because You are the only One

if we cannot determine our physical appearance, neither can we determine our destiny. it is only Allah Who determines the birth of a man, his community, his family and the experience he will have throughout his life. it is again Allah Who inspires in us wisdom and good sense.

even our faith in Allah does not depend on our own characteristics. again it is Allah, the One and Only, Who grants us faith. He is the One Who guides, teaches and trains. as Musa (Moses) said in reply to a question put by Pharaoh: "Our Lord is He that gave to each thing its form and nature and further, gave guidance." [QS Ta Ha 50]

those who go to hell are the people who fully deserve it, because they have rebelled against Allah Who created them and in feeling the wrath of Allah, they receive their just deserts. as for those who are admitted to paradise, Allah grants them His blessings and forgives their sins.

the believers must understand how wonderful it is to have been chosen by Allah, and must be grateful and praise Allah with all their hearts for what He has given them in His munificence. they should appreciate that they have been chosen from among millions of people and that they are the few blessed servants of Allah to be selected and set apart from a community whose members face perdition. the entire conduct of the believers should reflect the honour of this great privilege. Allah describes those who face perdition thus:

"By (the Token of) Time. Verily man is in loss. Except those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and recommend one another to truth, and recommend one another to patience."
[QS al-'Asr 1-3]

is there a higher honour than that of being rescued and exalted above all others by the Lord of the Universe?

death of this earth

over the last few centuries, many new probable causes for the world's end have emerged, and their number continues to increase every day. our planet's current situation contains a strong message: earth's end is a certainty, and its time is approaching. physicists, in particular, frequently express their concerns about this, as follows:

"If the universe has a finite stock of order, and is changing irreversibly towards disorder—ultimately to thermodynamic equilibrium—two very deep inferences follow immediately. The first is that the universe will eventually die, wallowing, as it were, in its own entropy. This is known among physicists as the 'heat death' of the universe. The second is that the universe cannot have existed for ever, otherwise it would have reached its equilibrium end state an infinite time ago. Conclusion: the universe did not always exist."
[Paul Davies, God and The New Physics]

it is surprising that so many people continue to live without considering their own end and being in awe of Allah, and remain totally absorbed by their worldly lives despite the proximity of death. and, it is even more surprising that most people, when reminded of death and the ensuing hardships, consider it a distant possibility. as they reject the Qur'an outright, its descriptions of the Day of Judgment have no meaning for them. they behave as if they will live forever, and so endanger the eternal life for the sake of a temporary life. death, which people try to avoid at all costs, will find all of them, for neither humanity nor the universe can avoid or prevent death. the Qur'an reveals this reality, as follows:

Say: "Death, from which you are fleeing, will certainly catch up with you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, and He will inform you about what you did."
[QS al-Jumu‘a 8]

given that earth's destruction is a physical fact rather than a belief, the factors that will contribute to its end reveal themselves in the light of scientific discoveries. even people who do not believe in Allah or any other religion must acknowledge that the universe is approaching its inevitable end. hence, a new reality besides belief in the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter emerges. this is a frightening reality, because it means endless nothingness. the signs of the approaching Last Day leave people with a number of options: some unbelievers see it is an endless nothingness, whereas believers see it is either eternal pleasure or eternal suffering...

The Hour is coming, but I have concealed it so that every self can be repaid for its efforts.
[QS Ta Ha 15]