Our Deeds on the Day of Judgment
(IslamWeb) By Shaikh Abdul Aziz AJ-Jlaiel

Our behavior may cause our good deeds to be rejected on the Day of Judgment.

The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever makes night prayer (throughout the whole month of Ramadhan) out of sincere faith and certainty of getting rewarded by Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."

One is truly blessed when Allah guides him to make use of his short life and use his time to prepare for the final Day of Judgment. On the other hand, when one lives for the moment and is immersed in the details of life, he forgets about the whole picture and all of his deeds are rendered meaningless, if not ultimately destructive.

Many of us, unfortunately, do not make full use of our time. If we take a look at the days we have lived, which seem to have passed in the blink of an eye, we find our life abundant with examples of activities that have a purpose other than the worship of and obedience to Allah.

We may have some instances of worship but, do we know that they have been accepted by Allah? They may have been contaminated by hypocrisy, or desire for fame and good reputation, or they may have been performed in a way that is unacceptable.

So what have we left of our good deeds? Very little indeed. It is critical that each of us stops wasting any time and watches himself and his behavior, lest the final day arrive before he has had time to properly prepare for it.

This essay will discuss the aspects that prevent one's good deeds from being accepted and meaningful on the Day of Judgment. In the chapter of 'Al-Israa', verse 19, Allah, the Almighty says, "And whoever desires the Hereafter, and strives for it with all his best and he is a believer, those, their striving shall surely be accepted with appreciation."

It can be understood from this verse that if the conditions listed are not present, one's deeds will not be accepted. The conditions of acceptance mentioned in the verse are:

    1. The desire to be prepared for the hereafter, seen in one's actions and words.

    2. Striving to attain good standing on the final day, by observing the guidelines set forth by Allah and the Prophet (PBUH).

    3. The person must be a believer, believing that there are no partners to Allah, following the lead of the prophet (PBUH), and must believe in his heart that his deeds will affect his outcome on the final Day of Judgment.

One can understand that the following would prevent one's deeds from being accepted by Allah, and thus render them meaningless on the final Day of Judgment:

     1. If a person is not a believer, and does not believe that the promises of Allah will come true, or if he believes that the Almighty has partners. His deeds will not be accepted. This is true even if he is involved in many forms of worship and virtues. This is because belief in the oneness of Allah is an underlying condition for all deeds on earth. "And surely it has been revealed to you and to those before you: if you associate (other gods with Allah), your deeds will surely fail, and you will certainly be of the losers." (Holy Qur'an 39:65).

The condition of correct belief is a critical one, for it applies to all the deeds of the person. If the person is not a believer, any thing he does will be useless. The other conditions we will discuss apply only to each deed and the circumstances in which it was done. We should search our souls and ensure and pray that we are safe from this sin, for even prophet Abraham prayed to Allah, "… and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols." (Holy Qur'an, 14:35).

     2. If the purpose of one's good deeds is to obtain certain gains on earth, they will not serve him in the hereafter. This is common when a person does good in order to obtain fame, money or position, or gain some other worldly benefits. This contaminates the deeds. "Whoever desires the life of this world and its splendor, we will pay them in full for their deeds therein without detraction." (Holy Qur'an, 11:15). Scholars have explained that if a person is avoiding sin in order to avoid punishment or other negative consequences on earth, his obedience will not serve him in the hereafter. One must also be virtuous with the purpose of preparing for the final Day of Judgment.

     3. If the person's work or deeds are against the teachings of Islam or of the Prophet (PBUH) they will not be accepted. Ibn Katheer explained that the striving referred to in verse 19 of the chapter of 'Al-Israa' must follow the way of the Prophet (PBUH) and not create foreign ways of doing things which may be religiously unacceptable.

The prophet (PBUH) said, "If you do a deed that we have not encouraged, it is not accepted." We should be wary with this condition and not waste our time with acts that are in conflict with the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH), lest they be rejected.

     4. A person should not have taken people's rights and not restored them in order for his deeds to be effective on the final Day of Judgment. "Certainly you shall die and certainly they shall die. Then on the day of Resurrection, you shall settle your disputes before your Lord." (Holy Qur'an, 39:31).

We should all check our behavior with others and make sure we have given all people their dues. We should treat others with respect and consideration if we do not wish to get paid back for their mistreatment on the final Day of Judgment. It is worth mentioning here that the closest people, such as members of the immediate family, are often those with the most unpaid dues in the hereafter, because of the frequent dealings with them and the many opportunities for conflict and disagreement.

We should take care to raise our children according to the teachings of Islam, and we should treat our parents with kindness and respect and be courteous to all people.

It can be seen that if our deeds must pass all of these tests first in order to be accepted and to serve their purpose on the final Day of Judgment, we may end up with very few good deeds left. On this difficult day, a good deed will be worth the whole world and we will be truly thankful for it.

We ask Allah to make our deeds fruitful and for the sake of Allah and according to the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). We ask Him to help us avoid offending others and abusing their rights. We ask Him to help us carry our deeds to the hereafter and finally, we are ever thankful to Allah.

[From: Al-Jumuah, Vol 12, Issue 10]

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