In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Someone asked me, "Who will be present on Judgment Day when the book of a person's life is read back to him?" The answer is: all of mankind, all children of Adam. A person may be running away, hiding himself while committing sins and showing so many other weaknesses. When he is doing things behind closed doors here and there, he is not thinking that Allah is watching, not realizing what he did wrong, and not asking forgiveness repeatedly until he is forgiven.
Our daily activities will come in front of us and all people in the judgment place, page by page. Everybody is going to know us. We are going to know everyone too. We will remember everyone from the Day of Promises _ a time before the creation of the world when all souls learned who is creature and who is Creator. You will say, "I was there. I was standing in this position. I have seen this person, that one, that one, that one." We will recognize each other. "Oh, I lost touch with that one for some time; but now we know each other here in the judgment place. Let's see how this one did in the test of the world."
Everything is going to come out. Allah says, "Your body parts, they will speak against you. Make sure you don't use them in the wrong way. Because they will be witness against you." You are going to deny your sins, and your hand is going to say, "No. He made me to steal this thing with this hand." Your hand is going to speak against you!
There are other strong witnesses: two angels standing with you, keeping the accounts, not missing anything _ one on the right recording your good deeds, one on the left tracking your sins. When you do something wrong, the left angel asks, "This one just committed a sin. Should I record it in his book?" The angel on the right says, "No. Don't write it yet. Wait." In each of the next six hours, the left angel is asking, giving you a chance to repent and ask forgiveness before he is permitted to write.
Today's people have no shame, and they are not shy. They do everything openly. They say, "I don't care. I have no fear." It's not a matter of being afraid or not. A wrong action should be hidden, not announced. You shouldn't have done it, but if you did, cover it, be discreet. Turn to Allah, saying, "Oh, my Lord, you are Al-Satar (the Coverer). You cover our mistakes. I am asking you to cover my mistakes. Close my mistakes now until Judgment Day and beyond that. Never open it for me."
When you ask to be covered, ask forgiveness with sincerity, make strong intention not to go back to wrongdoing, and you are working on it, then you will find that Allah may change your book. He removes the sin. It disappears. In the Judgment Day when they put your book in front of you, only good things will be shown for everyone to see. Allah is saying, "We may change your bad actions into good actions," changing the wrong things you did, because of your good behavior and your good manner and because you are watching correctly after making mistakes.
Allah is making you forget about your sinful past if you understand that you did wrong, and you turn back and ask forgiveness. You shouldn't tell others what you did. For both your good deeds and the bad deeds, let Allah and his prophet and his angels be witnesses, no one else. You may do something down the road that is pleasing Allah and he will forgive you; but if you disclose to someone, that person is going to come forward in the Judgment Day saying, "This one did this sin. I am witnessing." Maybe that one is not going to be forgiven for the things that he did, and because you made him witness to you, you will be punished along with him.
Allah is saying that when your book is full with mistakes, and you do something that pleases him, you may find Allah changing all those wrong actions into a good one. Allah creates reasons and opportunities to forgive his creatures. He may reward you abundantly, wiping out many sins because of one good action. If in all your lifetime, one time you please Allah, that may be enough for you. You will find the inner peace that is for you, which is enough to show you that Allah has already forgiven you. Teaching people this is the job of every prophet in every religion.
Sheykh Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi is a Sunni Muslim and a Nakashibandi sheykh. He leads a sufi community in Sidney Center.
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