The presentation (al-ʿarḍ) means being brought before Allah: “That Day you will be presented and none of your secrets will remain hidden” (69:18); and, “They will be brought before your Lord in rows: ‘You have come to Us just as We created you the first time’” (18:48). People will stand before Allah barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised.

The reckoning (al-ḥisāb) concerns one’s deeds—the confirmation of good deeds and of bad deeds. This applies to the believers. As for the disbeliever, he will not undergo a weighing of good against evil; he will simply be confronted with his sins and disbelief, for he has no good deeds to his credit.

Among the believers are those who will enter Paradise without any reckoning; others will receive only a light reckoning and return to their families rejoicing—this is the presentation; and still others will face a detailed questioning. In the hadith it is said, “Whoever is subjected to a detailed accounting will be punished” (1). These are the various ranks of the believers.

The books (al-kutub) are the scrolls in which their deeds were recorded in this life. On the Day of Resurrection each person will be handed his book, the record of everything he did in the world, for it contains all things: “The record will be set down, and you will see the wicked filled with dread at what is in it, saying, ‘Woe to us! What sort of book is this? It leaves nothing small or great…’”