Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
A person will be held accountable for his deeds in this worldly life, whether small or great, whether good or evil. The grave is the first stage of the Hereafter; a person will be questioned about his Lord, his religion, and his Prophet, as mentioned in the hadith of Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib, may Allah be pleased with him.
Then comes the reckoning on the Day of Judgment. The first deed for which a servant will be held accountable is the prayer. If it is complete, it will be recorded for him as complete; if it is deficient, his voluntary prayers will be examined so that the deficiency in the obligatory prayer may be completed through them, as stated in an authentic hadith.
Among the most important questions a servant will be asked on the Day of Judgment is what was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The feet of the son of Adam will not move on the Day of Judgment from before his Lord until he is asked about five things: about his life and how he spent it, about his youth and how he used it, about his wealth—where he earned it and how he spent it—and what he did with the knowledge he acquired.” Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, and regarded as hasan by scholars.
Nations will also be questioned about their response to the messengers. Allah تعالى says:
﴿So We will surely question those to whom the messengers were sent, and We will surely question the messengers.﴾ [Al-A‘raf 7:6]
These are among the most important questions established by the revealed texts. A Muslim should prepare for them by maintaining the prayer, using his life in beneficial matters, seeking lawful earnings and spending his wealth in good causes, and acting upon the truth that he has learned.
We ask Allah to grant us the ability to prepare well for the Day of Judgment and to make our reckoning easy.
And Allah knows best.