"Account yourselves before you are taken to account!" `Umar ibn al-Khattaab [Az-Zuhd of Ibn-ul-Mubaarak]
"On that day every person will be confronted with all the good he has done, and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between him and his evil deeds. And Allah warns you against Himself (His Punishment) and Allaah is full of Kindnessto the (His) slaves." [Soorat Aale-'Imraan 3:30 ]
Ibn Katheer explain the aforementioned aayah: "On the Day of Judgment all his good and evil deeds will confront him, as Allaah, the Most High, says, 'On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward (of his evil or good deeds), and what he left behind (of his good or evil traditions).' " [Tafseer Ibn Katheer 1/338]
One may feel that after doing an action he will never see it again. Especially, if it is an internal or hidden deed, like ar-riyaa, jealousy, hatred for the believers, desiring the evil, etc.
"Knows he not that when the contents of the graves are brought out and poured forth. And that which is in the breast shall be made known." [Soorat Al-'Adiyaat 100:9,10]
"That which was hidden in themselves will be made apparent" [Tafseer Ibn Katheer 4/545] such that, "whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it." [Soorat Az-Zalzalah 99:7,8]
A person's day is filled with actions. Actions are done and forgotten about. Forget them we may, but it is them we will have to answer about on that Day. Allaah says, "That He may ask the truthful about their truth." [Soorat Al-Ahzaab 33:8] If Allaah, the Most High, will question and account the truthful then how can the rest of mankind be exempt?
Righteous actions are extremely valuable, for whosoever's good deeds are more than his evil deeds and tips the scale by an atom's weight will enter into Jannah by Allaah's Mercy
Therefore, a believer must focus on his actions, and focusing of ones actions entails the following:
Preperation The slave of Allaah needs to prepare and make his soul ready for the day ahead. After Salaatul-Fajar he should make himself realize that the day has many hours. He should hope to fill every hour with that which will benefit his soul. He should hope to fill every hour with that which will benefit his soul. He should try to grasp on to the treasures of righteousness that the day holds for him.
He should hope to keep every hour free from that which will harm his soul. He should try to avoid the evil that the day has in store for him.
So, he should advise his soul to be a soul that strives to obey Allaah, keeps away from laziness, does not waste time, and takes a maximum benefit of the day. After advising his soul he should focus on:
Self-Examination The examination of the soul occurs at three instances: before the action, during the action, and after the action.
Before the Action The slave of Allaah must check his intentions before the action; is it only for Allaah or is it for something or someone else ? If it is for other than Allaah then he must know that it is something evil. It then necessitates that he busy himself in purifying his intention and making it only for Allaah, Al-Wahid.
He must also make sure that the act of worship will be done in the manner performed by the messenger of Allaah as understood and implemented by the Sahaaba (his companions).
During the Action The slave of Allaah must be aware of Shaytaan and his whispering during the action. He must check to make sure that his intentions are continuously wholly for Allaah. He must strive to perfect his actions as much as possible.
After the Action "O you who believer! Fear Allaah and keep you duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the tomorrow, And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is All-Aware of what you do." [Soorat Al-Hashr 59:18]
Discipline After taking oneself into account and realizing that one is in loss, one should discipline oneself by doing good deeds hoping that the good deeds will wipe out the evil deeds.
