Excerpt from Yunus Jaunpuri (rah)’s commentary and notes.
Reflecting on the following hadith:
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘As that the Messenger of Allah (rah) said: “Indeed Allah will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all creation on the Day of Judgement. 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.’ He said: ‘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.'”
(Tirmidhi 2639)
A question arises: how can a simple card outweigh ninety-nine scrolls when each scroll is so large as far as the eye can see?
The answer to this is on the day of Judgement, the weight of the soul and its actions will far outweigh the body. The following examples allude to this.
(1) Many people with satiated bodies without faith will enter hell.
Salman (rad) said: “‘…I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: The people who most eat their fill in this world will be the most hungry on the Day of Resurrection.’”
(Majah 3351)
(2) On the other hand, we have the skinny short Abdullah bin Masood (rad) whose shins will be heavier than the mountain of Uhud on the day of judgment.
Ibn Mas’ud reported that he was harvesting tooth sticks from an Arak tree and he had tiny shins. The wind blew and made him fall over, so people laughed at him. Prophet (saw), said, “What are you laughing at?” They said, “O Prophet of Allah, he has tiny shins.” The Prophet said, “By the one in whose hand is my soul, they will both be heavier on the Scale than the mountain of Uhud.”
(Ahmad 3991)
Thus on the Day of Judgement, the soul and its actions will far outweigh the body. The ninety scrolls contain bad actions of the body. The body and its actions are transient. In comparison on the card is the belief in the Oneness of Allah (Tawhid), His attribute which is eternal, everlasting. What is eternal will last while what is transient will perish.
Therefore, the soul’s belief in the eternal will far outweigh the transient actions of the body.
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