The 365 · Verses · Day 278 · Justice
Qur'an 3:30
يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُّحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِن سُوٓءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُۥٓ أَمَدًۢا بَعِيدًا ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسَهُۥ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ رَءُوفٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ
“On the Day when every soul finds all the good it has done present before it, it will wish all the bad it has done to be far, far away. God warns you to beware of Him, but God is compassionate towards His servants. (Quran 3:30)”
Svenska: På Domens dag skall varje själ ha framför sig allt det goda hon gjort, men inför det onda hon gjort skall hon önska att en lång strecka skiljde henne från det. (Koranen 3:30)
A reflection to carry
Allah closed the Eschatological-Accountability cluster with the most vivid image. 'Yawma tajidu kullu nafsin mā ʿamilat min khayrin muḥḍaran.' The Day every soul will FIND what it did of good PRESENT before it. The good is brought up; it is shown; it is recognized as the soul's own. And 'wa mā ʿamilat min sūʾin, tawaddu law anna baynahā wa baynahu amādan baʿīdan.' And what it did of evil, it will wish there was a vast distance between itself and the deed. Both halves are presented. The good with relief; the evil with regret. And Allah closed with the most tender note: 'wa yuḥadhdhirukum Allāhu nafsah; wa Allāhu raʾfūn bi-l-ʿibād.' Allah warns you of Himself; and Allah is most kind to His slaves. The warning is mercy. He warns you NOW so you can adjust BEFORE the Day. Ya akhī, ya ukhtī, this is the closing verse of the cluster. Look at what you are sending. The good deeds will arrive present and recognizable. The evil deeds will also arrive present and recognizable, except you will wish them away. The wish does nothing; the only acting time is now.
Read the longer reflection
Yā Rabb, You closed the cluster with the most cinematic verse. The Day every soul will FIND what it did. The good will be PRESENT before it. The evil will be PRESENT before it. The soul will wish the evil far away; the wish will do nothing. And You closed with the most tender mercy: 'wa Allāhu raʾfūn bi-l-ʿibād.' Allah is most kind to His slaves. The warning itself is the kindness. You warn me NOW so I can adjust BEFORE the Day. Forgive me, ya Allāh, for the evil I have done that, on the Day, I will wish far from me. The wishing will not work then. The acting time is now. Help me identify it. Help me repent specifically. Help me erase what can be erased through tawbah. And help me increase the good I am sending so the right column on the Day outweighs the wrong one. And ya Rabb, on the Day every soul finds its deeds present, let me find mine MORE than I expected (by Your faḍl), and let the evil I find be the evil You have not yet erased by Your forgiveness. And let the wishing be the wishing for MORE good, not for distance from the bad. Close this cluster, ya Allāh, in my chest. The audit-discipline of 59:18 (looking now). The deposit-vocabulary of 2:110 and 73:20 (every deed forward-stored, improved, multiplied). The portfolio-criteria of 2:177 (integrated birr). And the Day-arrival of 3:30 (every deed present, every wish either reward or regret). Live my remaining days as one continuous audit-and-adjustment toward Your faḍl. Āmīn ya Raʾf bi-l-ʿIbād.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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