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قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

The Reckoning (al-Hisab) الْحِسَاب

In review — pending scholar verification

The accounting on the Day of Judgement — Allah's individual questioning of every soul about its deeds, words, and intentions, with the records distributed and read.

Overview

Al-Ḥisāb (Arabic: الْحِسَاب) is the accounting on the Day of Judgement — Allah's individual questioning of every responsible soul about its deeds, words, intentions, and time. The Quran calls the Day itself Yawm al-Ḥisāb ("the Day of Reckoning") in multiple verses (Surah Sad 38:16, 38:26, 38:53; Surah Ghafir 40:27). Each soul receives its record (in the right hand for the felicitous, in the left or behind the back for the wretched), is questioned, and its deeds are weighed on the Mizan.

Quranic references

  • Surah An-Naba 78:27 — "Indeed they did not expect a reckoning."
  • Surah Sad 38:16, 38:26, 38:53 — the Day of Reckoning.
  • Surah Ghafir 40:27 — "I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning."
  • Surah Al-Inshiqaq 84:7–12 — those given their record in the right or left hand.
  • Surah Al-Haqqah 69:19–37 — the parable of the records.
  • Surah Al-Anʿam 6:62 — "And He is the swiftest of accountants."
  • Surah Al-Ghashiyah 88:25–26 — "Indeed to Us is their return; then upon Us is their account."

Hadith

ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "There is none of you but Allah will speak to him without an interpreter between them. He will look to his right and see only his deeds; he will look to his left and see only his deeds; he will look in front and see only the Fire facing him. So protect yourselves from the Fire, even with half a date." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1413; Sahih Muslim 1016
ʿĀʾishah reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever is questioned in detail in the Reckoning is destroyed." She asked: "Did Allah not say: As for him who is given his record in his right hand, he will be reckoned with an easy reckoning?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "That is only the presentation, not the detailed reckoning." — Sahih al-Bukhari 6536; Sahih Muslim 2876

Significance

The Reckoning is the precise rebuttal of the polytheist doubt cited in Surah An-Naba 78:27 ("Indeed they did not expect a reckoning"). Belief in al-Ḥisāb shapes the believer's daily ethical attentiveness — every word, glance, intention, and minute is recorded. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb's famous saying preserves the principle: "Take account of yourselves before you are called to account."

See also

References

  1. The Quran (Sahih International translation): Surahs Al-Anʿam 6:62; Sad 38:16, 38:26, 38:53; Ghafir 40:27; An-Naba 78:27; Al-Inshiqaq 84:7–12; Al-Haqqah 69:19–37; Al-Ghashiyah 88:25–26.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 1413, 6536; Sahih Muslim 1016, 2876.
  3. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, on Surah Al-Inshiqaq and Al-Haqqah.
  4. al-Qurṭubī, at-Tadhkirah, sections on the Reckoning.
  5. Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar, al-Qiyāmah al-Kubrā, sections on al-Ḥisāb.