The two pans are merely an indicator of how heavy or light a thing is.

Allah has compared faith to a light shining in a niche, and He has likened disbelief to layers of darkness piled one upon another. From this and many other proofs we learn that deeds—though they are intangible qualities—will be given distinct, standing forms: they can be carried, or even carry their doers; they are weighed; they walk ahead of their owners, speak to them, and keep them company. A full treatment of this lies elsewhere.

The point here is that because the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the words of the early generations all affirm that good deeds and bad will be weighed, this supports the view that some good deeds are erased by sins just as some sins are erased by good deeds.

Ibn ʿAbbās said: “Good deeds and bad deeds will be weighed on a scale that has a tongue and two pans. As for the believer, his deeds will be brought in the finest form and placed in one pan—the pan of truth—so that his good deeds outweigh his bad. His deeds will then be placed in Paradise, and he will recognize it by means of his deeds. This is the meaning of Allah’s words:

‘So whoever’s scales are heavy—it is they who will prosper.’ (Qur’an 23:102)

—that is, they are the saved. They will know their dwellings in Paradise better, when they arrive there, than those who attend the Friday prayer know their own homes when they leave the mosque. As for the disbelievers, their deeds will be brought in the ugliest form and placed in the pan of the scale; being falsehood, they will prove so light that they tumble into the Fire, then