Chapter on the Servant's Self-Reckoning (Muhasaba) in His Actions
they do not engage in works nor undertake commerce except with insight into what has preceded them therein, and in what they buy and sell.
Chapter on the Servant's Self-Reckoning Regarding His Works
He said — may God have mercy on him — he said:
Careful examination and verification through discernment of what God — exalted and glorified — has disapproved of, and what He has loved, then applying this to the future course of one's works. The Book and the sunna (prophetic practice) have indicated this, and the scholars of the umma (community) have agreed upon it.
As for what the Book has indicated regarding this, the saying of God — exalted and glorified: «And be mindful of God, that you may prosper» [Al Imran 3:200].
And God — exalted and glorified — has informed us that when He created us, He «knows what the soul whispers to itself» [Qaf 50:16]. And the saying of God — exalted and glorified: «We have indeed created the human being, and We know what his soul whispers to him» [Qaf 50:16]. That is a warning from God — exalted and glorified — and His awareness of what is in our hearts.
And His saying: «When you go forth in the path of God, verify clearly» [Al-Nisa 4:94]. And the saying of the Most High: «And whatever you give in zakat (almsgiving), desiring the face of God» [Al-Rum 30:39]. And the description of the inner conscience of the truthful: «Those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, desiring His face» [Al-Kahf 18:28].
And: «We feed you only for the face of God; we desire from you neither recompense nor gratitude» [Al-Insan 76:9]. It was said in the commentary: We desire from you neither repayment nor thanks. And God — exalted and glorified — said: «Unquestionably, to God belongs the pure religion» [Al-Zumar 39:3]. It was said in the commentary: That which is ikhlas (sincerity) — that which nothing adulterates.
And the Most High said: «Those who spend their wealth seeking the pleasure of God», and they became certain.
Al-Hasan said: When one of them wished to give charity, he would look and deliberate.
And Al-Hasan said: "May God have mercy on a servant who paused at his intention (hamm). If it was for God, Mighty and Glorious, he carried it out."
No servant should act until he has deliberated. If it was for him, he proceeded; and if it was against him, he held back.
And he said in the hadith of Sa'd, when Salman al-Farisi counseled him, saying: "Fear God at the moment of your intention when you intend, and at the moment of your judgment when you judge."
Al-Hasan said: May God have mercy on those people—they were jurists. They knew that no action exists until it has a beginning, and likewise the believer is one who pauses.
And Muhammad ibn Ali, may God be pleased with him, said: "Indeed the believer is one who pauses, who is deliberate, who stops at his intention for the sake of God, Mighty and Glorious, and is not like one who gathers firewood at night."
The Quranic verses on this matter are many. For He described them—Mighty and Glorious—taking account of their limbs' actions and the hidden contents of their hearts through ikhlas (sincerity) to Him.
As for the Sunna that points to this: the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Actions are only by intentions (niyyat), and every person shall have only what they intended."
This was narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him. And Ibn Mas'ud said: Whoever emigrated seeking something, then it is his. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever goes out on a military expedition intending nothing but
From Umar ibn al-Khattab:
"…Whoever's emigration was to God and His Messenger, then his emigration is to God and His Messenger. And whoever's emigration was to worldly gain he seeks or a woman he wishes to marry, then his emigration is to what he emigrated toward."
that he should counsel and admonish him. He said: "When you intend a matter, reflect upon its consequence; if it is sound guidance, carry it out, and if it is
'Ubada ibn al-Samit reported from him: "…and he shall have what he intended, rationally."
And a man asked him to counsel and admonish him. He said: "When you intend a matter, reflect upon its consequence; if it is right guidance, carry it out, and if it is ruin, refrain from it." Tawus reported this.
Luqman said: The believer perceives the consequence, and so he is safe from regret. And some of the sages said: If you wish the intellect to prevail over caprice, do not hasten to satisfy desire until you examine the consequence.
For it used to be said: The lingering of regret in the heart from committing a desire is longer-lasting than the lingering of the desire itself.
And Shaddad ibn Aws reported from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: "The shrewd person is the one who holds his soul to account and works for what comes after death…"
This is muhasaba (self-reckoning).
The saying of God, Mighty and Majestic, points to this: «Woe to those who deny» [al-Mutaffifin 83:11] — meaning: those who shall be brought to account. And likewise: «Shall we indeed be held to account?» [al-Saffat 37:53] — meaning: shall we be reckoned with. And the saying of the Most High:
And likewise the report has come regarding this. The Arabs say: "As you conduct yourself, so shall you be dealt with" — meaning, that shall be reckoned for you accordingly. "Righteousness does not wear out, sin is not forgotten, and the Judge (al-dayyan) does not sleep — so be as you wish, for as you conduct yourself, so shall you be dealt with" — meaning, according to that shall it be reckoned for you.
And ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said: "Take account of yourselves before you are taken to account, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed, and prepare for the greatest presentation."
And he wrote to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī: "Take account of yourself in ease before the reckoning of hardship."
And ʿUmar said to Kaʿb: "How do we find ourselves in the Book of God, Exalted and Glorious?" Kaʿb said: "Woe to the judge of the earth from the Judge of the heaven!" So he struck him with the whip and said to him: "Only the one who takes account of himself [is saved]."
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related that to us. He said: "My father related to me, from al-Zuhrī, from Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh, that ʿUmar asked Kaʿb." And the reports concerning this are many.
This is muḥāsaba (self-reckoning) regarding the future of one's deeds, which is: careful deliberation before error, so that one perceives what harms him from what benefits him, and leaves what harms him knowingly, and acts upon what benefits him knowingly. Whoever guards against haste, and deliberates before acting, and seeks evidence through knowledge, perceives what harms him from what benefits him before undertaking the deed.
And the second muḥāsaba — regarding the past of one's deeds, and it concerns what has already been done — the Book, the Sunna, and the scholars of the community have all spoken of it.
As for what the Book has spoken of, it is the saying of the Most High: «O you who believe, be mindful of God, and let every soul look to what it has sent forth for tomorrow» [59:18]. Qatāda and Ibn Jurayj said: "What it has sent forth for tomorrow" means: for the Day of Resurrection.
And thus the scholars explained it: it is only the looking—and he did not say in this subject what has preceded—«the Resurrection» .
And God, exalted and majestic, said: «And turn to God in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you may succeed» [24:31].
So God, exalted and majestic, commanded them to turn their backs on their past deeds with regret over their sins, and with tawba (repentance) to their Lord. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Verily I seek God's forgiveness and repent to Him in a single day a hundred times."
And God, mighty and majestic, said: «Indeed, those who have taqwā (God-consciousness), when a visitation from Satan touches them, they remember, and then they are those who see» [7:201].
Mujāhid said: (a visitation from Satan) — it is anger. "They remember" — and then they are those who see.
And ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr said: The people of shirk (idolatry) — they do not see as the believers see, and they are not deterred, and faith does not restrain them. Mujāhid said: And their brethren among the devils draw them further into error.
And it is reported from ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, that he used to strike his feet— much of that was narrated to us.
Ibn Hisham, from Ja'far:
Maymun — "When night would come upon him, he would hasten [to account], saying to himself: 'What did you do today?'"
And it is narrated from Maymun ibn Mihran that he said: A servant cannot be among the God-fearing (muttaqin) until he holds himself to account more strictly than he would hold his business partner to account. (Kathir ibn Hisham related that to us, from Ya'qub, from [damaged].)
This has no meaning except in reflecting upon one's deeds, because two partners do not hold each other to account at the beginning of their partnership, but only after undertaking work that calls for examination and muhasaba (self-accounting).
Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi, from 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Majishun, from Hisham, from 'Urwa, from 'A'isha — may God be pleased with her — that Abu Bakr — may God be pleased with him — said at the point of death: "There is no one among the people dearer to me than 'Umar." Then he said: "What did I just say?" She said: "You said: 'There is no one among the people dearer to me than 'Umar.'" He said: "No. There is no one among the people more esteemed to me than 'Umar." So he reflected upon the [first] word as it stood, then replaced it with a different word.
And likewise the hadith of Abū Ṭalḥa, when the bird distracted him during his prayer, and he reflected upon his distraction, so he made his garden a charitable gift (ṣadaqa) to God, Exalted and Majestic, out of remorse, and in hope of recompense that would not be lost.
And likewise the hadith of ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām, that «he was carrying a bundle of firewood.» It was said to him: "O Abū Yūsuf, your sons and your servants are enough to spare you this." He said: "I wanted to test my heart — would it find this repugnant?"
(And likewise the man who was occupied with his garden wall until the Friday prayer passed him by, so he felt distressed and made it a charitable gift to God Most High.) — may God be pleased with ʿUthmān.
Al-Mukhtār ibn Fulful narrated from al-Ḥasan regarding the explanation of muḥāsaba (self-reckoning) concerning future deeds and past deeds. He said: The believer is one who stands over his own soul, holding it to account before God, Exalted and Majestic. The reckoning on the Day of Resurrection is lightened only for a people who held themselves to account in this world. The reckoning on the Day of Resurrection is severe only upon a people who took this matter without any self-reckoning.
Then he explained muḥāsaba and said: The believer is suddenly confronted by something that pleases him, and he says: "By God, you are indeed something that delights me, and you are indeed something I need, but far be it, far be it! There stands between me and you a barrier." This pertains to future deeds.
Then he said:
And something slips from him, and he returns to his soul and says: "What did I intend by this? By God, I have no excuse for this! By God, if God wills, I shall never return to this again." This pertains to past deeds.
And likewise the people of this world in their crafts and their works: when one of them wishes to begin a task, he considers it within himself, plans it, pictures it in his imagination, and envisions it in its final outcome — how it will be when he is finished.
If he represents in his mind what he desires of mastery and steadfastness in which he has made a beginning, until he has completed it — then the concern overtakes him out of fear (khashya) that there may have been a slip or forgetfulness on his part, such that he erred in it and fell short in its mastery. If he sees any shortcoming, he rectifies what remains of it and repairs what has been missed.
More befitting than that is that they verify before their works, and represent in their minds how [those works] will be after they have finished them — for there is no end to them, and no being free from gathering them except at their death.
Likewise, it is narrated from al-Hasan that he said: God, exalted and glorified, did not make for the believer's work a term short of death. Then he recited: «And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you» [15:99] — meaning death.
And it was said to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz: "If only you could find some leisure for us." He replied: Leisure has departed; there is no leisure except in the presence of God, exalted and glorified, Most High.
Likewise, the hired workers among the people of this world: their leisure from their works is only when they have finished them. They assess them and review them after their completion, before presenting them to the one who hired them, so that they may be as he desired and wished. Likewise are the works of God, exalted and glorified: they verify at the outset of their works, and they review them after completing them — [asking] how will they be when they are presented before their Creator? Are they as He would be pleased with regarding them? And have they completed them as they were commanded?
How far apart the two are! This is a created being who was hired by a created being for a paltry sum — turbid, mixed with sorrows — and it is inevitable that there will reach him from among them grief that assails him, or sorrow that overtakes him, or a sudden calamity, or a descending illness, or a sudden death — until the reckoning comes upon them along with all that they have done and earned, and they are held to account for it.
a mighty King promised them, upon [the completion of] their deeds, a great reward. And that which the truthful ones worked for Him—
therein no ailment befalls, nor does grief overtake it, nor sorrow therein, nor does death cut short their living, nor does He call them to account therein.
How astonishing, then, that the hereafter should be light [in importance] to the worldly person! [He should practice] deliberation before his deeds, and reflection upon his deeds after completing them—for the little, paltry amount [of this world], diminished and clouded by sorrows and sicknesses, then their discharge [from it] is completed by death. Then God follows that up against them with reckoning after death, on the Day of hardships and terrors. They shall be questioned about their deeds: how was their earning, their spending, and their withholding, and how was their obedience to their Lord—exalted and glorified—therein.
And how astonishing that the believer should not [find it] light upon himself: deliberation before his action, and reflection upon it after completing it—for the sake of the great reward, the enduring blessings, the living of permanence, and the good pleasure of the Generous King! How astonishing that would be, were it not for the following of hawā (caprice), and the scarcity of contemplation of the Most High King, and the lack of fear [khawf] of that Day.
As for what is narrated from al-Barā' ibn ʿĀzib—God, exalted and glorified, sealed His Book—he said that the last verse that was revealed from the Book of God, exalted and glorified, was: «And fear a Day in which you shall be returned to God; then every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged» [2:281].
Even if they differed regarding the last verse revealed of the Quran, in this verse there is indeed an admonition and a lesson.
And al-Ḥasan said to Thābit [al-Bunānī] during one of his illnesses: "Counsel me." He replied: "I counsel you: «…a Day in which you shall be returned to God; then every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged»—before the departure [from this life]."
a verse from Your Book: «Indeed we belong to God and to Him we shall return» [2:156]. Al-Hasan said: He said: «they are not wronged» [damaged]
And it was narrated from God Most High that He said to Moses: "O Moses, the Book has made clear to you what you are destined for, so how can eyes sleep upon this, and how can a people find the sweetness of living" — and they are the siddiqun (the truthful ones) — "were it not for those who persist in ghafla (heedlessness) and the succession of hardheartedness?" And for less than this the truthful ones were distressed. And the Book made clear to him the destiny:
«And fear a Day in which you shall be returned to God».
And the Most High said: «By your Lord, We shall surely question them all about what they used to do».
Heedlessness has veiled between us and the works of the Hereafter, and hardheartedness has struck our hearts regarding the threat of God, Mighty and Majestic. And the rayn (rust) has blotted out our inner sight regarding the reward of God, Exalted and Majestic, and His punishment, His promise, His command, and His rulings. That is because we have emptied our hearts of reflection upon the Hereafter, and reflection upon worldly life has overwhelmed them, preoccupying them with it.
And likewise God, Mighty and Majestic, said: «They forgot God, so He caused them to forget themselves». The exegetes explained it: He caused them to forget looking at it [i.e., at their own souls].
So the beginning of the affliction is the emptying of hearts from reflection and remembrance of it. From that comes sahw (absent-mindedness), then nisyan (forgetfulness), then ghafla (heedlessness), then the squandering of the command of God, Mighty and Majestic, then the evil inheritances of the rayn (rust) and the hardheartedness that veil one from the Hereafter. We seek refuge in God from the evil inheritances that lead to evil deeds.
I have prefaced this discourse to you before my response to you regarding your question about the observance of works for God, Mighty and Majestic, and the differences among people in seeking it according to their weakness and their strength, so that your breast may be opened for the response, and so that your qalb (heart) may soften and become humble to undertake the observance, and so that it may urge you toward desiring it.
I now return to you with the answer to your question concerning the ri'āya (observance) of the rights of God, exalted and glorified, and what is said about it, and the variation among people in seeking it according to their weakness and their strength, so that you may consider which state you are in, and act accordingly, God willing.
Chapter on the Variation Among People in Seeking Taqwā (God-consciousness) and in the Observance of Deeds for God Most High
What is the ri'āya (observance)?
Know that people differ in this matter across three stations, the fourth of which:
Among them is one who was raised upon good tidings [i.e., sound religious upbringing], having no youthful inclination except the slip that occurs at moments of heedlessness — a slip the like of which even prophets and the utterly truthful (ṣiddīqūn) are not immune from. Then he returns to a pure qalb (heart) that cravings do not assail, and over which pleasures of the forbidden do not prevail, and which sins do not enslave, and upon which rust does not settle, nor hardness.
So the observance of the rights of God, exalted and glorified, and the fulfillment of them in this case is easier, and the trial upon him is lighter, and the promptings of the nafs (self) against him are fewer and weaker — because his heart is pure, and God, exalted and glorified, is turning toward him, and he has a protector: the Protector does not forsake His ally, and the Beloved does not allow His beloved to be led to destruction.
"Your Lord marvels at a young man who has no youthful inclination."
That is to say: no youthful deviation.
on the path of: that God magnifies his worth in His sight and loves him.
Mahabba (love): one of its aspects is that love is magnified in proportion to obedience, and displeasure is magnified in proportion to the sin in boldness against Him.
The second aspect: and the ignorant one who considers a thing much is amazed at it, and this amazement comes from considering trifles to be much.
[damaged]
And even if some of the reciters have read: «Rather, you are amazed while they mock» [al-Saffat 37:12], it does not indicate that this is about considering something much.
And the meaning of his saying: "Your Lord is amazed at the young man who has no youthful passions" — that is: God, Exalted and Glorified, loves him, is pleased with him, and magnifies his worth in His sight.
And it is narrated in some hadith, from Shurayh, that the young man who grows up devoted to the worship of his Lord and obedience to Him...
From Mu'adh ibn Jabal, may God be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that God, Exalted and Glorified, says: "O young man who sacrifices his desires and spends his youth for My sake, you are to Me like some of My angels."
So who is purer of heart than this, or more deserving of divine aid and success (tawfiq) than one who does not commit sins upon reaching maturity, and who grows up in obedience to his Lord and worship of Him, and is accustomed to fulfilling His rights? So ri'aya (observance) —
The rights of God, Exalted and Glorious, are light upon him due to his long habit of fulfilling them splendidly, and his abandonment of inclining toward their opposites is slight, while his struggling (mukābada) and striving (mujāhada) with God, Exalted and Glorious, are prolonged — his occupation and preoccupation.
And another is one who repents after his youthful folly, and turns back to God, Glorified be He, from his ignorance, and regrets what has preceded of his sins in his days. He has been given firm resolve (ʿazm) not to return to squandering anything of his obligations, and not to repeat anything of what has preceded of his sins. Yet the nafs (the self) contends with him, pulling him back to its habits, through its desire for its pleasures. He suppresses it and wages struggle (mujāhada) against it, frightening it with the consequences of what it had been engaged in. And his enemy reminds it of what it has missed and calls it to what it had abandoned of its passions, while he warns it of the ugliness of what it had been engaged in, and magnifies upon it the favor of God, Exalted and Glorious, by His transferring it away from that which angers the Lord, Exalted and Glorious.
So he has no patron except God, Exalted and Glorious, in his struggle — and what he has set out to accomplish of the passions from which — he has turned back, as one guaranteed that if he turns in repentance to Him, obedience [will follow]. God, Exalted and Glorious, said: «And those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them to Our ways» [al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69]. And: «And those who are guided, He increases them in guidance and grants them their taqwā (God-consciousness)» [Muḥammad 47:17]. And God, Exalted and Glorious, said: «And had they done what they were exhorted to do, it would have been better for them and stronger in establishing them; and then We would have given them from Us a great reward, and We would have guided them to a straight path» [al-Nisāʾ 4:66–68]. So God, Blessed and Exalted, promised them that He would carry them upon the straight way.
And if the Generous Lord draws near to one who distances himself from Him, and shows affection to one who shows hostility toward Him, then how about one who draws near to Him? And how about one who seeks to be beloved to Him?
And this was also narrated from Abu Hurayra, who reported that he said:
"God, Exalted and Glorious, says: If you draw near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to you by a cubit. If you draw near to Me by a cubit, I draw near to you by a fathom. If you come to Me walking, I come to you running."
This refers only to the excellence of divine aid, the swiftness of response, the guidance through rectitude and divine enablement (tawfiq), and the encompassing protection ('isma).
So this repentant one does not tarry long before God, Exalted and Glorious, turns toward him with His aid, and he prevails over the caprice of his own self (nafs), and God strengthens what is weak in him, and the promptings of fear (khawf), grief, and anxiety die away within him, and He causes joys to follow one upon another within him after long sorrow, and his delights in this world become continuous. Every time he remembers what he had committed of sins, his fear surges, his anxiety overwhelms him, and his grief lengthens. But when he becomes heedless of remembrance and distracted from reflection, his self (nafs) inclines him toward some of the slips from which the righteous are not immune during their moments of heedlessness and distraction.
Then he returns to God, Exalted and Glorious, with a heart (qalb) purified of tarnish and defilement, having already weaned him from
and with truthful raja' (hope) from delusion, and He followed it with khawf (fear) from feeling secure and persisting in sin, and from His customary way. So he is one fleeing from his past sins and procrastination, seeking the mercy of his Lord, Exalted and Glorious, through his flight, until He meets him while he is safe from His punishment.
And it has come in the hadith from the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"Indeed, the servant commits a sin, and that sin enters him into Paradise." It was said, "O Messenger of God, how does his sin enter him into Paradise?" He said: "He does not cease to be fleeing from it, repenting from it, until that sin enters him into Paradise."
And it was said to Sa'id ibn Jubayr, "Who is the most devout of people?" He said: "A man who committed sins, and whenever he remembered them, he strove diligently."
And it is narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said:
"How excellent are the best of my community — those who will not be free from lapses, and their knowledge of God, Exalted and Glorious, will not leave them until they return to Him with tawba (repentance) and turning back in penitence."
The third is one who persists in his sin, settled upon his evil deeds and his forgetfulness of them, overcome by desire and weakness of khawf (fear). Along with that, he acknowledges that God, Exalted and Glorious, has a place of return in which He will resurrect him, and he does not cover himself with it, and a station in which He will hold him to account.