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 brother.

I was just reading the quran n had a question.

We say that allah no doubt  does everything rite, anything we do n say ,think etc is all controlled by allah rite?

Thn y is that whn people go astay n r disbelievers its said that  'he has wronged himself  & we have wronged him not?'

Has'nt allah made him go astray ?

We believe that not 1 finger is lifted/ raised without the will of allah, thn again y is it  that whn 1 commits a sin we say that shaitan made us do it  or that we rselves  are responsible for that sin?

I know that alalh gave us the brains n thinking power n that we shud use r discretion while making rite or wrong decissions, but doesnt allah make us do it?

We do not have any power to say or do or think  any thing without the will of allah correct?

I know i shud not be getting into the depth of religion but i was just wondering  y thn are we blamed for wrong doings, y cant we just accept that allah willed that bad shud happen to us n thats y it happened? Shukran

look fwd to the answer.

Sister.

(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:

Everything happens with Allah’s will and permission

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Beloved sister in Islam, never ever hesitate or apologize for asking any questions in the deen; for the deen or ‘way of life’ called Al-Islam is based on the Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge of the All Knowing Lord, and every single command of the All Wise Lord is abundant in common-sense and logic. Asking any type of questions in Islam to gain more knowledge, or to confirm the Truth so that one’s heart is more content, or to understand and thus follow with more conviction the dictates of the deen is not only permissible, but absolutely encouraged in Islam. It is the right of the brother or sister to ask anything they wish to clarify in the deen; and it is the responsibility and duty of the good scholars to address the question asked to the best of their knowledge and ability, and in the most polite and humble manner.

What is discouraged in Islam is if one asks questions for the sake of asking, or arguing to ridicule the Truth with absolutely no intention of obeying or following when the Truth is made clear to them, etc. But if one asks questions to clarify and seek knowledge so that one may better follow the deen; such seeking of the Knowledge of Truth is absolutely encouraged in Islam

Your Question: …..I know that alalh gave us the brains n thinking power n that we shud use r discretion while making rite or wrong decissions, but doesnt allah make us do it?

We do not have any power to say or do or think any thing without the will of allah correct?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 59:

59 With Him (Allah) are the keys of the ‘unseen’; the treasures that none Knows but He! He Knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but with His Knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but is (inscribed) in a Record Clear (with Him).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 51:

Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our Protector"; and on Allah let the believers put their trust.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 17:

17 If Allah touch thee with affliction none can remove it but He; if He touch thee with happiness He hath power over all things.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 57 Surah Hadid verse 22:

22 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!

Without an iota of a doubt, everything, and we reiterate, absolutely everything that happens in this universe, without exception, happens with the precise Will and Permission of the Lord Most Majestic, Most Supreme, Most High, Most Exalted!

Not even does a grain of sand move on this earth, nor a drop of water falls from the heavens, nor does a leaf move or fall from the trees, nor can one even blink their own eyelids….without the precise Will and Permission of their Lord Creator, Most Exalted, Most Supreme!

Thus the natural question which would arise is if everything happens, and indeed it does happen only with the Precise Will and Permission of Allah Subhanah…..then why does the Lord Most Merciful allow or permit evil to take place on this earth? ….and therein lies the very crux and the purpose of creation!

Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 67 Surah Al Mulk verse 2:

He (Allah) created death and life that He may test you, to see which of you is the best in deeds.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiyaa verse 35:

35 Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good (only) by way of trial: to Us must ye return.

The All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord bestowed two things upon His best creation (ie. mankind) which He did not bestow upon any in His Supreme Creation (except the Jinns), and thus put mankind (the Jinns) to a test:

1. Intelligence or the Power of Reasoning
2. A ‘free will’ for a limited period of one life-time to choose whatever path one wishes to live his life.

Whoever amongst man studies and ponders over the innumerable wonders and Signs in the various creations of the Majestic Lord, and uses his bestowed intelligence and power of reasoning to understand his mission of creation, recognize His Supreme Lord and Creator, and of his own ‘free will’ chooses to submit his will to the Will of his Creator, and chooses to live his life in accordance with the guidance of his Creator, passes the test of life and is promised the Eternal Mercy, Grace, and Rewards of Allah Subhanah.

And whoever amongst man uses his bestowed intelligence and power of reasoning to do everything else but does not recognize or denies his Supreme Creator, refuses to submit his will to the Will of His Creator, and of his own ‘free will’ chooses to live his life in accordance with any guidance other than that of His Supreme Creator, miserably fails the test of life and will have a severe accounting in the Presence of His All-Mighty and Majestic Lord on an Inevitable Day.

Thus, only for the test period of this one short and transitory life….if one, of one’s bestowed limited free will, chooses to submit one’s will to the Will of their Creator and do good….The Lord Most Gracious not only allows and permits the person to do the good he wills, He is Pleased with the deeds of his believing slave.

But if one, of one’s own free will chooses to deny, reject, and disobey the Lord….for the period of this one short transitory life, and only to fulfill the covenant of this ‘test’…the Lord allows and permits the person to do his bidding, but the Lord is not pleased with the actions of this evil and ungrateful person.

Thus, for the period of this one ‘test’, the Lord allows each amongst man to their bidding and fulfill their ‘trial’ period. For the limited period of this ‘test’, He neither forces or encourages one who wills to do good to do more good; nor does He coerce or discourage the one who wills to do evil to abstain from his evil. ….ultimately they will all be gathered unto His Majestic Presence to give a full accounting of their deeds; and it is only then, on that Tumultuous Day of Judgment in the Hereafter, when the one who believed and did good will be rewarded with good, and the one who disbelieved and did evil will have to pay full retribution for his evil.

Allow us to relate a simple worldly example which, we hope, would make the point clearer. Lets say there is a school and the teacher spent the whole year teaching a course to its many students. At the end of the year, the students are put to a ‘test’.

There was a student who gave the course the importance it deserved, always attended his classes and his lectures, paid full attention to the lectures, always did his daily homework…..for he knew with absolute conviction that at the end of the course there would be a test and the results of this test would determine his future.

Then there was another student, ‘jolly-good’ ‘happy-go-lucky’, ‘cool-dude’, ‘cross-the-bridges-when-we-get-there’ type of fellow; never gave the course the importance it deserved, hardly attended class if any, engaged himself in everything except the course…….he knew there would be a ‘test’ but figured something somehow someone would save him if perchance he failed the test!

During the test, the teacher happened to stand behind and overlook the good student giving the test and saw him writing all the right answers to the questions on the test. In maintaining the sanctity of the test, the teacher neither applauded, nor encouraged, nor patted the student on the back for writing the correct answers; and allowed the student to finish his prescribed test….but the teacher is pleased and satisfied with the efforts of this good student.

The teacher then stood behind that evil student giving the test and noticed that the ‘cool-dude’ was not so ‘cool’ anymore….he didn’t even have a clue regarding the questions, leave alone the answers….but the student was merrily chewing his gum, whistling away, writing songs and drawing cartons, etc…..In keeping the sanctity of the test, the teacher neither stopped him, nor corrected his errors, nor discouraged him from giving his test in the manner the student willed…..but the teacher was not at all pleased nor happy with the ‘casual’ efforts of this evil student.

The teacher, if he so willed, could very well have encouraged the good student to continue his good, and had the teacher willed, he could have stopped or discouraged or even corrected the evil student from doing his evil….but that would violate the very sanctity of the ‘test’; thus he permitted each of his students to do as they thought right, but he was mighty pleased with the efforts of one, and utterly displeased and disappointed with the efforts of the other!

Similarly, although absolutely everything that happens in the Universe can only happen only with the Precise Will and Permission of the Lord Most Majestic….He allows and permits for the period of this one ‘trial’…… those who wish to do good to continue their good, and those who wish to do evil to continue their evil. Thus both good and evil can and only happen with the Permission and Will of the Lord, but He is Pleased with the doers of good, and He is Displeased with the doers of evil.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 79 Surah Naziat verses 35-41:

35 The Day when Man shall remember (all) that he strove for

36 And Hell-Fire shall be placed in full view for (all) to see

37 Then for such as had transgressed all bounds

38 And had preferred the life of this world

39 Their Abode will be Hell-Fire;

40 And for such as had entertained the fear of standing before their Lord's (Tribunal), and had restrained (their) soul from lower desires;

41 Their abode will be the Garden.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan