Essence of accountability
By Haider Zaman
Among the entire creation of Allah, why have only the human beings been chosen for stringent accountability and appropriate requital on the Day of Judgment? The Holy Quran answers this question when it says, "We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid of it, but man accepted it" (33:72).
It says again, "Had We sent this Quran upon a mountain, you would have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah" (59:21). The word "trust" in the context of the first verse implies responsibilities of the office of Allah's vicegerent along with the guidance and resultant accountability. This is evident from the very object of the creation of human beings, which, according to the Quran, was to place them as Allah's vicegerents on earth (2:30).
As Allah's vicegerents they have to perform certain functions and discharge some responsibilities - in a nutshell, understanding, acting upon and implementing what Allah has ordained with the resultant accountability. This is what the word "worship" in the context of the verse (51:56) implies. These responsibilities, according to the verse (33:72), were offered to the heavens, the earth and the mountains but all of them refused to accept them. It was, however, the man who accepted them.
The next verse (59:21) says that if the Quran, which, inter alia, spells out the whole range of responsibilities of Allah's vicegerency and the necessary guidance for discharging them in a proper way, had been sent upon the mountains they would have shattered out of the fear of Allah. Such is the weight and awe of the burden of responsibilities of Allah's vicegerency and its accountability.
It is, however, not that Allah placed human beings as His vicegerents on earth, entrusting them with the responsibilities of the office and making them accountable for the same, without support. Allah has set a principle on which He acts, and it is that He never places such burden on them which they cannot bear (23:62). That's why Allah has provided them all that they need to facilitate the discharge of the responsibilities entrusted to them.
In the first instance, they have been created in the best possible form (95:4). Secondly, they have been endowed with all the faculties necessary for discharging their responsibilities as Allah's vicegerents. These faculties are: the ability to think, to reason, to hear, to feel, to see, to talk, to love, to be merciful and to make a distinction between right and wrong (16:78) (30:21) (91:8).
Thirdly, they have been provided necessary guidance, starting with Adam and ending with Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) (20:123, 124) (76:3). Fourthly, whatever is on the earth and in the heavens has been subjected to them (31:20). Fifth, Allah has prescribed a common and the easiest possible way for seeking forgiveness for any deviations and the wrongs done by them, namely, sincere repentance (11:90). All these endowments have been summed up by the Quran thus "and conferred on them special favours above a greater part of Our creation" (17:70).
At the same time, human beings have been made accountable for the responsibilities entrusted to them. As the Quran says "Thus We shall most certainly call to account all those to whom We sent Our Messengers and shall also ask the Messengers" (7:6). It further says "but you shall certainly be called for your actions" (16:93).
The reason for such accountability is not the entrusting of responsibilities of the office of Allah's vicegerency alone or the favours bestowed, but also the free will (76:3) that human beings have along with their soul (91:7) and its three inclinations, namely, the inclination towards doing wrong and evil deeds (12:53), the inclination towards repentance and self-rapprochement for wrong done (75:2) and the inclination towards doing good and righteous deeds (89:27).
It is here that the question of accountability assumes special significance. Man has his own will, yet he is required to submit to the Will of Allah, i.e., to discharge his responsibilities as Allah's vicegerent in the manner ordained by Allah. He has been provided necessary guidance about the way he has to discharge his responsibilities, yet the soul (Nafs-i-Ammarah) impels him to deviate. Hence the need for accountability.
Thus, if human beings have been created to act as Allah's vicegerents on earth and endowed with all the faculties they need to discharge their responsibilities in a befitting manner and also provided the necessary guidance, it is only just and equitable that they have been made accountable to the responsibilities entrusted to them. In fact, the whole scheme of placing human beings as Allah's vicegerents on earth and guiding them to discharge their responsibilities as such would have been meaningless without accountability and the due process of requital.
Accountability will be on an individual basis and will take place on the Day of Judgment. As the Quran says "no bearer will bear the burden of another" (17:15). It further says "We have fastened the augury of every man to his neck, and on the Day of Judgment We shall bring forth a writing which he will find like an open book. (It will be said to him) Here is your record: read it. Today you yourself suffice as a reckoner against yourself" (17:13, 14).
About the requital, the Quran says "whoever adopts righteous ways, his righteous conduct will be for his own good, and whoever goes astray, his deviation will bring its consequences on himself" (17:15). It further says "but those who believe and do righteous deeds, He will give them their due rewards and more, out of His Bounty" (4:173). And "whoever does evil will be requited accordingly" (4:123).
Intercession will be possible but only by those who will be permitted by Allah. As the Quran says "who is there to intercede with Him except by His own permission" (2:255) and "no one can intercede in any manner except with His permission" (10:3). The Quran further says that "Shirk (disbelief in the unity of Allah) is the only sin that Allah does not forgive. He may forgive whosoever He will, other than this sin, for whoever associates a partner with Allah does, in fact, go far astray into deviation" (4:116). It means that all sins except disbelief in the unity of Allah are forgivable.
There can be three possible ways of forgiveness for the wrongs done. One is when a person sincerely repents in the life of this world. The other is through intercession subject to the conditions laid down in the above-mentioned verses. The third is when Allah Himself forgives some one.
According to a saying of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), Allah divided mercy in a hundred parts. He kept 99 of these with Himself, most of which He will make use of on the Day of Judgment, and one part was sent down to earth to be distributed among human beings and all other living creatures (Muslim). Thus making use of His Mercy, Allah may forgive many of the wrong-doers except those who associated partners with Him.