You’re alone in your room. The door is locked. Your phone screen is the only light. Nobody knows where you are or what you’re doing. Your parents are asleep. Your siblings can’t see you. Your friends have no idea.
You think you’re alone.
But, you’re not alone. You’ve never been alone. Two angels are sitting on your shoulders right now—one on your right, one on your left. And they’re watching everything.
Every click. Every scroll. Every thought that turns into action. Every word you whisper. Every sin you think you’re hiding from everyone.
They’re recording it all.
Allah ﷻ says in the Quran:
[Surah Qaf, Ayah 17-18]
“When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left. He does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].”
Not any word. Every single syllable that leaves your mouth is being documented by an angel whose only job is to write down what you do.
The question that should terrify you: what have they written about you today?
Who Are These Angels?
These angels are called the Kiraman Katibin—the Noble Scribes. They’re honorable, obedient servants of Allah ﷻ who never disobey Him.
The angel on your right records your good deeds. Every prayer, every act of charity, every kind word, every moment of patience. This angel is eager to write. The moment you do something good, it’s recorded instantly with full detail and often multiplied in reward.
The angel on your left records your sins.
What They Actually See
Let me describe what the angels witness when you sin.
They see you before you sin. They watch you make the decision. They see the moment you’re about to do something wrong and they’re waiting—hoping—you’ll stop. According to scholars, angels are naturally inclined to goodness. They want you to succeed. They want to write good deeds, not sins.
They see the sin itself. Every detail. The content you watched. The words you said. The lie you told. The backbiting you engaged in. The person you hurt. Nothing is hidden from them.
They see your reaction after. Do you feel guilty? Do you immediately turn to Allah ﷻ in repentance? Or do you laugh it off, minimize it, or immediately do it again?
Your response to sin matters as much as the sin itself. A sin followed by sincere repentance can be erased. A sin followed by arrogance and persistence becomes a stain that grows darker.
The Sins They Hate Writing Most
While angels don’t experience emotions the way humans do, there are certain sins that particularly stand out in their records—sins that show not just weakness, but deliberate rejection of what you know is right.
When you sin in front of the Quran. You have Quran playing in the background or a mushaf open nearby, and you’re simultaneously engaging in something haram. This compounds the sin because you’re directly contradicting the words of Allah ﷻ while they’re literally present with you.
When you sin after making dua. You just asked Allah ﷻ for something. You raised your hands in sincere supplication. And five minutes later, you’re doing exactly what He prohibited. That’s not just sin—that’s ingratitude recorded in real-time.
When you sin using the blessings He gave you. You use the eyes He gave you to watch haram. The tongue He gave you to backbite. The health He granted you to disobey Him. This is particularly grievous because you’re weaponizing Allah’s blessings against His commands.
When you lead others into sin. Every person who sins because of your influence—the angels record that too. Not just for them, but for you. You introduced your friend to something haram? You encouraged someone to skip prayer? You normalized something prohibited? That’s recorded, and you bear part of the burden of every sin that results from your influence.
The Secret Sins They Witness
You know what is most dangerous? The sins you commit in private. Not because they’re worse than public sins necessarily, but because they reveal your true relationship with Allah ﷻ.
Public sins might happen due to peer pressure, shame avoidance, or social circumstances. But secret sins? Those show what you really value when nobody’s watching except Allah ﷻ.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned, as recorded in authentic hadith: “All of my ummah will be forgiven except those who sin openly. And among those who sin openly is the one who commits a sin at night which Allah has concealed, and in the morning he says: ‘O so-and-so, I did such-and-such last night,’ when his Lord had concealed it. He spent the night concealed by his Lord and in the morning he removed the concealment of Allah from himself.”
Think about what that means. Allah ﷻ concealed your sin—nobody knows except Him and the angels. And you go and announce it. You brag about it. You normalize it by making it public.
The angels recorded the sin. Then they recorded you exposing what Allah ﷻ had mercy to hide. That’s two entries for the price of one.
What Gets Written That You Don’t Even Realize
It’s not just major sins that get recorded. It’s everything.
Every wasted minute. You spent three hours scrolling TikTok. That’s recorded. Not necessarily as a sin, but as time you were given and chose to waste.
Every conversation. That group chat where you and your friends spend hours gossiping, joking, and talking about nothing useful? Recorded. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that most people’s sins come from what their tongues say.
Every look. You lowered your gaze when you should have? Recorded as a good deed. You stared when you shouldn’t have? Recorded as a sin. Your eyes commit zina (adultery) by looking at what’s forbidden.
Every thought that becomes intention. You can’t be held accountable for random thoughts—Shaytan puts whispers in your mind. But when you entertain those thoughts and turn them into intentions or plans, that’s when the angel on your left starts paying attention.
Even the good you thought about doing but didn’t. If you intended to give charity but didn’t follow through, if you thought about praying Tahajjud but stayed in bed—those lost opportunities are recorded too. Not as sins, but as missed blessings that you’ll regret on Judgment Day.
The Moment They Stop Writing
There are specific times when the recording angels temporarily stop.
When you’re sleeping. You’re not accountable for what happens while you’re genuinely asleep. The pen is lifted. That’s why the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as recorded in authentic collections, that sleep is the brother of death—a temporary state where you’re not conscious and therefore not accountable.
When you’re insane or have lost mental capacity. If someone is genuinely mentally ill to the point where they can’t distinguish right from wrong, the recording stops. They’re not accountable.
When you sincerely repent. This is the beautiful one. When you repent sincerely—with genuine remorse, commitment to stop, and determination not to return—Allah ﷻ commands the angels to erase what they wrote.
Not just forgiven. Erased. As if it never happened.
But you have to actually repent. Not just feel bad. Not just say “Astaghfirullah” without meaning it. Real tawbah that changes your behavior.
What the Angels Can’t Record
Here’s something that might give you hope. There are certain things the recording angels cannot write down:
Your internal struggles against sin. When you’re tempted but you resist—the angels can’t record that internal battle, but Allah ﷻ sees it directly. And resisting temptation is sometimes rewarded more heavily than doing an obvious good deed.
The times you almost sinned but stopped. You were about to watch something haram but closed the tab. You were about to send a cruel message but deleted it. You were about to skip prayer but forced yourself to pray anyway. Those moments of resistance? Recorded as victories even though the angels didn’t see a visible good deed.
The pain of your repentance. When you cry in sujood begging Allah ﷻ to forgive you, when your heart breaks because you disappointed Him—the angels record your repentance, but they can’t capture the depth of your remorse. Only Allah ﷻ sees that. And He responds to it with mercy that goes beyond what the angels can measure.
The Book You’ll Read One Day
On the Day of Judgment, you’ll be given a book. Everything the angels recorded—every good deed, every sin, every word you said—will be compiled in that book.
Allah ﷻ says in the Quran:
[Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 13-14]
“And [for] every person We have imposed his fate upon his neck, and We will produce for him on the Day of Resurrection a record which he will encounter spread open. [It will be said], ‘Read your record. Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant.'”
You won’t need anyone to judge you. You’ll read it yourself. And you won’t be able to deny a single thing because it will all be written in perfect detail by angels who never make mistakes.
The righteous will receive their book in their right hand. They’ll read it with joy, seeing all the good deeds they did—many of which they’d forgotten about. They’ll see sins that were erased through repentance. They’ll see rewards multiplied beyond what they expected.
The wicked will receive their book in their left hand or from behind their back. They’ll read it with horror, seeing every sin they thought they’d hidden. Every moment they wasted. Every opportunity they missed. Every person they hurt.
Which hand do you want to receive your book in?
How to Make Your Book Beautiful
You still have time to change what’s being written about you. Here’s how:
1. Repent Immediately
Don’t wait. The moment you realize you’ve sinned, turn to Allah ﷻ. Say:
“Astaghfirullah al-azeem alladhi la ilaha illa huwa al-hayy al-qayyum wa atubu ilayh.”
(I seek forgiveness from Allah the Mighty, whom there is none worthy of worship except Him, the Living, the Eternal, and I repent to Him.)
Mean it. Feel it. Change your behavior. That’s how sins get erased.
2. Do Good Deeds to Overwrite the Bad
Allah ﷻ says in the Quran:
[Surah Hud, Ayah 114]
“Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds.”
Pray extra voluntary prayers. Give charity. Help someone in need. Make dhikr. Every good deed pushes out a bad deed and brightens your record.
3. Remember You’re Being Watched
Consciousness of the angels recording you (and Allah ﷻ watching you) should be enough to stop you mid-sin.
Before you click that link, remember: an angel is watching. Before you send that message, remember: it’s being recorded. Before you speak that word, remember: it’s permanent.
4. Ask Allah to Make Your Book Light
Make dua constantly: “O Allah, make my book light, make my account easy, and forgive what You find in my record that I’ve forgotten but You have not forgotten.”
5. Protect Your Record From the Sins That Spread
Some sins keep getting recorded even after you stop doing them—like when you introduce someone to haram, post sinful content that stays online, or create a bad precedent that others follow.
Remove that content. Apologize to people you’ve influenced negatively. Try to undo the damage. Because every person who sins because of your influence adds to your record.
The Angels That Defended You
Here’s something beautiful that Islamic scholars point out: the recording angels aren’t your enemies. They’re neutral witnesses, yes, but they serve a God who loves mercy.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as documented in authentic hadith: “If a servant intends to do a good deed but does not do it, one good deed is recorded for him. If he intends to do it and does it, ten to seven hundred good deeds or more are recorded for him. If he intends to do an evil deed but does not do it, no evil deed is recorded against him, and if he intends to do it and does it, only one evil deed is recorded.”
Look at that math. Good deeds are multiplied. Sins are only recorded at face value. And if you intended to sin but stopped yourself? Nothing is written.
The system is rigged in your favor. Allah ﷻ wants you to succeed. The angels are tools of that mercy.
The Bottom Line
Two angels are with you right now. They’ve been with you your entire life. They’ve seen your best moments and your worst. They’ve recorded prayers you’ve forgotten about and sins you wish you could erase.
But here’s what Islamic teachings want you to understand: you’re not stuck with what’s already been written.
As long as you’re alive, you can repent. You can change. You can fill your record with so many good deeds that the sins become buried under mountains of light.
But you have to start now. You have to care about what’s being written. You have to live like you’re being watched—because you are.
One day, you’ll read that book. Every page. Every word. Every sin you thought you’d hidden. Every good deed you’d forgotten about.
What do you want it to say about you?
Start living today like you’ll have to read it tomorrow. Because eventually, you will.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in presenting Islamic teachings, readers are strongly advised to consult qualified Islamic scholars in their local area for specific religious rulings, detailed interpretations, and matters requiring expert guidance.