(18) Self Examination and its Role in Building a Righteous Muslim
There are five points to discuss in this regard:
A-The importance of self examination
B- Meaning of self examination
C- .Methods of self examination
D- The self examination is a Manner of the Qur’an
E- Real stories of self examination.
A- The importance of self examination
At the end of each year, self examination is a method of Islamic Manners to salvage our souls, to purify them, and straighten them. The Muslims will recall their mistakes and sins, times of sickness and healthiness. Muslims will correct and guide themselves to the straight path and avoid self destructive ways.
B- Meaning of self examination
Muslims must hold themselves accountable to all their moves and actions toward worship, towards themselves, their families, and society. This way they will ensure that their sins and disobedience do not reach a level of hardened hearts and corrupted souls. Judging and self examination is a matter of earthly life, just as business owners count their gains and losses at the end of each day, month, or year. The alert Muslims will review their actions in life in such a way that their budget is the Islamic belief, their gains are good deeds, and their profit are rearwards from Allah (SWT).
C- Methods of self examination
Alert Muslims will demand themselves to review and correct all their acts at the end of day. This is important, as Muslims must straighten themselves before Allah (SWT) judges them on the day of Judgment.
Muslims must examine any behavior and deeds no matter how small or big and then put everything in perspective. Allah (SWT) says: “Certainly, Allâh is Ever a Careful Account Taker of all things” (Al-Nisa’, 86).
D- Self examination is a Manner of the Qur’an
The Qur’an mentions judgment and examination in many verses, such as: Allah (SWT) says: “And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And Sufficient are We as Reckoners” (Al-Anbiya, 47).
Allah (SWT) also says: “On the Day when Allâh will resurrect them all together (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) and inform them of what they did. Allâh has kept account of it, while they have forgotten it. And Allâh is Witness over all things” (Al-Mujadila, 6).
Allah (SWT) also says: “So 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” (Al-Zalzalah, 7-8).
The wise Muslim will understand with true faith that Allah (SWT) monitors him and will hold him accountable for every thought and action. Performing self examination about our behavior is the best way to avoid danger on the Day of Judgment.
E- Real stories of self examination from our righteous predecessors
- a) Omar Ben Khatab (R.A) said: “Judge and examine yourself before judging others, evaluate your deeds before they get you back”. Also, he said: “The Muslim can’t be pious until he judges and corrects himself over judging others”. At night, Omar (R.A) used to tap his foot with a stick and ask himself: “What did I do today?”
- b) Alahnaf Iben-Qays (R.A) used to put his finger over the flame of a candle until he felt the burning pain and then questioned himself: “What made you do that thing on that day?”
- c) Ayshaa (R.A.) said: “Abu Baker said to her before he died, ‘There is nobody closer to my heart than Omar’. Then he asked her, ‘What did I say?’ She repeated back his sentence. So he reviewed himself and reworded his sentence: ‘There is nobody dearest to me than Omar’”.
- d) Alhasan Al-Basri (R.A) said: “The pious believer must control himself by self examination”. On the Day of Judgment, Allah (SWT) will be easy on Muslims who continually evaluate and correct their actions in life. But, Allah (SWT) will be meticulously judging Muslims who did not do enough self examination.
- e) When Iben Assummah reached 60 years old, he evaluated his past life by calculating the number of days he lived and found that he lived 21,500 days. That number shocked him and he shouted: “What a disappointment, I am going to meet Allah (SWT) carrying 21,500 sins, how about 10,000 sins per day?” His soul shivered from the fear of Allah (SWT) to such a degree that he fainted and passed away. And what a magnificent run to high heaven.
An interesting scenario is if a person puts one gravel in his house for each sin he committed, then his house will be filled up in a short time. However, human beings tend to ignore their sins,
Allah (SWT) said: “Allâh has kept account of it, while they have forgotten it. And Allâh is Witness over all things” (Al-Mujadila, 6).
We invoke Allah (SWT) to lighten our punishment on the Day of Judgment.
Written by: Dr. Ahmed Shaheen
Professor in Al-Azhar University
And Islamic American University
Translated by: Abdullah Zettili
