Mercy and the Day of Judgment: To Whom Do We Submit?

16 August 2021

Remembering Mercy While Forgetting Accountability

Question: While asking for Allah’s mercy, do we also remember that we will one day be held accountable?

In Al-Fatihah, after Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, we are reminded of the Master of the Day of Judgment. This sequence brings us face to face with two important truths.

Life is surrounded by mercy. But life has not been left without purpose or restraint.

One day we will face accountability for our choices, our injustices, and our right actions. The opportunities we have today will not be an absolute power that day.

Pharaoh’s Permission and the Stance Toward Truth

In the story of Prophet Moses, the magicians’ belief in the Lord of the worlds provokes Pharaoh’s reaction. Pharaoh objects to their believing without obtaining his permission.

This scene prompts us to consider: Can a person regard their own authority over others’ consciences as unlimited?

Question: Whom are we trying to please by remaining silent despite knowing what is right?

An employer, spouse, family, surroundings, or money… These may be part of our lives. But it matters whose word we place above every standard.

Submission to Allah means not turning every expectation people have of us into an unlimited command.

Religion Appears in Our Way of Life

People may say, “I believe.” Yet when we look at their earnings, transactions, family relationships, and decisions, a different order may emerge.

Religion is not merely a verbal identity. It also concerns how we live.

Considering unjust earnings normal, treating lies as insignificant, and disregarding someone else’s rights widen this separation.

Question: Is the answer we give when asked who our Lord is consistent with what we do throughout the day?

Entering Rightly and Leaving Rightly

The prayer asking for a truthful entrance and a truthful exit in Surah Al-Isra is recalled. This prayer is a powerful measure for reflecting on how we begin and finish our work.

It is also possible to begin a task honestly and later turn to deception. The ending matters as much as the beginning.

That is why seeking help is not something to do only when we are in difficulty. We also ask Allah for support in being able to choose what is right.

Before the Time for Choosing Ends

Some questions we postpone as much as we wish today cannot be postponed on the Day of Judgment. Wealth, position, and connections cannot free a person from responsibility for their own choices that day.

Question: Which behavior that we can change today are we leaving until tomorrow?

May mercy protect us from despair, and awareness of accountability from irresponsibility.

To whom we submit appears most clearly in our choices.