On the one hand Allah Himself is directly aware of every movement and thought and imagination of man. On the other hand, there are two angels assigned to each person who are recording his every activity. None of his deeds and words are left out of their records. That is, when people will be presented in the court of God, God will be informed about who has come and how. Apart from that, two witnesses will also be present to testify in that regard who will present written evidence of his activities. It is difficult for us to have an exact idea of what kind of written evidence this will be. However, seeing the facts that are unfolding in front of us today, it seems absolutely certain that in the environment in which people live and work, their voices, images and movements are imprinted on every molecule and atom of the environment. Each of these things can be reproduced in exactly the same shape and tone, so that there is not the slightest difference between the original and the fake. Allah Ta’ala says – ‘No word comes out of his mouth without an ever-ready protector present to preserve it.’ (Surah Kaf-18)
Humans are doing this to a very limited extent with the help of machines. But the angels of God are not subject to these devices, nor are they bound by these obstacles. Man’s own body and everything around him are tapes and films for them. They can accurately capture every word and image on these tapes and films in minute and minute detail, and can narrate to him in his own voice what he did on earth on the Day of Judgment, and show to his own eyes a vivid picture of all his activities. Which cannot be denied. This fact is becoming evident day by day with the advancement of technology.
Here it is also important to understand that Allah Ta’ala will not punish a person in the court of the Hereafter based only on his personal knowledge; Rather punish him by fulfilling all the prerequisites of justice. For this reason, a complete record of every word and deed of every person in the world is being created so that the evidence of all his activities can be presented on the basis of irrefutable evidence.
This is more aptly said in Surah Infitar – ‘But there are overseers appointed over you, honorable scribes who know every thing you do.’ (Verse: 10-12) This is part of the previous discussion. That is, it is said that people can deny Karma day if they want; But it will not change the real truth. The real truth is that their Lord did not leave them unbridled in this world; Rather, He has appointed a very faithful overseer over each of them. They are impartially recording all their good and bad deeds. None of their work goes unnoticed by the esteemed supervisor. If man does any work in the dark, in solitude, in a deep uninhabited forest, or in any such state that man is quite sure that it is hidden from all creation, yet it is not hidden from them. Allah has used the term ‘Kiraman Katebin’ for these guardian angels. That is, the writers who are Karim. Very respected and dignified. They have no personal love or enmity with any of them. Hence, there is no scope for recording untruthful incidents with unfair favoritism towards one and undue opposition to others. They are not traitors either. It is not possible for them to write in the ledger on their behalf by evading duty. They are also not whistleblowers. There is no question of them making false reports in favor of or against anyone about cash. They are free from these moral weaknesses. Therefore, both honest and dishonest people should be sure that each of their good deeds will be accurately recorded and no one will be charged with any bad deeds that he did not do.
Then the second quality of these angels described in this verse is – ‘They know everything you do.’ That is, their status is not like the CIDs and intelligence agencies of the world. Despite all efforts and endeavors, many things remain hidden from them. But these angels are fully aware of every word and deed of every person. They are so attached to all people, everywhere and in all situations, that they do not know that someone is inspecting their work. They can also know what a person has done with any intention. So the record they make is a complete record. There is no word outside of this record. Regarding this, it is said in the verse 49 of Surah Kahaf – ‘And on that day the deed will be placed in front of you. At that time you will see the criminals are afraid of what is written in their life book and they say, Oh our misfortune, what kind of book is this, nothing big or small has been left out here. All that they did will appear before Himself, and your Lord will not wrong anyone.’
In fact, even though Allah directly knows the actions of every human being, when He will establish a court in the Hereafter, He will punish whoever He punishes there by fully following the demands of justice and fairness. So apart from the above mentioned record, Almighty Allah will create the opportunity for human organs to speak freely on that day. In his court every criminal case filed against him will be presented with such evidence that no one will have any opportunity to say that he is a criminal. His affidavit will be presented first. The deed as well as its appendices shall testify to every matter of this deed.
Allah Ta’ala says – ‘Today I am closing their mouths, their hands will speak to Me and their feet will testify, what they have earned in this world.’ (Surah Yasin-65) Here it is said to close the mouth and in Surah Noor the mouth is said to speak freely. That is, the mouth will freely speak what it has done. Allah Ta’ala says – ‘Let them not forget the Day when their own voices and their own hands and feet will bear witness to their deeds.’ (Surah Noor-24)
Here the question arises, on the one hand Allah says – I will stop their voice and the mentioned verse of Surah Noor says that their voice will bear witness. The commentators reconcile these two statements in such a way that their ability to speak is taken away. That is, after that they will not be able to speak according to their own will.
And the testimony of the voice means, what kind of use did the wicked use them, what kind of blasphemy did they say through them, what kind of lies did they utter, how many kinds of strife did they create, what kind of words did they create mountains of division among people and sometimes through them Their voices will continue to convey the details that someone said. That is, the face will no longer be under his control. It will be fully liberated and empowered to speak spontaneously what is true. Allah Ta’ala says – ‘Later when everyone reaches it, their ears, their eyes and the skin of their bodies will testify against them about what they used to do in the world.’ (Surah Ha-Mim As Sajda-20)
Allah Ta’ala also says – ‘They will say to the skins of their bodies, why did you bear witness against us? They will reply, It is Allah who has given us the power of speech who has given the power of speech to every thing. He created you the first time. And now you are being taken back to Him. When you committed crimes in the world, you did not think that your own ears, your eyes and the skin of your body would testify against you. Rather, you thought that even Allah does not keep track of your many activities.’ (Surah Ha-Mim As Sajda: 21-22)
From this it was also learned that on that day, apart from human organs, every thing in front of which people did any work will speak. Allah Ta’ala says – ‘The earth will throw out all the burdens inside it. And people will say, what happened to it. On that day he will describe all his own conditions.’ (Surah Ziljal: 2-4) Hazrat Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) read this verse and asked, ‘Do you know what his condition is?’ The people replied, Allah and His Messenger know best. Rasulullah SAW said, ‘That is the situation, every human being on the back of the earth will bear witness to what he does. He would say, this person did this on such and such a day. This is the condition that the soil will describe.’ (Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i) In addition, this evidence is narrated by Anas RA, Abu Musa Ash’ari RA, Abu Sa’id Khudri RA and Ibn Abbas RA in various hadiths from the Prophet SAW and mentioned in Muslim, Nasa’i.
Besides, every one shall be allowed to read his own record, so that he who reads his own record shall be sufficient to judge for himself. That is, the judge will not need to hear the verdict. Allah Ta’ala says – ‘Read, your record, today you are enough to account for yourself.’ (Surah Bani Israel-14)
Author: Educationist and columnist
