You think you’re doing well. You pray—sometimes. You fast Ramadan—mostly. You give some charity—when you remember. You’ve memorized a few surahs. You make du’a occasionally. You think according to your self-assessment, “I’m a decent Muslim. My good deeds probably outweigh my bad.”
Then you’ll stand on Judgment Day. And the Mizan will be brought—the Scales of absolute precision. The scales that can measure even an atom’s weight of good or evil. The scales that will determine whether you spend eternity in Paradise or Hell.
And you’ll discover, that your deeds weigh far less than you thought. Or maybe—according to divine mercy if you had true faith—that one small thing you did weighs more than mountains of sin, as the hadith about the 99 scrolls demonstrates.
The Man With 99 Scrolls
Abdullah ibn Amr رضي الله عنه narrated, as recorded in Jami’ at-Tirmidhi (Hadith 2639) and authenticated by scholars: The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“Indeed Allah will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all of creation on the Day of Judgment. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him, each scroll is as far as the eye can see, then He will say: ‘Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?’ He will say: ‘No, O Lord!’ He will say: ‘Do you have an excuse?’ He will say: ‘No, O Lord!’ So He will say: ‘Rather you have a good deed with us, so you shall not be wronged today.’ Then He will bring out a card (Bitaqah); on it will be: ‘I testify to La Ilaha Illallah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’ He will say: ‘Bring your scales.’ He will say: ‘O Lord! What good is this card next to these scrolls?’ He will say: ‘You shall not be wronged.’ The scrolls will be put on a pan (of the scale), and the card on (the other) pan: the scrolls will be light, and the card will be heavy, nothing is heavier than the Name of Allah.”
Let that scene sink in. Ninety-nine scrolls. Each one as far as the eye can see. Imagine that: You’re standing there. They start unrolling your sins. One scroll. Two scrolls. Ten scrolls. Twenty. Fifty. Ninety-nine.
Each scroll stretches to the horizon. Your lies. Your backbiting. Your missed prayers. Your haram income. Your time wasted. Your parents disrespected. Your sins hidden from people but recorded by angels. All of it laid out before all of creation.
And the man has no excuse. No defense. He admits according to this account: “Yes, these are my sins. No, the angels didn’t wrong me. No, I have no excuse.” Based on this description, he’s finished. Done. Destined for Hell, according to human calculation.
But then, Allah ﷻ brings out a card. One small card. And on it: “La ilaha illallah, Muhammad Rasulullah.”
The testimony of faith. The Shahada that every Muslim must believe and declare. The card goes on one side of the scale. The 99 scrolls on the other.
And the scrolls—with all those sins, all that disobedience, all that evil—become light. Weightless. And the card becomes heavy. So heavy that it outweighs 99 scrolls of sins stretching to the horizon.
“Nothing is heavier than the Name of Allah,” according to the conclusion of this hadith documented by scholars.
That should give you hope. If you have true Tawheed—if you truly believe La ilaha illallah with your heart, not just your tongue—then according to divine mercy, Allah ﷻ can forgive mountains of sins.
But it should also terrify you: This man’s Tawheed was true. His belief was sincere. It wasn’t just words. It was genuine faith that transformed his heart even if his actions were terrible.
Your Tawheed, based on how you actually live make? That’s the question.
Two Words Heavier Than You Think
Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadith 6682, 7563) and Sahih Muslim (Hadith 2694): The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“There are two statements that are light for the tongue to remember, heavy in the Scales and are dear to the Merciful: ‘Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi, Subhan-Allahil-Adheem [Glory be to Allah and His is the praise, Glory be to Allah the Almighty]’.”
Light on the tongue. Takes you two seconds to say. But heavy on the scales. Heavier than you think. Heavier maybe than years of other good deeds done without sincerity.
You say these words sometimes. Maybe in dhikr. Maybe after prayer. But do you realize their weight? Do you say them consistently? Do you understand that these simple words could be what tips your scale toward Paradise?
Or do you ignore them? Too busy according to your priorities. Too distracted, according to what your lifestyle reveals. Chasing wealth, chasing status, chasing entertainment—while according to this hadith, two seconds of sincere dhikr weighs more than all of it.
The Heaviest Thing on Your Scale
Abu Darda رضي الله عنه narrated, as recorded in Jami’ at-Tirmidhi (Hadith 2002), Sunan Abi Dawud (Hadith 4799): The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“Nothing is heavier on the Scale of Deeds than good character.”
Read that again. nothing—not your prayers, not your fasting, not your charity, not your Hajj, not your Quran memorization—nothing is heavier than good character.
Your akhlaq. How you treat people. How you speak. How you react. How you deal with your family, your spouse, your parents, your children, your neighbors, your coworkers, based on all the relationships this encompasses. Whether you’re patient or angry. Whether you’re generous or stingy. Whether you’re truthful or deceitful. Whether you’re humble or arrogant.
That is the heaviest thing on your scale. Heavier than all your worship.
Think about that. You pray five times a day—good. But according to how you actually behave, you’re rude to your mother. You snap at your wife. You yell at your kids. You backbite your coworkers. You cheat your customers. You lie to your friends.
According to this hadith, your good character—or lack of it—weighs more than all those prayers. Those prayers might get you rewards. But your bad character might be so light—or so heavy in sin—that according to the final calculation, you end up in Hell despite praying.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as recorded in Sahih Muslim: “The most complete of believers in faith are those with the best character.”
The most complete in faith. Not the ones who pray the longest. Not the ones who fast the most. Not the ones who memorize the most Quran. The ones with the best character.
How’s your character, based on honest self-assessment? According to how you treated people today—yesterday—this week—this month—this year: Would the Prophet ﷺ call you “complete in faith” based on this standard? Or would your character reveal that despite all your worship rituals, your actual faith is weak, incomplete, deficient?
The Scales That See Everything
[Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayah 47]
“And We shall set up the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And even if it be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And sufficient are We as a Reckoner.”
The weight of a mustard seed. That’s the precision of these scales. Smaller than the smallest thing you can see with your naked eye. Yet according to this verse, even that will be brought and weighed.
[Surah Az-Zalzalah, Ayah 7-8]
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
An atom. The smallest possible unit. That smile you gave someone. That charity you gave secretly. That time you controlled your anger. That moment you lowered your gaze. That prayer you made sincerely. All of it will be there. Weighed. Counted. Rewarded, as divine justice guarantees.
But also, according to this same verse’s warning: That lie you told. That person you hurt. That gossip you spread. That haram you watched. That prayer you skipped. Every atom of evil will also be there. Weighed. Counted. Punished if not forgiven.
You think you’re getting away with things. You think according to your false sense of security: “It’s small. It doesn’t matter. No one saw. No one knows.”
But according to these verses, everything is recorded. Everything will be weighed. Every atom. Every mustard seed. Every tiny deed—good or bad— will determine your eternity.
What Makes Deeds Heavy
It’s not just what you do that determines weight. It’s how you do it, based on prophetic guidance about sincerity and intention. It’s why you do it. It’s the quality, not just quantity.
Sincerity makes deeds heavy. One prayer done with complete presence, with khushu, with sincere devotion to Allah ﷻ—according to how the companions worshipped—can weigh more than years of prayers done mechanically, rushed, distracted.
Good character makes deeds heavy. It’s the heaviest thing. You could pray all night, but if you’re cruel to people, based on bad character’s impact, those prayers might have no weight, as Islamic teachings warn about the interconnection between worship and ethics.
Humility makes deeds heavy. The more you think your deeds are nothing—the more you fear they won’t be accepted—paradoxically, the heavier they become. Because that humility shows genuine awareness of Allah’s greatness and your neediness.
Consistency makes deeds heavy. The Prophet ﷺ said, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if they are small.” A little done consistently, weighs more than a lot done sporadically.
What makes deeds light—or worthless:
Showing off makes deeds weightless. According to prophetic warnings about riya (showing off), deeds done to be seen by people have no weight with Allah ﷻ, as Islamic teachings emphasize about the danger of ostentation. You pray in the front row so people see you. You give charity loudly. You post your good deeds on social media. All of it might weigh nothing—because it wasn’t for Allah ﷻ.
Bad character makes good deeds weightless. According to the hadith about akhlaq being heaviest, by implication scholars note: bad character might cancel your good deeds entirely. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Do you know who is bankrupt?” They said: “The one with no money or possessions.” He said: “The bankrupt from my Ummah is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment with prayers, fasting, and charity—but he insulted this one, slandered that one, consumed the wealth of this one, shed the blood of that one, and beat this one. So his good deeds will be given to them. And if his good deeds run out before the score is settled, their sins will be taken and thrown upon him. Then he will be thrown into Hell.”
Prayers. Fasting. Charity. All of it, worthless. Given away to the people you hurt. And if your good deeds run out, their sins get loaded onto you. Then Hell, as the final destination this hadith warns about.
Your deeds that you think are saving you, according to this hadith? They might be transferred to the people you wronged. And you’ll stand there, with nothing. Or worse— with their sins added to yours.
Your Scale Today
You’re building your scale right now. This very moment, based on what you’re doing. Every word you speak. Every deed you do. Every thought you entertain. Every opportunity you take or miss. It’s all being added.
That person you just snapped at? Weight on the bad side, based on how character is measured. That prayer you’re about to skip? Weight removed from the good side. That few seconds of dhikr you could make right now? Potential heavy weight missed.
The question scholars ask when teaching about the Mizan: When your scales are brought on Judgment Day, which side will be heavier?
Will it be like that man with 99 scrolls, but whose sincere Tawheed outweighed everything? Or will you be like the person the Prophet ﷺ described in another hadith who will be brought—a huge, fat person—but won’t weigh even as much as a mosquito’s wing in Allah’s sight? Because he had no real faith, no good character, no weight of righteousness despite outward appearance.
[Surah Al-A’raf, Ayah 8-9]
“And the balance that Day will be true. So whose scales are heavy—it is those who will be the successful. And whose scales are light—those are the ones who have lost their souls because they were, concerning Our signs, unjust.”
Your success or failure. Your Paradise or Hell. Your eternal salvation or destruction. All of it depends on one thing: The weight of your scales.
What You Must Do
You need to start making your good deeds heavy. Not just numerous—according to quality versus quantity emphasis, heavy. With the weight that according to prophetic teachings, will tip your scale toward Paradise.
Fix your character immediately. It’s the heaviest thing, this isn’t optional. Your character with your family, based on where it matters most. With your parents. Your spouse. Your children. Your neighbors. Your coworkers, according to all your relationships. Control your anger. Control your tongue. Be patient. Be kind. Be truthful. Be humble. Because according to that hadith, this will weigh more than all your ritual worship.
Make dhikr constantly. Say “Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi, Subhan Allahil Adheem” regularly. Multiple times a day. After prayers. During your commute. While walking. Before sleep. These simple words are building weight on your good side—weight you desperately need.
Strengthen your Tawheed. According to that hadith about the card outweighing 99 scrolls, sincere Tawheed weighs more than mountains of sin. Make sure your belief in La ilaha illallah isn’t just verbal. That it’s in your heart. That it shows in your actions. That you’re actually submitting to Allah ﷻ over your desires, as real Tawheed demands.
Do small deeds consistently. According to that hadith about Allah loving consistent deeds even if small, don’t wait for “big” opportunities. Do small things every single day. Morning adhkar. Evening adhkar. Charity—even tiny amounts. Smiling at people. Helping someone. Removing harm from the road. All of it adds up. All of it builds your scale.
Seek forgiveness constantly. The more you make istighfar, the more Allah ﷻ removes weight from your bad side. The Prophet ﷺ used to seek forgiveness 70-100 times a day, according to authenticated reports. If he needed to, based on his sinless status, you desperately need to, according to your actual sinfulness.
Treat people’s rights seriously. According to that hadith about the bankrupt person, other people’s rights can erase your good deeds. Don’t wrong anyone. If you have, according to Islamic requirements for clearing debts, ask their forgiveness now—before Judgment Day when they’ll take your good deeds in compensation.
The Reality That Should Transform You
On Judgment Day, you’ll stand there watching your scales. Every deed will be brought. Every word. Every action. Every intention. The good on one side, according to the Mizan’s operation. The bad on the other.
And you’ll watch as they’re weighed. With precision. With truth. With no possibility of error.
If your good side is heavier, according to Quranic promise, Paradise. If your bad side is heavier, according to Quranic warning, Hell. It’s that simple, based on this divine standard. That’s final.
The question: What are you doing right now to make sure your good side is heavier? According to your actual behavior, not your intentions or wishes, what’s the current state of your scales?
Because reality about death’s unpredictability, you could die tonight. Tomorrow. Next week. And according to what happens at death, that’s it. Your scales are locked, based on the finality of death. Whatever weight you built, according to your life’s deeds, that’s what you’re taking to the Mizan.
Make sure, that when those scales are brought—when your deeds are weighed with absolute precision—your good side tips down heavy with sincere faith, good character, constant dhikr, consistent small deeds, and genuine love for Allah ﷻ.
Because: “Those whose scales are heavy—it is those who will be successful.”
And according to the same verse’s terrifying opposite: “Those whose scales are light—they have lost their souls.”
Which one will you be, based on how you’re living right now? Your answer is being determined by what you’re doing this very moment. Choose wisely. Because the scales don’t lie.