Days pass swiftly, one after another, but unfortunately, most people realize this fact too late. After years of indulgence and heedlessness, one looks to the mirror and finds, to one’s surprise, that the dark hair has turned white, the strong body has become weak, the handsome face is full of wrinkles, and youth has become history. Other people do not become conscious of this bitter fact until death faces them, whereupon they realize the great losses they have incurred.

To avoid this grim end, you, dear reader, need to habituate yourself with constant accounting. Before doing any act, ask yourself why you are doing such an act? Is it lawful or not? Would it please Allah or displease Him? Is there an act more appropriate and preferable? Would you get closer to Allah by doing this act, or not?

When you accustom yourself to constant accounting, you will reap many benefits. The following are just some of them:

1. You will realize your shortcomings, and thus you will be able to reform them.

2. You will hasten to repent to Almighty Allah before it is too late.

3. You will become mindful of your duties towards Almighty Allah, for the basic reason that calling yourself to account is to reproach yourself for negligence in this respect.

4. You will submit to Almighty Allah heart and soul.

5. You will realize how far Almighty Allah is generous and merciful to His servants, as He, Most High, does not inflict immediate punishment for wrong acts in this world, even though they are immense.

6. You will exert your utmost in offering acts of obedience and shunning prohibitions. This, in turn, helps ease the process of bringing you into account on the Hereafter.

7. You will seek to give people their rights, reconcile with those you might have been in dispute with, and behave morally.

This is to be done as follows:

First, examine the way you perform the ordinances of Islam. If you find anything missing in this regard, you are to make up for it immediately.

Second, consider the prohibitions of Islam. If you find that you have committed some sin in this respect, hasten to repent to Almighty Allah and ask Him Most High for forgiveness, seeking, meanwhile, to offer extra good acts so that you may wipe out the wrongful ones you have done.

Third, reflect upon your words and deeds and ask yourself whether they are lawful or not.

Fourth, think of the time you have wasted in not remembering Almighty Allah or doing useful activity, and try to make up for this by offering dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and getting closer to Almighty Allah.

Abu Ad-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

Man’s life is but days. Whenever a day passes, a part of man’s life passes too. So, you youth of twenties, contemplate how many comrades of yours have passed away, and you are still there! You people of thirties! You have just lost youth, how come you regret nothing? You people of forties! Youth has abandoned you; how come you are still tempted to this world? You people of fifties! You are a half-century old, but you still wrong yourselves! And you people of sixties! You are on the threshold of death, yet you still succumb to the temptations of this world. How unwise you are!