“To take account of oneself, that is, to undergo honest selfcriticism, is part of the Muslim practice al-muhasabah, or self-inventory.”
Very interesting article that I found after talking with my mentor about my recent writing blog entry on virtue. She’s in the Naqshabandi tariqah and said that they practice writing 70 things you did good and 70 bad deeds each evening and saying AstaghfurAllah (God forgive me) 70 times before going to sleep. This form of taking into account is important on multiple levels.
The Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar bin al-Khattab says: “Criticize and appraise yourselves before you are criticized and appraised on the Day of Judgment, and weigh out your deeds, before they are weighed out for you.”
Now that’s some powerful stuff. Who wouldn’t want to appraise themselves and have the opportunity to ask for clemency before the day when we are are all held accountable for our actions?
