The Scale of Deeds

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The Speedy JusticeThe Witnesses on the Day of Judgment.

The 10th verse speaks about the criterion and the scales. It is said:

“And We shall set up balances of judgment on the Day of Resurrection and none will be dealt with unjustly in any thing”

Every thing will be weighed on this scale whether they are small or big. Even a thing as tiny as a grain of mustard will be judged” and then adds, “and We are sufficient as Reckoners.”

A grain of mustard is very tiny with hardly any weight and it is cited to describe insignificance. This tells us that even the smallest thing will be weighed. The word “Mawaaziin” is the plural of “Mizan” which is used for measuring weights. This tells us that on that Day there will not be just one but many scales to weigh the deeds.

Some have said that there may be different (thousands) scales for each person or separate scales for each nation or that each deed will be weighed on a different scale and there are many hadiths to support this view e.g. the daily prayers may be weighed on separate scale than fasting, Hajj and Hajj and each of them separate from all others.

Some have said that actually there will only one big (1) scale and there are many hadiths to support this which we will discuss them later. Here the plural form is used to enhance the respect and that scale will be so big that it will do the work of thousands.

As we have said earlier this interpretation which is against the literal meaning has no proof.

The important thing is to clarify the meaning of “Mizan” Will it be like normal scales with two sides no matter how big it is? Then the weighing of the deeds will mean the weighing of the books of deeds because a deed has no weight or that the deed takes a physical form and becomes heavy.

People that the scale will be like our normal scale because they are helpless to give the human deeds a weight so that it can be weighed.

But from various sources we discern that the scale here is the criterion in the general sense because every thing has a criterion. A thermometer is required for measuring heat. The air is weighed by the scale of air called barometer.

Here the criterions for weighing the deeds are those people with whose deeds the others will be compared. Allama Majlisi has quoted Sheikh Mufid to have said:

“ Amirul Muminin and his sons the Imams are the criterion for justice on the Day of Judgment.” (2)

Usul Kafi and Ma’ani-ol-Akhbar both quote a Hadith of Imam Sadiq in which he said, “the scale of justice is made of the Prophets and their successors.” (3)

There is a Ziyarah attributed to Hazrat Ali that says:

“Greetings to the scale of deeds” (4)

Actually these exemplary personalities are the criterion for weighing the deeds. The deeds will be heavy if they are similar to their deeds and those that are not similar will have very little weight. In this world the chosen ones of God are the criterion for the deeds but in the hereafter this contention will reach its ultimate proof. Now it is clear that the word “Mawaaziin” is plural because there are many such personalities.

There some traditions and meanings regarding “The scale of Deeds” which we will mention under Explanation.

The 11th verse completes the explanation of the scale of deeds. It is said:

“And the weighing on that Day will be true and as for those whose scale will be heavy will be successful.9. As for those whose scales will be light, they are those who will lose their own selves because they denied and rejected our Signs.”

The notable point is that the verse mentions many scales of every person and this des c r i p tion supports the explanation which says that there is a separate scale of each deed.

 It has also been said that the soul of a person, his speech, character, body and intention will all have separate scales.

This will be correct only when we take “Mawaaziin” to be the plural of “Mizan” while some people have taken it to be the plural of “Mawzoon” (the things that will be weighed are the deeds of men). In this case every person will have many “Mawaaziin” or scales. Various deeds will be weighed on that Day. This meaning seems incorrect since most commentators and linguists have declared “Mawaaziin” to be the plural of “Mizan” and earlier it was used as the instrument for weighing things.

The weighing down of the scale means the weight of the deeds in it. There are other issues about the scale of justice on the Day of Judgment which will be discussed later.

 


 

1. Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani vol.17 pages 50-51
2. Behar-ol-Anwar vol. 7 page 252
3. Tafsir Burhan vol.3 page 61. similar hadiths have come in other books.
4. The late compiler of Hadiths Sheikh Abbas Qummi has mentioned this tradition for the first time in Mafatih-ol-Jinan.

 

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