Your Record of Deeds - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem
By Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem | 2026-07-06T19:00:19.45998+00:00 | Topic: Hereafter
Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah
Amma ba'd: Indeed the most truthful of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ, and the worst of matters are newly-invented ones, and every newly-invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
Everything Is Being Recorded
Whatever we are doing in this life, it is being recorded, and we will be held accountable before Allah on the Day of Judgment with regards to whatever is recorded, whatever is written. And Allah has revealed a number of ayat in the Quran to confirm that everything that we are doing in this life is being recorded — every single action, every single statement, whatever we do in terms of good or bad, it is being recorded.
Allah says in Surah Yasin:
"We will resurrect the dead ones on the Day of Resurrection, وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا — and We are writing whatever they are sending forth, وَآثَارَهُمْ — and We are writing also whatever you are leaving behind." After you leave this dunya, whatever you have left behind, it is also being recorded.
Allah says in Surah al-Zukhruf that He has His messengers — referring to the angels — those angels who are appointed to write. He says our messengers are with them all the time, writing their deeds, their actions.
In Surah Qaf, Allah says:
A person does not utter a single word except that he has a watcher and a writer who records — and he is ready to record whatever you utter and whatever you do. Every single action, every single statement is being written down.
In another ayah, Allah says in Surah al-Naba:
Everything We have recorded in the Book. And the word أَحْصَيْنَا means it is being recorded in number — how many times you said a word, how many times you have done certain actions, the numbers are being recorded as well. Everything is being recorded.
The Record of Deeds Presented on the Day of Judgment
Why? Because on that Day everything will be presented, as Allah says in Surah al-Isra:
For every single human being We have tied his deed — his record of deeds — around his neck. Meaning everything is being recorded. And on that Day We will bring forth a wide-open book before him, and We will say to him: "Read your own book. Today you are sufficient to hold yourself to account" — so that you cannot deny anything.
Allah says in Surah al-Mujadilah:
On that Day Allah will raise and resurrect people and He will inform them of whatever they have done in this life. Allah has recorded everything, but people have forgotten many things — you have done but you have forgotten — but Allah, through His angels, has recorded everything.
And Allah also says in Surah al-Jathiyah:
Every single nation will be called towards their record, and it will be said to them: "This day you are going to be recompensed for whatever you have done in the past. This is our record, this is our book that speaks about you with truth — We were writing everything that you were doing in the dunya, in the previous life." Everything is being recorded.
The People of the Right Hand and the Left Hand
When a person will receive his record, people on the Day of Judgment will be divided into mainly two categories that are known in the terms of the Quran as Ashab al-Yamin and Ashab al-Shimal — Ashab al-Maymana and Ashab al-Mash'ama — the people of the right hand and the people of the left hand. And people are given that title — right hand and left hand — because of what? Because of the record they will receive. Some of them will be receiving their record in their right hand, and some others will be receiving their records in their left hand.
Whoever receives his record in his right hand, Allah says in Surah al-Haqqah:
Whoever is given his record in his right hand, he will shout out and say: "O people, come towards me — read my book! I spent the life of the dunya bearing in mind that I will encounter my reckoning on this Day" — so today he has received his record in his right hand, and that will be sufficient for him to be happy and to be pleased.
As for the one who receives his record in his left hand, Allah says:
He will say: "Woe to me! If only I had not received my record — I don't want to read it! I wish I had not received my record. In the life of the dunya I forgot the reckoning and the judgment of this Day."
A Reminder for the Youth — Accountability Begins at Puberty
This is something that we need to bear in mind all the time as Muslims, because this is an essential part of our iman — our belief in the Last Day — that we remember all the time that whatever we say, whatever we do, is being recorded; whether it is truth, whether it is lying. If you say something good, it is being recorded. If you say something bad, it is being recorded. Allah says:
We have appointed watchers upon you — observers upon you — noble writers. They know whatever you do. Whatever you do, it is being recorded.
The scholars have explained these ayat by saying that every single action for which you are going to be rewarded or punished, and every single statement for which you are going to be rewarded or punished, is being recorded — it is being written down, it is being noted. And we need to understand that this means that if you neglect some of the obligations that Allah has obliged you with, it is being recorded. It is not only the actions that you do that are being recorded — the actions that you are obliged and required to do, but you neglect and you don't do, they are also being recorded.
For example: the time for Salah comes — the Zuhr time has started and has ended — and you have not offered the Salah. It is being recorded. It is being recorded in your record that the time for Zuhr Salah had come on this particular day, in this month, in that week, in that year — but the person neglected the Salah and he did not offer it. This is, unfortunately, something that we tend to forget — we are deceived by Shaytan.
And especially since we have a lot of youth today, in today's khutbah I would like to particularly address the youth: you are in the age of accountability. Remember — as soon as you reach the age of puberty and maturity, you are responsible. Legally there are different age limits, but Islamically, as soon as you reach the age of puberty and maturity, you are responsible for your actions. Whatever you do, whatever you say, you are responsible.
And included in this is whatever you write as well — whatever you write on your text message, on WhatsApp, on social media — it is also being recorded. It is being recorded, and on that Day you will be shown it. One of the names of that Day is Yawm al-Hasra — the Day of Regret — when a person will see whatever he did, whatever he said, whatever he uttered in the dunya. A person will regret.
That is why, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, as believers we need to keep this in mind and remind ourselves constantly — on a daily basis — before we say anything, before we utter a single word, before we do any action: we need to ask ourselves, "Is it worth doing? Is it going to be of any benefit for us in the dunya or the Akhira?" If not, then avoid it and stay away from it, believing that you will be held accountable before Allah for every single action and for every single deed.
May Allah increase us in our iman, may Allah strengthen our iman, and may He give us tawfiq to rectify our mistakes.
Second Khutbah — The Weight of Deeds on the Scale
Respected brothers and sisters in Islam, our actions, our deeds, our statements, our words — are being recorded not only in terms of number but also in terms of weight. On that Day, on the Day of Judgment, Allah is going to establish the scale. Our actions and statements are not only going to be recorded in terms of number, nor will we only be rewarded or punished in terms of the number of actions and statements — in fact they will also be weighed.
The Heaviest Deed: Good Character
In terms of actions, there are certain actions that are very heavy in the scale of deeds on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet ﷺ has said:
(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4799; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2003)
"There is nothing heavier in the scale of the servant on the Day of Judgment than good manners." Amongst the actions and deeds, there will be nothing heavier in the scale of the person on that Day than good manners — your akhlaq. The way you interact with people, the way you behave towards your neighbours, the way you behave towards your community and the people around you, the way you behave towards your siblings, your children, your spouse, your parents, your relatives and other than relatives — the way you behave and interact with them. It is akhlaq, and akhlaq is the heaviest of the deeds on that Day of Judgment.
The Heaviest Statement: Lā ilāha illallāh
In terms of statements — in terms of the words that we utter — the Prophet ﷺ has said in a long hadith that is known as Hadith al-Bitaqah, reported by Imam al-Tirmidhi and many other muhaddithun, that on that Day the person's deeds will be weighed, and the heaviest of his deeds will be the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. As the Prophet ﷺ said: nothing at all is heavier than the Name of Allah ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ.
(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2639)
That is why the Prophet ﷺ has said:
(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3585; Muwatta Malik, Book 15, Hadith 30)
"The best statement that I have ever uttered, and the Prophets before me, is: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ" — the statement of the tawhid of Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ used to repeat لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ on a regular basis — so many times — as part of his Salah and other than Salah. And as Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: whenever the Prophet ﷺ would be under stress, or under pressure, or in any difficulty, he would say:
And لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is a statement that saved Sayyiduna Yunus (peace be upon him), as Allah says in the Quran:
Two Light but Weighty Words
In addition to لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, other words of the glorification and praising of Allah — as the Prophet ﷺ has said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6682; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2694)
"There are two words — two statements — that are so beloved to Allah, very light on the tongue, and very heavy on the scale of your deeds: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ."
We should adopt the habit of making our tongue accustomed to saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ. Remember — all these words, all these statements, are being recorded. They will be there, and you will be rewarded for these statements in terms of number as well as weight on that Day.
May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to understand our deen, and may Allah increase our iman.