Weighing of Deeds
Among the events that will take place on that Day is the weighing of deeds. Allah the Exalted says, “The weighing on that Day will be the truth: whoever’s scales are heavy—it is they who will prosper; and whoever’s scales are light—it is they who have ruined themselves for having wronged Our revelations.” 3
He also says, “We shall set up the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be wronged in the least. Even if it be the weight of a mustard seed, We shall bring it forth, and We are sufficient as Reckoners.” 4
Accordingly, deeds will be weighed on a real balance that has a pointer and two pans.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “The scale by which deeds are weighed is something distinct from abstract justice itself, as the Qur’an and Sunnah indicate—for example, His words, ‘whoever’s scales are heavy,’ and, ‘We shall set up the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection.’”
He then cited several hadiths that mention the weighing of deeds and concluded: “These and similar texts show that deeds will indeed be weighed on scales that reveal whether the good deeds outweigh the bad, or vice versa; through this the reality of justice becomes clear. The purpose of the weighing is justice, just like the scales used in this world.”