(90) It is related by Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Apostle of God said: “On the Day of Requital, God will bring out a man from among my followers, in the presence of all creatures, and ninety-nine volumes will be placed before him, each of which will be as long as the eye can see. It will, then, be said to him, ‘[These are your Books of Deeds]. Do you deny any of the deeds mentioned in them? Have Our angels who kept a watch on your actions and recorded them been unjust to you [and entered a sinful act wrongfully in your account]?' He will reply, ‘No, my Lord! [No one has been unjust to me and I am guilty of all the [transgressions].' God will, then, say, ‘Have you any excuses to offer?' He will reply, ‘No, my Lord, I have excuses.' It will go on like this till [from the questions and answers the man and all the others present will begin to feel that he was doomed but, then, the benevolence of the Most Merciful among those who show mercy will reveal itself and] God will say, ‘Oh yes! We have also with Us a special virtuous deed of yours and no injustice will be done to you this day [i.e., you will not be deprived of its advantage]'. Upon it, a piece of paper will be produced on which will be written: Ash-had-o-An-La-Ila-ha-Il-lallah wa Ash-had-o-An Mohammadan Abduhu wa Rasuluhu [I affirm that there is no god save One God and I affirm that Mohammad is His Slave and Apostle]. The bondsman will, then, be told to make his way to the place where his deeds were to be weighed [i.e., he will be told to go there and have weighment done in his presence]. The bondsman will, thereupon, submit, ‘O Lord! What comparison does this piece of paper bear with the volumes? [i.e., What is the use of going there? The result is know already]'. ‘No', God will say, ‘You will not be dealt with unjustly. [Full justice will be done to you. The piece of paper you consider to be of no value will also be weighed before you and the worth and weight of the Kalima will be made known today and its full benefit will be given to you. So, despair not and go to the Scales of Deeds and see what it proves to be].' After it, the ninety-nine volumes will be placed on one pan of the Balance and the piece of paper on the other pan, and the piece of paper will turn out to be heavier than the ninety-nine volumes. Nothing, [indeed], can be more weighty than the name of Allah.”
-Tirmidhi and Ibn-i-Maja
Commentary.-According to some authorities the Kalima referred to in the above Tradition is the one that will have been recited for the first time with the object of stepping out of the bounds of Infidelity and Polytheism and entering into the fold of Islam. At the time of the weighment of deeds on the Day of Judgement it will have the effect of annulling all the sins committed before the acceptance of Islam. We have seen already how all previous sins are forgiven on the acceptance of Islam.
Another popular explanation is that it alludes to the case of the bondsman who had led a life of folly and transgression for a long time and one volume after another had got compiled of his misdeeds till God showed mercy to him and he earnestly set right his bond with Allah and the Prophet through the Kalima and died in that state.