Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 9

(Ayah 9){وَ مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِيْنُهٗ ……:} According to most commentators, this refers to the disbelievers, because the Qur’an has declared them as {’’ خَسِرُوْۤا اَنْفُسَهُمْ ‘‘}. Sinful believers will eventually, in one way or another, reach the mercy of Allah Almighty. (Kabir) See also the commentary of Surah Haqqah (verses 25 to 29). It is narrated from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A man from my Ummah will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection before everyone, and his ninety-nine records of deeds will be spread out, and each of them will be as long as the eye can see. Then the Lord will say to him: ‘Do you deny any of these deeds?’ He will reply: ‘No.’ Then the Lord will say: ‘You have one good deed with Us, and today you will not be wronged in any way.’ Then a slip (piece of paper) will be brought on which {’’ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسُوْلُهُ ‘‘} will be written. He will say: ‘What good is this slip compared to all these records?’ It will be said: ‘You will not be wronged (so be patient).’ Then all the records will be placed on one side of the scale and this slip on the other side, and the records will become light and the slip will become heavy, and nothing is heavier than the name of Allah.” [ ترمذی، الإیمان، باب ما جاء فیمن یموت…… : ۲۶۳۹۔ ابن ماجہ : ۴۳۰۰۔ سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : ۱؍۲۶۱ ] The scholars, considering other verses and hadiths, have interpreted this person as one who, after reciting the kalimah, did not get the opportunity to perform deeds, i.e., one who was granted the ability to repent from disbelief and polytheism and accept Islam at the last moment, and with the acceptance of Islam all his sins were forgiven, or a wrongdoer who was granted the ability to repent at the last moment.

9. 1. In these verses, the issue of the weighing of deeds is mentioned, which will take place on the Day of Resurrection, as stated in several places in the Noble Quran and also in the hadiths. This means that deeds will be weighed in the balance. Whoever's scale of good deeds is heavy will be successful, and whoever's scale of evil deeds is heavy will be unsuccessful. How will these deeds be weighed when they are attributes, meaning they have no apparent existence or body? Regarding this, one opinion is that Allah Almighty will transform them into bodies on the Day of Resurrection and they will have weight. The second opinion is that the scrolls and registers in which a person's deeds are recorded will be weighed. The third opinion is that the doer himself will be weighed. Each of the three schools has authentic hadiths and traditions in support of their view, so Imam Ibn Kathir states that all three possibilities can be correct; sometimes the deeds, sometimes the scrolls, and sometimes the doer himself may be weighed (for evidence, see Tafsir Ibn Kathir). In any case, the issue of the balance and the weighing of deeds is established from the Quran and hadith. Its denial or interpretation is misguidance. And in the present era, there is no room left for its denial, as even weightless things are now being weighed.

9. And those whose scales are light [7]—they are the ones who have lost themselves, because they used to wrongfully deny Our signs.

[7]
How Are Deeds Weighed with Truth?

The words of the verse are ﴿وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَيِٕذِۨ الْحَقُّ﴾ [الاعراف: 8] (that is, on that day, the weighing will be only with truth or reality). That is, the more reality there is in a deed, the weightier that deed will be. For example, if a person performs his prayer with utmost sincerity, in obedience to Allah’s command, seeking His pleasure, and with humility and devotion, then this act of his will certainly be much weightier than the prayer of the person who performs his prayer half-heartedly, lazily, and while being absorbed in worldly thoughts. And the deed in which there is no share of truth at all will not be weighed at all, as mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf, verse 105, that “those who disbelieved in the signs of their Lord, for them We will not establish any weighing scale.” And in Surah Al-Furqan, verse 23, it is said, “We will turn to the deeds they did and make them scattered dust.” From these verses, it is understood that the scale of justice will be established only for those who had faith, and whose deeds are a mixture of good and bad, weighty and light. For the disbelievers, there will be no need to establish such a scale. And the second meaning of these words is that deeds will be weighed with truth, that is, how much reality was there in such-and-such person’s such-and-such deed. This decision will also be made with utmost justice. From the clear statements of the Book and Sunnah, it is known that the scale (balance) for deeds will be just like the one we use, it will have two pans: in one, good deeds will be placed, and in the other, bad deeds. This scale will also have a tongue; by tongue is meant the needle fixed in the middle of the upper rod of the scale, which indicates even the slightest difference. And these things have been considered sufficient for our understanding; as for its true nature, Allah knows best. Some scholars say that in this world, deeds are in the form of attributes, but on that day, deeds will be given physical form, and the more truth there is in a deed, the bigger and weightier its physical form will be, and then they will be weighed in that scale. And Allah knows best what is correct.