THE RECORDERS

We are told in the Qur'an that there are five things explicitly of which the knowledge is with Allah alone. As it says in His Book: 'Verily, Allah, with Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).' (s. 31, v. 34)

We are told also that Allah knows full well what is in our hearts, and that this knowledge is also for Allah alone.

However, out of His everlasting mercy for us-His creatures, and His truly Omniscient power over all things and all of creation, He has decreed that a small section of His creation is endowed with an eminently small morsel of His tremendous knowledge and insight. Glory be to Him, in whose Hand is the dominion over all! It is only for Him to decree for anything to be, and it is!

He has granted a portion of His powerful knowledge and insight of the world of the unknown and the unseen to a select group of angels. Of these angels, He has appointed two for every single soul as recorders of their deeds. And He knows full well that these angels are worthy of the grave responsibility not only of recording everything, but as well of delving into their charge's hearts and comprehending and then recording their intentions as well. For Allah has created the angels in differing fashion from mankind-whatever they have been appointed to do, they do so in the most perfect obedience to Allah's directive, and with the utmost dignity and without questioning or hesitance.

It says in His Book: '(Remember) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive (each human being), one sitting on the right and one of the left (to note his or her actions). Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).' (s. 50, v. 17-18).

Now, you may say-but what does that have to do with the unknown, or the unseen? What a person does or says has been publicized-at the very least to those constantly around him/her- i.e. the recording angels.

Yes, but Allah also tells us: 'And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are nearer to him that his jugular vein.' (s. 50, v. 16)

Yet, still, this above-mentioned verse is referring the knowledge of that which is in our hearts to be with Allah.

But we have indication otherwise, in a hadith qudsi, of how Allah has decreed for the recording angels to have the insight and ability to know what is in the deepest depth of our hearts.

Narrated Abu Huraira (ARA), that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: Allah says:
" Whenever My slave intends to do a bad deed, (I say to the deeds-recording angels): Do not record it against him until he (actually) commits it. If he has done so, write it down exactly as one in his record book. But if he refrains from it for My sake, write down this as a virtue in his favor. And when he intends to do a good deed, but does not actually do it, write it as a virtue for him. And if he puts it into practice, write its reward equal to, from ten to seven hundred times (in his account). (Muslim, Bukhari, and Tirmidhi).

Glory be to Him the Most High, the Most Compassionate, certainly the Most Merciful!!

We see with the evidence of this hadith, that Allah's grand mercy and compassion reaches out to us in such an extent that we are not only rewarded for our deeds ten-fold, but we are even rewarded for merely thinking to do a good deed. As well, not only are we held accountable only one time for a bad deed-but we also receive recorded reward for merely thinking to do a bad deed without commencing to commit it. Glory be to Him-such compassion and mercy.

I pray that we can all find the inspiration to be had from these examples given here, that we may not only form our lives to performing more good deeds, but that we may also be blessed by His mercy and guidance to clear and purify our intentions as well.

May our scales of deeds weigh heavy towards the good.