Waman yaAAmal mithqala tharratin sharran yarah (surah Zalzalah: 8)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(99:8) and whoever does an atom's weight of evil shall see it. *7

Wa maiy-y`amal mithqala zarratin sharraiy-yarah

*7) A simple and straightforward meaning of this statement, and it is right and correct, is that not an atom's weight of good or evil done by a person, will have been left unrecorded in his conduct book, and he.will see it in any case. But if seeing is taken to imply seeing its reward and punishment, it will be wrong to take it in the meaning that in the Hereafter every person will be rewarded for his most minor offence, and no one will be left un-rewarded for a good and unpunished for an evil done by him. For in the first place, it would mean that each evil act will be punished and each good act rewarded separately; secondly, it also means that no believer, however righteous and virtuous, will remain safe from being punished for a most ordinary error, and no disbeliever, however wicked and iniquitous, will be left unrewarded for a most ordinary good act, Both these meanings are opposed not only to the explanations given in the Qur'an and the Hadith, but also to reason. From the point of view of reason, it is not understandable that a master would refuse to pardon a most loyal and dutiful servant for a most minor error, and along with rewarding for each act of service and obedience, would also punish him for each and every error. Likewise, this also is not understandable from the viewpoint of reason that a person brought up and favoured by you should prove disloyal and treacherous and ungrateful in spite of your favours, and you, over-looking his collective attitude, should punish him for each act of treachery separately and reward him for each, even if most insignificant, act of service separately. As for the Qur'an and the Hadith, they have laid down a detailed law of rewards and punishments for the different categories of the people, be they believers, hypocrites, disbelievers, righteous believers; erring believers, wicked and sinful believers, common disbelievers, or wicked and mischievous disbelievers, and these rewards and punishments pervade the entire life of man, from there to the Hereafter.
In this connection, the Qur'an has stated, in principle, certain things explicitly:
First, that the deeds of the disbelievers, idolaters and hypocrites (i.e., the deeds regarded as virtuous) have been rendered vain; they will receive no reward for them in the Hereafter; if at all they deserve a reward for them, they will receive it here in the world. For this, see Al-A'raf: 147, At-Taubah: 17, 67-69; Hud: 15-16; Ibrahim: 18; Al-Kahf: 104-105; A_ n-Nur: 39; Al-Furgan: 23; AlAhzab: 19; Az-Zumar: 65; Al-Ahqaf: 20.
Second, that evil will be punished to the extent that evil has been committed, but the good deeds will be rewarded much more generously than what they will actually deserve. At some places it has been explicitly stated that a good act will have a ten-fold reward for it, and at others that Allah will increase the reward of the good act as much as He will please. For this, see AI-Baqarah: 261, AI-An`am: 160, Yunus: 26-27, An-Nur: 38, AI-Qasas: 84, Saba: 37, AlMu'min:40.
Third, that if the believers abstained from major sins, their ordinary offences will be forgiven. (An-Nisa': 31, Ash-Shura: 37, An-Najm: 32).
Fourth, that the righteous believer shall have an easy reckoning, his evils will be overlooked and he will be rewarded according to his best deeds. (Al`Ankabut: 7, Az-Zumar: 35, Al-Ahqaf: 16, Al-Inshiqaq: 8).
The Hadith also is very explicit in this regard. In the commentary of Sarah Al-Inshiqaq above, we have cited the Ahadith which have been reported from the Holy Prophet in connection with the explanation of easy reckoning and severe accountability. (See E.N. 6 of Al-lnshiqaq). Hadrat Anas says that once Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq was having his meals with the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace). In the meantime this verse was revealed. Hadrat Abu Bakr withdrew his hand from food and said: "O Messenger of Allah, shall I see the result of every little evil that I have happened to commit?" The Holy Prophet replied: "O Abu Bakr, whatever unpleasant and troublesome things you experience in the world, will compensate for the little evils that you happened to commit, and Allah is reserving every little good that you do for your Hereafter," (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani in AI-Ausat, Baihaqi in Ash-shu ab. Ibn al-Mundhir, Hakim, Ibn Marduyah, `Abd bin Humaid). The Holy Messenger of AIIah had explained this verse also to Hadrat Abu Ayyub Ansari, saying: "Whoever from among you dces good will have his reward in the Hereafter, and whoever commits an evil will suffer punishment for it in this very world in the form of misery and disease. (Ibn Marduyah). Qatadah has related this saying of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) on the authority of Hadrat Anas: "Allah dces not wrong a believer in the world: He provides him sustenance in lieu of his good deeds; in the Hereafter He will reward him for these. As for the disbeliever, he is recompensed for his good deeds in the world itself; then when Resurrection takes place, he, will have no good work left to his credit." (lbn Jarir). Masruq has related from Hadrat `A'ishah that she asked the Holy Prophet "In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance `Abdullah bin Jud`an treated his kindred kindly, fed the poor, received his guests well, earned freedom for the captives. Will this be of any use to him in the Hereafter ? The Holy Prophet replied: No, he never said omit death: Rabbighfir-li khati'ati yaum ad-din. `My Lord, forgive me my errors on the Judgement Day. " (lbn Jarir) The Holy Prophet gave similar replies also in respect of the other people, who did good deeds in the pre-Islamic days, but died as pagans. But there are certain other sayings of the Holy Prophet, which show that although the good done by a disbeliever cannot save him from the fire of Hell, yet in Hell he will not be subjected to the severe punishment which will be the lot of the wicked, sinful and villainous disbelievers, e.g. according to a Hadith, Hatim Ta'i in view of his generosity will be subjected to a light punishment in Hell (Ruh al-Ma `ani).
However, this verse warns man of a truth of vital importance which is this: Even a most ordinary good has its own weight and its own value, and the same is also true of evil: even a most ordinary evil will also be considered and taken into account; it will not just be overlooked. Therefore, no good act, however small and insignificant, should be left, undone, for many such good acts can collect and be regarded as a major good not in the reckoning with Allah. Likewise, even a most ordinary evil also should not be committed, for a large number of such ordinary errors can become serious sins. The same thing has been described by the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) in several Ahadith. According to, a tradition related in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Hadrat `Adi bin Hatim, the Holy Prophet said: "Save yourselves from the fire of Hell even if it be by giving away a bit of a date, or by uttering a good word." Again from Hadrat `Adi, in an authentic tradition, the Holy Prophet's saying has been reported: "Do not look upon any good work as insignificant, even if it be emptying a bucket into the vessel of one asking for water, or receiving a brother. of yours with a pleasant face. " According to a tradition reported in Bukhari from Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet, addressing the women, said: "O Muslim women, no woman should look upon sending a gift to her neighbour as mean, even if it be the hoof of a goat." A tradition has been related in Musnad Ahmad, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah from Hadrat 'A'ishah, saying that the Holy Prophet said: "O `A'ishah, abstain from the sins which are looked upon as trivial, for they too will be enquired about by Allah." Musnad Ahmad contains a tradition from Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas'ud, saying that the Holy Prophet said: "Beware of minor sins, for they will gather together on man so much so that they will kill him. " (For the distinction between the grave and the trivial offences., see E.N. 53 of An-Nisa' and E.N. 32 of An-Najm).