Call Yourself to Account before You Are Called to Account

First of all, have you ever been alone and checked and weighed what you have said or done before? Have you ever tried to list your bad deeds in much the same way as you did with your good deeds? Have you ever thought how you will be held accountable before Allaah The Almighty while you carry such a heavy load of sins? How can you yield yourself to a state that is far too dangerous?

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

• {O you who have believed, fear Allaah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allaah. Indeed, Allaah Is Acquainted with what you do. And be not like those who forgot Allaah, so He Made them forget themselves.} [Quran 59:18-19]

• {And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped...} [Quran 39:54]

‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: “Call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed, as calling yourselves to account today will make it easier for you when you are called to account tomorrow, and be adorned for the great appearance; that Day shall you be brought to Judgment, not a secret of you will be hidden.”

Quotes about Self-reckoning

1. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased with him, wrote to one of his appointed governors saying: “Call yourself to account when you are in bliss before the reckoning of that severe Day, for whoever calls himself to account when he is in bliss will win the Pleasure of Allaah and achieve happiness, and whoever allows his life and desires to occupy all his attention and cause him to be negligent will be a regretful loser.”
2. Al-Hasan, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: “The worshiper will be in a safe position as long as he keeps admonishing his own self and continuously calls his soul to account.”
3. Maymoon ibn Mihraan, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “A slave is not pious until he holds himself to account more severely than a man does with his business partner; that is why it was said: the soul is like the untrustworthy partner whom if you do not call to account, he will go away with your money.”
4. Imaam Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy upon him, narrated that Wahb said: “It is written in the wisdom of the Family of Daawood (David) that an intelligent person should not be negligent of four times; a time to supplicate his Lord, a time to hold himself to account, a time with his truthful friends who inform him of his shortcomings, and a time when he is alone with himself and its lawful desires, as this time will help him through the other times and will comfort his heart.”
5. Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “The true believer is a guardian of his own self and continuously calls his soul to account for the Sake of Allaah. The reckoning of the Day of Resurrection will only be easy for those who continuously call their souls to account in the life of this world. The reckoning of the Day of Resurrection will only be difficult for those who live the life of this world without ever examining their conscience and calling themselves to account.”
6. Ibn Abi Mulaykah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “I have met 30 companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and each one of them feared that he may be afflicted by hypocrisy and none of them said that his faith is like that of Jibreel and Meekaa’eel.”
7. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “Whoever contemplates the conditions of the companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, will find them doing many good deeds with much fear while we fall short of doing good deeds or rather are negligent about that and at the same time we feel secure (from punishment).” This is what Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said about himself and the time he lived in, so what shall we say about ourselves and the time in which we live!

https://islamstory.com/en/artical/1781/call-yourself-account