good deeds that he did for the sake of Allah in this world, so that when he reaches the Hereafter he will have no record of good deeds for which he might be rewarded." [Muslim and Ahmad]
