Clarification of the meaning of the statement that deeds are judged by their endings
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Q262: The questioner asks: What is meant by the statement that deeds are judged by their endings? And what are the examples of this?
A262: Deeds being judged by their endings means at the time of death, that is, what a person dies upon. If he dies upon good, he is among the people of good, and if
he dies upon evil, he is among the people of evil. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 3332 So the matter revolves around the ending. Therefore, the Muslim should always ask Allah for a good ending, and he should always be engaged in righteous deeds; so that when death comes to him, he is upon righteous deeds. It is fitting for the Muslim, if he makes a mistake, to hasten to repent and not delay repentance. Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:18] , so repentance is not accepted
at the death rattle, and the time for repentance ends. So a person should hasten to repent when a sin or a slip occurs from him, and Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents; so that his ending may be good and beautiful.
A262: Deeds being judged by their endings means at the time of death, that is, what a person dies upon. If he dies upon good, he is among the people of good, and if
he dies upon evil, he is among the people of evil. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
So a man may do deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire, so much so that there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it, and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses, and so he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise and enters Paradise. Similarly, a person may do deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise, so much so that there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it, and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses, and he starts doing deeds of the people of the (Hell) Fire and enters the (Hell) Fire.
فَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنة وَبَيْنَهَا إِلاَّ ذِرَاع فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الجنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُ الجنّة، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الجنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلاَّ ذِرَاع فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُ النَّارَBut repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now," or of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment.
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلاَ الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًاat the death rattle, and the time for repentance ends. So a person should hasten to repent when a sin or a slip occurs from him, and Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents; so that his ending may be good and beautiful.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.