His words, Exalted is He:

On that Day, mankind shall issue forth in separate groups (to be shown their deeds).

He said:

Each person will be [made to] follow whatever he used to depend upon.^{1That is, each person will be made to follow along in a group according to that upon which they had depended in this world.} Whoever depended upon God’s favour (faḍl) will follow His favour. Whoever depended on his [own] works will follow his works. Whoever depended on intercession (shafāʿa) will follow the intercession.

His words, Exalted is He:

Whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it,

He said:

When this verse was sent down, the Messenger of God ﷺ gave a sermon in which he said, ‘Nay indeed, this world has an array of goods that are ready to hand which are consumed by the righteous (barr) and the wicked (fājir) alike. Nay indeed, the Hereafter is truly an appointed hour in which the All-powerful King will make the decree. Nay indeed, all of goodness in its entirety^{1lit. in its minutest details (bi-ḥādhafīrihi).} is in Paradise. Nay indeed, all of evil, in its entirety is in the Hellfire. So be aware, since you have already been cautioned by God, and know that you will be shown your deeds, Whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it, but whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil will see that. [99:7, 8]’^{2Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 1, pp. 264–5.}

Abū al-Dardāʾ رضي الله عنه said, ‘Perfection in the mindfulness of God (taqwā) is that the servant fears God to the point that he fears Him even concerning a mere atom’s weight, such that he leaves aside some of the things he considers to be legitimate, for fear of the possibility of its being forbidden. This will act as a screen between him and [doing] what is forbidden.’^{3Ibn Mubārak, Kitāb al-Zuhd (Beirut, 1997), vol. 1, p. 17. See the similar recommendation above in a tradition cited on the authority of ʿĀʾisha in the commentary on 25:70.}

Sahl said:

Do not consider any sin to be insignificant, even if it be small, for truly it has been said by some, ‘There are four things which come after a sin which are more serious that the sin itself: persistence [in sin], rejoicing [at it] (istibshār), deeming it insignificant (istiṣghār) and taking pride in it (iftikhār).’

Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said, ‘The believer sees his sins as if he were at the foot of a mountain that he fears will fall on top on him, whereas the disbeliever sees sin as a fly which alights on his nose. Then he says, “It’s like this”, with a gesture of his hand [as if it will] fly off.’

Then Sahl said:

O assembly of Muslims! Indeed you have succeeded in professing on your tongue and believing with certainty in your heart that God is One, that there is none like Him, and that there is a Day for you on which He will resurrect you and on which He will question you about the [deeds you did which were of an] atom’s weight. If they were good, He will reward you for them but if they were bad, He will punish you for them if He so wills. Therefore, realise this through action.

He was asked, ‘How can we realise this through action?’ He answered:

Through five things which are essential for you: to consume what is lawful, to clothe oneself in what is lawful, to safeguard your bodily members, to fulfil the rights [of others] over you as you have been commanded and to refrain from all harm to other Muslims, so that your [good] deeds are not spent in the retribution (qiṣāṣ) due to others [because of your harm to them in this world] on the Day of Resurrrection.^{4In the Kitāb Dhikr al-mawt of his Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, Ghazālī cites the following ḥadīth on the authority of Abū Hurayra: ‘… The bankrupt of my nation is he that shall come forward on the Day of Arising with the Prayer, the Fast and the Tithe, but having insulted this man, and abused that man, and having consumed another’s wealth, and shed another’s blood, and struck yet another. Each one of these shall be given a portion of his good works, and should these be exhausted before his obligation is discharged, then he shall be assigned some of their sins, which shall be heaped upon him. Then he shall be cast into Hell.’ Trans. Winter, p. 200.} Then seek assistance in all of this from God so that He brings them to completion for you.

He was asked, ‘How do these conditions (aḥwāl) become sound in the servant?’ He replied:

There are ten things which are essential. Five are things from which he must desist, and five are things to which he must adhere: he must leave behind the whisperings of the Enemy [i.e. Satan] and abide by the intellect in what it restrains him from; he must give up concern for the affairs of this world and leave them to its people;^{5i.e. worldly people.} and he should preoccupy himself with the Hereafter and aid its people;^{6i.e. others whose concern is with the Hereafter.} he must give up following his [base] desire (hawā) and fear God in every situation; he must give up disobedience and occupy himself in [acts] of obedience; he must abandon ignorance and acting upon ignorance (iqāmat al-jahl), until he judges his actions,^{7i.e. whether they are good or bad. Or it could mean he rules over, or is in command of his actions.} and he must seek knowledge and act upon it.

He was asked, ‘How can we uphold this and act upon it?’ He replied:

There are four essentials [prerequisites]: he should not tire himself with those things which will only turn to dust,^{8lit. ‘that which has no other end than to become dust’, i.e. the transient things of this world.} neither should he desire them. Furthermore, he should not fraternise with those whose end is [no more than] dust,^{9i.e. those who are only interested and involved in the material things of this transient world and have no regard for their spiritual destiny or the Hereafter. The image is a powerful one.} nor should he have any desire for [their company].

He was asked, ‘How can that [be achieved]?’ He said:

By the servant’s knowing that he is a servant and his Master has full knowledge of his state and is witnessing [him]. It is He who has power over his joy and his grief, and is compassionate with him.