Earth to Bear Witness

The Prophet of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Beware of the earth, for it is your root and basis, and there is nothing which a person does on it, that it will not report, whether it is good or bad." (Mujam at-Tabarani)

About Ali (radi Allahu anhu) it is related that when he distributed the money of the Bait ul-Mal (public treasury) among the needy and thus emptied it, he would perform two rakahs of prayer in the Bait ul-Mal and say: "You will have to bear witness that I filled you with justice and emptied you with justice."

The fact is that although Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) directly knows whatever a man does, yet in the Hereafter when He will establish His Court, He will punish every culprit only after fulfilling all the demands of justice. Any case which is brought before His Court against a criminal will be proved with such perfect evidence that no room will be left to doubt his being a criminal. The first and foremost evidence against a person is the record in which the two recording angels are recording his each word and deed. (Surah Qaf: 17-18, Surah Al-Infitar: 10-12) This record will be handed over to him and he will be asked to read it, for "you yourself suffice as reckoner against yourself." (Surah Bani Isra'il: 14) Reading it man will be bewildered, for "it has left nothing un-recorded of our deeds, small or great." (Surah Al-Kahf: 49)

Then there is man's own body which he had used in the world. In Allah's Court his own tongue will bear witness to what he had been speaking through it in the world, his own hands and feet will bear witness to what deeds he had committed through them. (Surah An-Nur: 24) His eyes and his ears will bear witness to what he saw and heard by their means. Even the skin of his body will bear witness to his deeds. Bewildered he will ask his limbs, "Why have you borne witness against me?" They will reply: "The same God Who has given speech to everything has given us speech." (Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah: 20-22)

On top of this, there will be the witnesses which will be presented from the earth and all its environments, in which man will hear his own voice by his own ears and see the exact pictures of his own deeds by his eyes. Furthermore, the ideas, motives and aims hidden in the heart of man and the intentions with which he had performed every deed will be brought out and placed before him as is stated in Surah Al-Adiyat. That is why with the production of such absolute, clear and undeniable proofs, man will be left confounded, with no chance to say anything in self-defense to excuse himself. (Surah Al-Mursalat 35-36) [Tafhim al-Quran, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi]

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