16 God is One

NO ONE WILL BEAR ANOTHER PERSON'S SINS
Whoever is guided is only guided to his own good. Whoever is misguided
is only misguided to his detriment. No burden-bearer can bear
another's burden. We never punish until We have sent a Messenger.
(Qur'an, 17:15)
Old Testament
The soul who sins is the one who will die. The sonwill not share the
guilt ofthe father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son.
The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and
the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. (Ezekiel
18:20)
PEOPLE ARE PUNISHED FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE
Any disaster that strikes you is through what your own hands have
earned, and He pardons much. (Qur'an, 42:30)
Old Testament
What has happened to usis a result of our evil deeds and our great
guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have
deserved and have given us such deliverance as this. (Ezra 9:13)
TRUST IN GOD
If God helps you, no one can vanquish you. If He forsakes you, who can
help you after that? So the believers should put their trust in God.
(Qur'an, 3:160)
O you who believe! Remember God's blessing to you when certain people
were on the verge of raising theirhands against you and He held their
hands backfrom you. Heed God. The believers should put their trust in
God. (Qur'an, 5:11)
Old Testament
He [Uzziah] sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed
him in the fearof God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him
success. (2 Chronicles 26:5)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding. (Proverbs3:5)
O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. (Psalm 84:12)
GOD STRAIGHTENS OUT THEPATHS
It rests with God alone toshow you the right path:yet there is [many
aone] who swerves from it. If He had wished, He could have guided
everyone of you. (Qur'an, 16:9)
Old Testament
[I]n all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths
straight. (Proverbs 3:6)
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
[Man asks]: "So when is the Day of Resurrection?" But whenthe eyesight
is dazzled, and the moon is eclipsed, and the sun and moon are fused
together, on that Day man will ask: "Where can I run?" No indeed!
There will be no safe place. (Qur'an, 75:6-11)
When the stars are extinguished, when Heaven is split open, when the
mountains arepulverised, and when the Messengers' time is appointed.
(Qur'an, 77:8-11)
The Hour is coming, but Ihave concealed it so thatevery self can be
repaid for its efforts. (Qur'an, 20:15)
They will ask you about the Hour: When is it due?Say: "Knowledge of it
rests with my Lord alone.He alone will reveal it at its proper time.
It hangs heavy in the heavens and Earth. It will not come upon you
except suddenly." They will ask you as if you had full knowledge of
it. Say:"Knowledge of it rests with God alone. But most people do not
know that." (Qur'an, 7:187)
On the Day the sky is like molten brass and the mountains like tufts
of colored wool. No good friend will ask about his friend. (Qur'an,
70:8-10)
When Heaven is split apart and goes red like dregs of oil. (Qur'an, 55:37)
New Testament
But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the
sky... (Mark 13:24-25)
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. (Mark 13:33)
Be careful, or your heartswill be weighed down with dissipation,
drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that Day will close on you
unexpectedly, like a trap.For it will come upon all those who live on
the face of the whole Earth. (Luke 21:34-35)
... The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and Earth and everything in itwill be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people
ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look
forward to the Day of God and speed its coming. That Day will bring
about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will
melt in the heat. (2 Peter 3:10-12)
Old Testament
... For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun
and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. (Joel
3:14-15)
… The Day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the
Almighty. Because of this,all hands will go limp, every man's heart
will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each
other, their faces aflame. See, the Day of the Lord is coming-a cruel
Day, with wrath and fierce anger-to make the land desolate and destroy
the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the
moon will not give its light. (Isaiah 13:6-10)
Alas for that Day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like
destruction from the Almighty. (Joel 1:15)
The great Day of the Lordis near-near and coming quickly. Listen! The
cry onthe Day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting ofthe warrior
there. That Day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin, a day ofdarkness and gloom, a day of clouds
and blackness. (Zephaniah 1:14-15)

Story - He is the one

Long ago in year 2000 I was introduced to a young man. We met at
Starbucks for coffee. To this day I remember whatwe wore. He was
wearing a ski jacket and blue jeans and I was wearing a pleather
jacket with a well fitted grey sweater and black jeans. My friends
would always teased me at work when I wore the sweater and ask me if I
was going on a date, they called it the date sweater. The date didn't
work out and soon after Imoved to a new city for ajob promotion. Years
passed and during that time I received another job promotion in
anothercity. One day I decided to return home. I told my parents I was
interested in meeting someone and if they knew of anyone they should
let me know. My parents told everyonethey knew and my aunt knew of
someone. We met and after a brief conversation we decided to get
married. We were engaged for a year and separated within a year of
marriage. During our separation I moved across the country to get
away. I spent a lot of time reflecting back on life, trying to
understand why life was going the way it was. It was then that I
realized the man I had married was the manI had met for coffee in year
2000. We met in year 2000 and went our separate ways. In 2005 we met
again and got married and as life wouldhave it, I'm sure we'll be
meeting again and this time we'll be having a child and purchasing a
home. We can't live with each other and we can't live without each
other. All we have is each other.

Story - I miss him so bad

I am yet just only 19 yearsold, but I was with this guy for going on
10 yearson and off. We started going out when I was 10 and he was 11.
And we have been back and forth to each other (even after we never
hadanything to do with eachother for the two years that i was with
another guy, we still remained very close) I Love this guy, obviously.
And he is such a nice person, insideand out. I know we love each other
a lot. We just never talk about it.
We hook up every other weekend. But that just isn't enough for me. I
really want to be "his girl" once and for all! But...I think he is
with another girl...which makes my heartache!
He knows that I Love him lots....but what if he lovesthis other girl
too..I am soconfused...somebody give me a little help on how I should
get to talking to my "childhood love"!!!!

The Importance of good companionship

Choosing and having good companions is extremely important for many
reasons and from many aspects.
1. Mankind cannot live alone; every individual must live and interact
with others, and when interacting with others one either influences or
is himself influenced.
2. Those people whom you sit with and make your friends are inevitably
going to fall into one oftwo categories. They will either be good
individuals - who guide and encourage you towards whatis good and help
you to accomplish that which Allaah hasordered, or they are going to
be bad - encouraging you to do what is pleasing to Satan, that which
misleads you, and leads you to the Hell-Fire.
3. When the Prophetwas sentwith the mission to establish Islam, he did
not do it on his own. Rather, Allaah chose for himcompanions who
accompanied him and who carried the Messageuntil it was complete.
These three aspects show the importance of having good companions,
companions who are righteous. Such a companion will help you to do
what is good and remind you of Allaah, he will enjoin what is good and
forbid what is evil. These aspects also show the importance of
avoiding befriending bad companions, because such a companion will
have a bad effect upon you, they help you to do those deeds whichare
displeasing to Allaah and which lead to the Hell-Fire.
The Prophetgave a good similitude regarding this. Hesaid:"The case of
the good companion and the bad companion is like that of the seller of
musk and the blower of the bellows )iron-smith(. As for the seller of
musk, he will either give you some of the musk, or you will purchase
some from him, or at least you will come away having experienced its
good smell. Whereas the blower of the bellows will either burn your
clothing, or at least you will come away having experienced its
repugnant smell."]Al-Bukhaariand Muslim[
The Prophetexplained the matter of good companionship, so that no room
is left for doubt or confusion, when hesaid:"A person is upon the
religion of his close friend, so beware whomyou befriend."]Abu Daawood
andAt-Tirmithi[
This means that a person will be upon the same methodology as his
friend, the same path as his friend, the same nature, manner and
behavior as his friend. So we must be careful whom we befriend. There
is an Arabic saying: 'Your companion is what pulls you to something.'
So if your companion is good, he will pull you towards that which is
good. He will order us with what is good and forbid us from what is
evil. If he observes us committing sins he would warn us, if he
becomes aware of our shortcomings he would advise us, and if he finds
a fault in us he would cover it and not disclose it to others. About
this, the Prophetsaid:"…Whoever conceals)the fault of( a Muslim,
Allaah will conceal his fault on the day of Judgment."]Abu Daawood[
So should you see a fault in your brother, you should wish to remove
that fault from him and not expose it to the people. This is what is
required by brotherhood and again stresses the importance of choosing
friends who are upon the correct way, who are loyal, and who hideyour
faults whilst ordering you with good and forbidding you from evil, who
stand beside you and support you, and co-operate with you upon all
that is good.
This principle is important from the standpoint of how the religion is
to be established, and from the standpoint of what brotherhood is and
what it does. Indeed, the reason that one takesa companion is to help
him establish Islam, and to help him worship Allaah. We find a good
example in the Prophet Moosaathe one whom Allaah chose and spoke to.
When Allaah sent him to Pharaoh, he )Moosaa(said as Allaah informs us
saying)what means(:"And appoint for me a helper from my family,
Haaroon - my brother; increase my strength with him, and let him share
my task )of conveying Allaah's Message and Prophethood(, that we may
glorify You much and remember You much."]Quran; 20: 29-34[
Moosaawanted his brother to support him and help him, protect him and
accompany him. This is exactly what the believers do for one another.
For the thing that binds the believers together and makes them
brothers is the bond of faith. The Prophetsaid:"There are three
characteristics; whoever has them will taste the sweetness of faith:
That Allaah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than all else,
that he loves a person and does not love him except for the sake of
Allaah, and that he would hate to revert to unbelief just as he would
hate to be thrown into the Fire."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Thus the connection between thebelievers is based upon faith and
sincere brotherhood. Beware against taking any companion if such
companionship is based upon other than this, for if you were to do
that you would then bite your hands in grief. Just as the unjust ones
will bite their hands in grief. Allaah Says )what means(:"And
)remember( the Daywhen the wrong-doer)oppressor, polytheist etc.( will
bite at his hand, he will say: 'Oh! Would that I had taken a path
with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never
takenso-and-so as a friend! He indeed led me astray from the
Reminder)the Quran( after it had come to me….'"]Quran; 25:27[
And Allaah Says )what means(:"And whosoever turns away fromthe
remembrance of the Most Beneficent )Allaah(, We appoint for him Satan
to be a Qareen)intimate companion( to him."]Quran; 43:36[
So all of the physical togetherness that you see around you, which is
based upon other than faith will be wiped away on that Day, and it
will be a source of misery and torture for them. Allaah Says )what
means(:"Friends on that Day will be foes one to another except the
pious."]Quran; 43:67[