This is among the reports narrated by al-Bukhārī from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The believers will escape the Fire and be held on a bridge between Paradise and the Fire. Redress will then be exacted from some on behalf of others for wrongs committed between them in this world. Once they have been refined and purified, they will be permitted to enter Paradise. By Him in whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul, each of them will know the way to his dwelling in Paradise better than he knew the way to his dwelling in this world.”

Refinement means purification, just as gold is refined to remove its impurities. It is thus clear that the believers enter Paradise only after being refined and purified of their remaining sins. What, then, of someone who has no good deeds by which to cross the Bridge? Furthermore, if its cause persists, so does the recompense. Good, by contrast, comes from the bounty of the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all, the Everlasting, the First and the Last. Its cause is therefore everlasting, and it endures as long as its cause endures.

When a person knows that evil comes from himself, he does not expect perfect happiness while the evil within him remains. Rather, he recognizes the truth of the Most High’s words:

“Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it.”

And His words:

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.”

“And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”