Think about the
Consequences of Your
Words and Deeds

Everyone should introspect on one’s words and deeds without bias on a daily basis. One must think about what is worth saying or doing and then only speak and act.

According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam once observed “Make an appraisal of yourself before being reckoned with.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2459)

A person is free to act in the present world but he is not free as to the consequences of his action. You are free to say whatever you want to. But you have no power to save yourself from the consequences of your words and deeds.

If someone speaks harshly to others, he cannot expect to get the same response to his bitter words as he would have had to pleasantness. When someone speaks unkindly, he must realize that he will have to suffer the negative reactions from others. Those who act without forethought must know that their acts will have consequences according to the law of nature, rather than according to their own personal desires.

One consequence of harsh words and deeds is that which appears immediately in this world. Other consequences are those which appear in the world after death. The consequences in the Hereafter are going to manifest themselves just as they do in this world. A person no doubt has the power to say whatever he wants and do whatever he wants. But he is powerless to save himself from the consequences of his own words and deeds, neither in the present world nor in the world Hereafter which will be the reality after death.

In such a situation, wisdom demands that every person should become his own watchdog. Everyone should make it a habit to introspect on a daily basis. Everyone should analyze his words and deeds without any bias and must think above all what is worth saying or doing. Before he suffers from the consequences, he must engage in introspection, so that he may save himself in advance from a miserable fate.