By Sidra Adil
Responsibility and Accountability Spectrum
In Islam, belief in the Day of Judgement is one of the six articles of faith and is pivotal to the Islamic concept of accountability. The present life in this world is not the goal and it is the hereafter that is the focus. This means that Muslims make an effort to live by the rulings of Islam and exercise consciousness of Allah in making all decisions as they will held accountable for all their doings, whether in accordance with Shari’a or otherwise.
Allah, the Most High, created mankind. Man has been sent to Earth for a certain time. The free will given to man by Allah enables him to use it in doing good and useful deeds, obtaining knowledge, and worshipping Him. If man lays waste to these blessings and bounties without taking any advantage of them, undoubtedly he will be held responsible for them on the Last Day.
It was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he has been questioned about five things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and how he disposed of it, and how he acted upon what he acquired of knowledge.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2422; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1969)
For that reason, man must be conscious of his responsibilities. He must feel a responsibility to Allah on the Resurrection Day. Consequently Allah, the Almighty, will hold him to account on that Day for all of his doings in Dunya.
In today’s day and age, with the ever-rising Fitnah surrounding us and the message of Islam being lost amidst its path, a reminder of its fundamentals can be the solution to bringing all those dissolved in the glamour of the world back to their real calling. The Spectrum of Responsibility and Accountability, the current theme on the YC Blog, focuses on identifying a Muslim’s responsibilities in this world and what the effects of his/her decisions will be on the Hereafter. A Muslim will be held accountable for the decisions he or she made, and will be rewarded accordingly.
Ultimately, it is heaven we are striving for. Are we truly being ambassadors of Islam or are we so consumed by this world and its illusions that we cannot recognise the path leading to Allah?
