Fate and Destiny

Fate and Destiny are two anonymous - or abused - words for a lot of people but, after a good deal of thinking, you�ll find that these words carry very interesting and delicate meanings that would delight the soul and pacify the mind! Do you have any doubt that Allah knows everything?

If after all the clear evidences you witnessed believe that He is the creator of these worlds, you shouldn�t be hesitant that He is also an expert in every atom created in this universe. That He is all knowing of the beginnings and ends of each one of these atoms individually and that He is completely aware of their places and storage.

Allah said in the Holy Quran Should He not know, He that created? And He is the One that understands the finest mysteries (and) is well acquainted (with them). [67:14]
To believe that Allah the Lord of the worlds knows everything in His creation is something quite instinctive.
The more the human�s knowledge and understanding increases in these earthly sciences, Man becomes more aware that Divine knowledge is far more comprehensive and more extensive than his. To the extent that nothing happened in the past or will happen in the future can be hidden from Allah�s knowledge and awareness. The Unbelievers say, "Never to us will come the Hour": say, "Nay! But most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you; - by Him Who knows the unseen - from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the Heavens or on earth: nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous. [34:3]

But what is this perspicuous record?
It is the record of the Divine knowledge described above, a record of awareness of all that exists, what was in the past and what will be in the future�!

It is a great stupidity to even think that Allah doesn�t know what his creatures are doing. He knows that from ancient times or He doesn�t deserve to be called the provider, sustainer, and the one who rewards and punishes over good and bad deeds. All that they do is noted in (their) Books (of Deeds): Every matter, small and great, is on record. [54:52-53]

Yes, everything is written and recorded in the records of the comprehensive and precise divine knowledge. The Holy Quran has always assured this reality: No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: that is truly easy for Allah. [57:22]

Here we ask how does this Divine knowledge concern us? Does the indisputable truth of this knowledge have an effect over our wills and deeds so that both Allah�s knowledge and our actions are consistent and alike?
The answer is no�And anyone who says that Allah�s knowledge presses people to do or not to do something is a liar.

Divine knowledge of our voluntary deeds and action or what others do to us against our wills, doesn�t have the function of compulsory causing and directing.

This knowledge is theoretical in action and it doesn�t go beyond the awareness and the perception that is a characteristic of the Divine perfection.

Our admittance of this is an admission of what Allah almighty possesses of greatness and glory.

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You might say let�s suppose that Allah�s knowledge doesn�t have anything to do with making people do good or bad.

And that this vast record is something out of our concern and doesn�t affect us except that we believe in its existence and being.

But Allah�s inevitable will along with this comprehensive knowledge means that Allah has everything.

That he created the world as he wished, arranged its elements in the way He wants, coordinated the degrees among his creatures as he desired, and that He is a doer (without let) of all that He intends!

The bottom line behind this discussion is that people are then held between Allah�s will and ability and His previous Knowledge and that they have no entity or consistency of their own what so ever!

We say this is a childish understanding of the Divine will. It is an understanding that overcomes some sick minds and deviates them from light to darkness. They think that if Allah wants anything he would just say Be. Then between the B and E everything changes in a glance, the poor becomes rich, the barren becomes productive, the sterile becomes fertile, and the defeated becomes a winner. This is as I said a childish understanding.

The Divine will is Allah�s laws and rules set in his creation and to them the earth and the heavens abide and follow.

If Allah almighty wants to create a man he won�t come to nothing and say BE a man then out of nowhere a man would emerge as a complete human being with great muscles and healthy parts, No. Things will happen according to the pre arrangement set by Allah the Lord of the worlds. This human being would begin as a sperm, an embryo, a baby, a boy, a young man�etc.

If Allah wanted to create fruit, his Will shall take its usual course from planting the seeds, watering them, seasons pass by, heat and cold, and the caring hands watching over them from the beginning till the end.

Man is a creature whom was given by Allah, certain ethical and physical attributes that are considered the areas of his entrustment and the reason for his revival�the freedom that he undoubtedly possesses is Allah�s will for him, and if Allah wanted, He would have made him something else.

It is Allah almighty who created the angels with only one direction to follow regardless of what degrees of awareness He provided them with.

Allah is the one who created Man with this ramified nature and different desires. Allah could have created Man on perceiving and following one direction only. The direction that Allah wants him to follow but He didn�t and gave him freedom of choice. This is Allah�s will for this Man without coercion or compulsion. Some na�ve understand the meaning of the Divine will in an ignorant and incomplete manner. They assume that this Will is something that goes without focus, or as a blind coincidences, or think of it as something that happens without introductions or as an introductions that compile together but don�t produce any results and so on�

They give - as a title for this confusion - the name Fate and Destiny but Islam is innocent from these illusions.
That Allah Almighty isn�t coerced by anyone is something that we realize by nature. His will is superior, high and absolute in this universe. Where can you find a person that can stand against His will in a time that every creation acquires its own existence from Allah�s Almighty? People of intellect should study the meaning of this will! They will find that the properties of things, and the attributes of creatures, are the fixed, stable and wise appearance of this Holly will. The will of Allah for the animals to be unwise means that their function in life is limited with a group of physical qualities that have been provided to them. The will of Allah for Man to be wise and responsible means that the message of Man in this life is governed with what Allah has gifted this man from talents, and with what Allah has given him from ability and freedom. The man who walks away from his freedom and ability and alleges that he is like the limited animals or plants is a man who is a liar on his Lord and on his existence.

There are groups of people who have dying mentalities and they say we don�t have any kind of will or capability, they go around in life with a slogan �we don�t have to do anything� everything is written upon us, and what Allah wants will happen.

This kind of talk is away form Islam and is not related to it. It is also considered a silly understanding of Allah�s attributes and to the mission Man has in this life.

Judge Abu Bakr Bin Al-Arabi said: Allah doesn�t have a creation better than Man. Allah has created Man alive, capable, talker, hearer, endowed with eyesight, planner and wise.

These are the Qualities and attributes of Allah Almighty Himself and about that the Prophet pbuh said �Allah created Adam upon his own image�. He means by image not the looks but the qualities and attributes.

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Look how Allah�s will has determined to create Man on this outstanding scale: Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight. We showed him the way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will). [79:2-3] But in spite of that there were some people who denied their function and reality in this life. They even went a step further on removing any signs of strength they possess by saying that strength is for Allah alone. They even neglected having any will at all by saying that Allah�s will is everything. This is considered a decline in thinking and stupidity in perception. Fate and Destiny have no such existence in Islam in this sense. Fate and Destiny means to become aware of Allah�s comprehensive and perfect characteristics and attributes, as they should be for Him, and for the signs of this knowledge to appear of your manners and behavior.

It is not right that in order for you to find an excuse not to do or do something, to go ahead and talk about Allah�s will, strength, power and capability.

The talk about Fate and Destiny and about Allah�s absolute strength and power is most appropriate when you witness the outcome of something not just the reasons for that thing. This is because when you start taking the reasons that might lead to something you are performing the mission that has been assigned and created for you. If the outcome was pleasing and according to what you planned you praise Allah who helped and aided you, knowing that if He wished He would have prevented or hindered the outcomes you anticipated.

If the results were not achieved because of reasons out of your reach you would take refuge in Allah�s will and you�d hand over yourself to him without being terrified by that deprivation or defeat.

Fate and Destiny is a creed which consolidates balance between what should be for Allah and what people should do, because Man might forget or exceed the proper bounds and become tyrannical. He would consider himself everything in this existence and he would forget that in spite of the fine qualities Allah gave him - is subdued by matters that would make him incapable and would paralyze his movement and would make him remember- voluntarily or by force - that the universe is governed by their original Creator, who he holds in His hands, and overcomes by his will. If you would just patiently and reasonably consider what is happening around you, what happened before, and will after you. If you would just consider what�s becoming of you and the others you wouldn�t hesitate for a moment that this higher supervision is so wise and so precise that it manages all matters and all people.

You even wouldn�t hesitate to think that people are orbiting the boundaries set to them by the One who made the day and night the One who gives life and takes it away, the One who gives and deprives.

You are free in your wills, thoughts, and deeds.
You will be punished for your sins, rewarded for your good, by wisdom and justice.
You are ordered and prohibited because in your creation is the nature of accepting commands and inhibitions, and in you is the nature of taking action or not.

With all this you are still part of a bigger scheme known only by the King who has all the sovereignty and capability. Being as part of this whole plan makes you governed by various matters of hardships and harms or blessings and wealth, but you won�t be blamed for what overcomes you from this life�s matters. Allah doesn�t blame people for things out of their reach: But there is no blame on ye if ye make a mistake therein: (what counts is) the intention of your hearts: and Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. [33:5]

There are some verses in the Holy Quran that apparently show coercion and other verses that apparently show free will. There is no contradiction between the two groups of verses because each has its own field where which they could apply. The first group represents part of the truth while the second group represents the other part.

Verses of free will deal with what people are asked to do from deeds and what consequences and responsibilities fall on them in this life. The story of creation, the messages, punishment, reward, and the Divine justice are all built upon this side taken for granted by reason and succession.

To try to challenge this self-evident truth is a claim that this life is a comic story and a heavenly tragedy, and that Allah is the doer of all actions, which then he punishes or rewards people upon accordingly! That Allah even orders and prohibits with the knowledge that there is no place for His orders or prohibitions. This kind of argument is nothing but non-sense coming out either of crazy mouths or by disowned peoples accusations but Allah praise- worthy is so high above all that they say.

As for verses of coercion they only deal with the general scheme Allah has planned for human life� it is a plan that we have nothing to do with though it concerns us from various perspectives.

Allah alone is the one who determines the time and place of our coming to this life, and He is the only one who determines the time and place of our departure from it.
Allah is the only one who determines the amount of physical and ethical power provided or will be given to us during our struggle through these timed years of our lives.

Then the amount of choice given to us is surrounded by the nature of these forces both in quality and quantity.
So man even though is a capable being, he is not a creator. And even though he is a planner, he is not a God to do what he may.

How often would you find great intentions, which then are handicapped by the means they don�t possess.

The bottom line is that Man is free in the range of his responsibilities, but just a mere servant in this great universe provided to him by his Lord.

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The Last Reward

Funerals pass us by on the way to their final destination; we glimpse quickly on them�!

A gloomy thought might cross our minds, but soon life�s joys overwhelms us and we cease to think in what we saw, and what will happen afterwards.

Most people think that death is the end of human existence, and the final chapter of the human�s life sensation and thinking, and what it has done from good or evil�!

Materialists think that death covers the curtains over the story of life, and nothing will be left except a story sometimes told and sooner or later will be forgotten and buried!

In the eyes of Islam this is considered astray from truth and far from reality.

Death is a new evolution in the chain of human life.
One with death is born in a New World where he/she will find his/her reward over what he/she has done in this life.
Punishment in the grave is something quite similar to what happens to criminals in this life.
Somebody get caught by the police and then dragged to police station for interrogation where he under goes a preliminary investigation, then he would be put under custody in a reserved cell until the interrogation takes place again in a larger trial and court room.

The reward in grave is like someone who is waiting to receive his prize.
He will be summoned kindly, welcomed honorably, seated in a fine parlor, happy and amused until the time to receive the prize.
This is common sense in the world of spirit.
There must be reward for the good and punishment for the bad.
The Holy Quran presents various images and many examples of this expected joy and the predicted furnace so people might be restrained from giving themselves away to life�s deceptions and earthly desires. Along with repeated conscious calls that propel people towards doing Good with all its nobility and honor, and warns them from committing evil with all its ingratitude and meanness. In addition, people can never live without physical punishment or reward through their lives, because they are not just mere spirits. Their physical being cannot be ignored. And as long as the bodies and desires are considered distinctive features this human being that differentiates him from Angels for example, then there is no sense in disparaging the physical reward and punishment, or to belittle its value.
This is the secret in the Quran�s long talk about the Paradise prepared for the pious, and Hell prepared for the disbeliever.

This talk is related to the fact that Man is going to live immortally in the hereafter with an entity that is both spiritual and physical, and that Man�s human characteristics that distinguishes him from other creatures wouldn�t be taken away though they might take other situations and forms.

So lets believe in Allah and the hereafter, and let us be confident that our lives are extended after we depart this earth!
Let us also believe from all our hearts that vanity and immorality in this life are followed by woe and grief in the hereafter no matter how far one goes overlooked and relaxed in this life!
And let us be certain that hard work and righteousness would produce the best consequences no matter what one might find from hardships or neglect. Allah said in the Holy Quran: We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgment, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account): and enough are We to take account. [21:47]

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This life

There is an idea that has prevailed until recent times says that Religion in general is an enemy of life�that life hasn�t reached this high level of scientific advancements and achievements except after it has over thrown the religious inspirations, and the religion�s keen interest in life after death not in life itself.

We are absolutely sure that as far as Islam is concerned this idea is totally inapplicable.

The least meditation in Islam�s teachings confirms that there is a strong relation between the perfection of faith and fair research and work in the universe and life. The Holy Quran tells human beings about this world in the same way that you tell a rich person about his vast belongings and available abilities. Without deny, Man in Islam�s view is the owner of this universe, its pampered, served master. What can be said to human more than this Do ye not see that Allah has subjected to your (use) all things in the heavens and on earth, and has made His bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, (both) seen and unseen? Yet there are among men those who dispute about Allah, without knowledge and without guidance, and without a Book. To enlighten them! [31:20]

The sun even rises and sets for us. The stars shine in the far skies just for the pleasure of our eyes, and as a guide for us in the darkest nights. Look at these verses and the pleasure they indicate. What! Are you more difficult to create or the heaven (above)? Allah has constructed it. On high has He raised its canopy, and has given it order and perfection. Its night dose he endow with darkness, and its splendor does he bring out (with light). And earth moreover, has He extended (to a wide expanse): He drawth out there form its moisture and pasture. And mountains has He firmly fixed, for use and convenience to you and your cattle. [79:27-33]

The earth is crowded with fields for our nourishment, and gardens for our pleasure because Allah gathers necessities and recreation for us, he doesn�t ask for return from them anything but for them to know Him alone, that�s why He asked: who has created the heavens and the earth, and who sends you down rain from the sky? Yea, with it We cause to grow well-planted orchards full of beauty and delight: it is not in your power to cause the growth of the trees in them. (Can there be another) god besides Allah? Nay, they are a people who swerve from justice. [27:60]

In order to construct true faith we need its elements to be taken from thinking and meditating in this universe. The more elements one with the right vision and sight gathers the more faith he/she will possess, on the other hand, the less insight and vision one has for the universe the less will be his /her faith. Some people might stay trapped with their near sightedness in their places still, and would never benefit from thinking nor from other examples. These people who are locked up within their limits are urged by the Quran to move and wander the earth may be this traveling stirs something in their steadfast minds and attach them to the great realities they failed to observe:

Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their chests. [22:46]

The Holy Quran is an intelligent book in the way it connects people to the universe and in the way it draws their attention to its wonders and phenomena�s. The Quran has related their material life to the good deeds in this world, and related their spiritual life to the well being of the way they think and perceive the universe around them. Is there a better guidance than this in attaching people with real and correct way of living?

Yes, religions has been plagued with those who miss understood them, made life difficult with them, lessened peoples connections to them, and wanted to make religion a big prison and a difficult ordeal. The Holly Quran confronted these kinds of people and denied their allegations and methods: But say not - for any false thing that your tongues may put forth - "This is lawful, and this is forbidden," so as to ascribe false things to Allah. For those who ascribe false things to Allah, will never prosper. [16:116]

In addition, Islam rejected the stupidity of those who think of life as a treasure with no owner from which they can take without any consideration to anything, and that they were born in life by coincidence as it was created in the same way coincidentally. So they go around doing what pleases them and fulfills their desires.

They are absolutely wrong. Allah has given us life, and placed us in this world so that we know Him not deny Him, and to thank Him not ignore Him. A religion with this reason is neither an enemy for life nor a jail for the living.

Freedom of mind not Freedom of desire

Allah has ordered his servants to meditate in His Kingdom, and to wander with their thoughts here and there and to consider the verses placed in the universe, to try and read between the lines about the high wisdom therein: Now let man but think from what he is created. He is created from a drop emitted, proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs. [86:5-7]

Then let man look at his food, and how we provide it. For that we pour forth water in abundance. And we split the earth in fragments. And provide therein corn, and grapes and nutritious plants. [80:24-27].

Do they not look at the sky above them? How we have made it and adorned it, and there are no flows in it. [88:17].

Don�t they look at the camels, how they are made? [10:100].

Say,�Behold all that is in the heavens and on earth"; but neither Signs nor Warners profit those who believe not. [10:101] These repeated orders on looking at the universe and thinking about its wonders stand on two main important arguments: First of which is that this vast world we live in was not built randomly and its substances were not just scattered over each other�of course not. Allah almighty has created everything in a kind manner, and He created things we can see and things we can�t, all according to systematic ways and precise laws. He disciplined the movements and the pulse of this universe into a system that doesn�t corrupt or malfunction.

There is not even a tree leaf that swims in the air without having a law or a rule that controls its course.
There isn�t even any body that swims in water without having a set of rules that govern its swim.
There are no fruits or plants that do not have t a precise scale to control their taste and color. In this Allah said: And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance. [15:19]. And he said, And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures. [15:21]. And said, Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure. [54:49].

Then Allah almighty reveals to us in His Book that there is nothing in earth or sky created without being combined with truth, and enclosed within its realities that there is nothing in Allah�s creation tat has been created out of nonsense, chaos, risk, or difference. You can hear this openly in His words, We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, merely in (idle) sport; We created them not except for just ends: but most of them do not understand. [44:38-39].

So people should read this open book of the universe, and learn from its realities what will enlighten their minds with admiration and faith in the Creator, and make them more skilled and confident in dealing with this world.

The other way for observing and looking comes from the reality that sons of Adam are not born scientists, nor knowledge is something born or innate within them like water in a bowl or air in a container. On the contrary, strife for knowledge needs an organized effort, and hard and continuous work. An effort that involves all the human senses from outside and within, associated with both physical and spiritual characteristics. Allah said, It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when ye knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affection: that ye may give thanks (to Allah). [16:78]

So we are born with nothing but by means of hearing, sight, intelligence, and others, the learning process starts. We will be asked about these tools that Allah has provided for us, so we shouldn�t under estimate their value or not to use them fruitfully. Allah said, And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing, or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning). [17:36].

These human talents have been created in order for us to be able to respond to the universal realities around us. They have been given for us to try to unlock its keys and uncover its secrets. In order for us to embrace the truth and to cross the path of life under its glamour, not to accompany our selves with falsehood or follow its misguidance.

The first Islamic civilization was built upon using minds and sights in studying useful realities which then produced a lot of good both for itself and humanity. We should also keep in mind that the west would have never prospered in these last eras without making use of the early Arabs� ways of thinking and knowledge.

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