Hadith: The Hadīth of the Card

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ العَاصِ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَيُخَلِّصُ رَجُلاً مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى رُءُوسِ الخَلاَئِقِ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ فَيَنْشُرُ عَلَيْهِ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ سِجِلًّا كُلُّ سِجِلٍّ مِثْلُ مَدِّ البَصَرِ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: أَتُنْكِرُ مِنْ هَذَا شَيْئًا؟ أَظَلَمَكَ كَتَبَتِي الحَافِظُونَ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لاَ يَا رَبِّ، فَيَقُولُ: أَفَلَكَ عُذْرٌ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لاَ يَا رَبِّ، فَيَقُولُ: بَلَى إِنَّ لَكَ عِنْدَنَا حَسَنَةً، فَإِنَّهُ لاَ ظُلْمَ عَلَيْكَ اليَوْمَ، فَتَخْرُجُ بِطَاقَةٌ فِيهَا: أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، فَيَقُولُ: احْضُرْ وَزْنَكَ، فَيَقُولُ: يَا رَبِّ مَا هَذِهِ البِطَاقَةُ مَعَ هَذِهِ السِّجِلاَّتِ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّكَ لاَ تُظْلَمُ، قَالَ: فَتُوضَعُ السِّجِلاَّتُ فِي كَفَّةٍ وَالبِطَاقَةُ فِي كَفَّةٍ، فَطَاشَتِ السِّجِلاَّتُ وَثَقُلَتِ البِطَاقَةُ، فَلاَ يَثْقُلُ مَعَ اسْمِ اللهِ شَيْءٌ).
[صحيح] - [رواه الترمذي وابن ماجه]

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all of creation on the Day of Judgment. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him; each scroll will be as far as the eye can see. Then He will say: 'Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?' He will say: 'No, O Lord!' He will say: 'Do you have an excuse?' He will say: 'No, O Lord!' So He will say: 'Rather you have a good deed with us; so you will not be wronged today.' Then, He will bring out a card, in which it is written: 'I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.' He will say: 'Bring your scale.' He will say: 'O Lord, what good is this card next to these scrolls?' He will say: 'You will not be wronged.' The scrolls will be put on a pan (of the scale), and the card on (the other) pan. The scrolls will be light, and the card will be heavy, for nothing is heavier than the name of Allah."
Sahih/Authentic. - [At-Tirmidhi]

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) informs in this Hadīth that Allah Almighty will distinguish and choose a man from the whole creation on the Day of Judgment. He will open to him ninety nine large books, each of which will be as far as the eyes can see. Then, Allah Almighty will say to him: Do you deny anything of what is written? Have the angels who recorded your deeds wronged you? He will answer: No, O Lord. He will say: Do you have any excuse? That's in what you did, like forgetfulness, mistake, ignorance, etc. He will reply: No, O Lord. Thereupon, Allah will say: No, you have with us something that will be an excuse for you. You have one accepted great good deed, and you will not be wronged today. Then, a card will be brought out, in which it is written: I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Allah Almighty will say: Bring your weight, or your scale, or the weight of your deeds, so that it will appear to you that no injustice has been done, and that you have been treated with justice and grace. The man will say: O Lord, what is this single card compared to all these numerous scrolls? He will say: You will not be subjected to injustice. But the weight must be considered, in order for you to see that you have not been wronged. So, bring the scale. It is as if he denied that the weight of that small card will be of any significance next to those scrolls. So, he received the reply: You will not be wronged, even concerning a single deed. In other words, do not belittle this card, for it is great in Allah's sight, and nothing is heavier in the scale than the name of the Almighty Lord. The scrolls will be put on one pan, and the card on the other. The scrolls will be light and the card will be heavier. Indeed, nothing can outweigh the name of Allah; that's it overcomes all sins. The Hadīth indicates that the scrolls in which the deeds are recorded will be weighed, and so will the person himself, and his weight will depend on the amount of his faith and deeds. The Hadīth has nothing that denotes generalization; rather, this is a specific incident with one person whom Allah Almighty will honor and bestow His mercy upon. So, no one should solely rely on himself being a Muslim and persist in the commission of sins, even though there are other texts that generally speak about expiation of sins by virtue of the monotheistic belief. But, there are other texts mentioning that some Muslim sinners will enter Hellfire to get purified of their sins, and then they will come out of it and enter Paradise.