Fate,Destiny
Mu' meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Assalam alaikum Dear Burhan,
I was going thru some of
Sahih Muslim Hadith 6392 Narrated by Hudhayfah ibn Usayd
The Prophet (saws) said: “When the drop of (semen) remains in the
womb for forty (days) or forty nights, the angel comes and says: “My Lord, will
he be good or evil?” And both these things would be written. Then the angel
says: “My Lord, would he be male or female?” And both these things are written.
And his deeds and actions, his death, his livelihood; these are also recorded.
Then his document of destiny is rolled and there is no addition to and
subtraction from it.
After reading this I was totally confused as I believe that we are
on a test on this earth where Allah has given us a free will to chose between
good and evil, Hence we make our own destiny, a person who is hard working is
always rewarded thats why I dont
believe in luck. It also makes me mad when someone says I got something cuz of my luck and if i wouldnt have worked for it I would still get it as Allah
has already decided. I feel Allah has given everyone a free chance to work for
and gain whatever they want wether it is for this
life or the life after. I know some people who dont
believe in ` hard work pays off ` they believe in `destiny` and always slack
off.
But by reading the above mentioned hadith
one feels that Allah has already decided who is going to b good n evil, can u plz clear this for me, as this has made me lose faith in
what i believed in, hard work! why
work for something if i cant decide?
Also can u tell me about the ayath where
Allah says if anyperson thinks and unbiasly reads the Quran he can
never reject Allah the Truth. Thank you for
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Fate, Destiny
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
In light of the above authentic narration of the Messenger of Allah (saws) quoted, four things are predetermined:
- Whether
the new born will be male or female.
- What
will be his ‘rizk’ or provision.
- What
day, date, and place he will die.
- Whether
the person will be an evil or good person.
We would just like to clarify here what is the actual
reality of Fate or Destiny. To get a
fuller understanding of Fate,
it can be divided into two parts:
Part-1: One part of
Fate is things over which the person has absolutely no control. For example, the three points in the above hadith: Whether one
will be born male or female, what will
his provision be, and what day, date and place one will die. These are the Decisions of Allah Subhanah Alone, and no matter how much a person makes
supplication to Allah Subhanah, he cannot change his sex from male to
female, or change his appointment with
death, etc.
Part-2: The second
part of fate is not a Decision or Decree from Allah Subhanah, but is the
knowledge of the All-Knowing, All-Wise
Lord. For example, it is written down before one is born
whether he will be a good or evil person!
It is not as if Allah Subhanah is (I seek
refuge in Allah from saying this) unjust, and has already condemned someone to
be evil, so he has to become
evil!!! Because Allah Subhanah is the All Knowing, He already knows from His Absolute
Knowledge and Wisdom, what the person
with the given free will and intelligence will do in the future; and thus what is written is not a Decision
from Allah Subhanah,
but is written because of the Absolute and Perfect Knowledge of Allah Subhanah.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith
6.473 Narrated by Ali ibn Abi Taalib
While we were in a funeral procession in Baqi Al-Gharqad, the Messenger of
Allah (saws) came and sat down, and we sat around him. He had a small stick in
his hand and he bent his head and started scraping the ground with it. He (saws) then said, "There is none
among you, and no created soul, but has his place written for him either in
Your Question: Also can u tell me about the ayath
where Allah says if anyperson thinks and unbiasly reads the Quran he can
never reject Allah the Truth.
To the best of our knowledge such an Aayah does not exist in the Glorious Quran; but there are several Aayahs where Allah Subhanah declares what kind of people are guided by Him to the Right Path.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 42 Ash-Shura verse 13:
13 The same religion has He established for you as that which He
enjoined on Noah--the which We have sent by
inspiration to thee--and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus. Namely, that ye should remain
steadfast in Religion and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other
things than Allah, hard is the (way) to which thou callest
them. Allah chooses to Himself those whom He
pleases and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him).
Allah Says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 17 Surah Israa
verses 18-19:
18 If any do wish for the transitory things (of this life) We readily
grant them--such things as We will to such persons; in the end have We provided
Hell for them; they will burn therein disgraced and rejected.
19 Those who do wish for the (things of) the Hereafter and strive therefor with all due striving and have Faith; they are the
ones whose striving is acceptable (to Allah).
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s
Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Wister