Page:The Moslem World - Volume 02.djvu/32

26 "THE BURDEN BEARER" (A Khutba translated from the Arabic)


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In the Name of God, the safe shelter and strong refuge; may He guide you to all truth and protect you from evil. Amen.

After that (i.e., invocation), we begin:—

The Koran says that a burdened soul cannot bear the burden of another soul, which means that every man is responsible for his own sins and enjoys the fruits of his own righteousness, every soul has (to its credit) what it has earned, and against it what (evil) it has acquired.

My brothers, though men in this life have brothers, friends, families, tribes, yet in the Day of Judgment they will be brought to account one by one, whether master or slave, since brother availeth not for brother nor slave for his master; "Dread the day when not in anything shall soul satisfy for soul, nor shall any ransom be taken from it, nor shall intercession avail, and they shall not be helped" (Koran, Surat el-Baqara, 117), but as the Gospel says, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Gal. vi. 7).