The Divine Decree

 The Divine Decree 

 

The concept of predestination has always intrigued me since learning about the six pillars of faith in Islam as a child. I relentlessly questioned my teachers regarding qada’ and qadar. Their explanation just made me more curious but my questions always ruffled feathers and was chastised not to question but to just have faith. The argument was further strengthened by the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) where he prohibited his companions from arguing over providence and scholars too emphasized that delving too deeply into it can result in misguidance. I had a basic understanding that there were three groups of belief, the first believed in absolute human free will and that God has no control over us; while the second group believed that everything was destined, and we have no control over our actions. The third group is what the majority of Muslims (ahl as-sunnah wal-jama’ah) believe in, that whatever that happens is by the will of God, and He has the power to change destiny based upon the choices we make and we are morally responsible for our actions.  

 

I decided not to ask more questions but to observe peoples’ lives. My discoveries were quite interesting. I found that all those who were successful had what most would call a lucky break. Everything fell into place at the right time. It is not necessary that they were the most talented or intelligent. There were many more who were talented but never got that turning point instead faced obstacle after obstacle and they never became successful. This made me understand the concept of predestiny better. Their success is not due to their own effort or brilliance but rather it was their destiny. This understanding was further substantiated by the story of Qarunand the owner of the two gardens. Both were conceited with their achievements and boasted that it was all due to their own efforts and they learned their lesson soon enough. God who knows about each rock and falling leaf has planned every exact second of our life, and our life interacts with other lives with precision. There are many verses in the Quran that God states that He has control over everything, and He gives provision to whom He wills and restricts it to whom He wills, which made me realize that your wealth too is determined by God and not by our effort or lack of it. That does not mean we should adopt a fatalistic approach in finding our sustenance, but rather understand that it is already destined. 

 

Can you change your destiny by supplicating to God? This is another question that I contemplated upon. I found prayers or supplication to God is the main feature in the Quran, where prophets supplicate to God when faced with various difficulties. We are taught how to supplicate to Him. However, some prayers  are accepted and others not. I believe, God does change the destiny of a person, due to his supplication but it does not change the major events in his life. God beckons us to supplicate and surrender to Him day and night to help us to weather the storms in our life just as how the five daily prayers is to help us get through the day. The conversation between the prophet Musa (pbuh) and Khidhr (pbuh) clearly shows that what may appear dreadful, may not necessarily be so, likewise what we pray for may not be most favorable for us. God knows best and He is the best of planners. 

 

I was wondering, if our life was already destined then how are we judged in afterlife? God clearly stated that we would be tested with fear, hunger, loss of wealth and lives. It became clear to me that the events that happen in our life is a test and our free will is how we react to these events. We could pass the exam by following the rules that God set or we could fail it. 

There are also verses that state that misfortunes that befall us are due to our own doing. I understood the misfortunes as the consequences of making the wrong decision and failing the test. Grief is the apparent by-product of these tests and a lot people are struggling to cope. They numb their pain with alcohol, drugs, debauchery, materialism and further destroy their lives. I found patience to be an important virtue that is continuously emphasized in the Quran, we are told to advice each other to be patient, we are also shown exemplary role models in the stories of the prophets for being patient and God Himself on numerous occasions counsels the Prophet (pbuh) to be patient and that He too is patiently waiting to punish the disbelievers. Thus, the way to handle the disappointments or the pain in our lives is to patiently accept God’s decree.

 

I found this concept of believing in God’s decree liberating. Imagine the amount of stress that you can be relieved off if you understand that whatever that occurred was not your fault, but it was meant to happen by God’s will. Acceptance of God’s decree gives you peace. The understanding of these concepts will make you realize that all the self-help gurus out there and their so-called methods to achieve success would not work because each one of us follow a unique trajectory. 

 

That brings me to the next question I had. What is the definition of success? Pondering over the Quran I found that the ultimate success is landing oneself in paradise. The more important question for me was how to achieve it? We have no say in the circumstances we are born in. There are some who will be born in refugee camps, others to billionaire parents, it is definitely not a level playing field and on top of that our lives are predestined. How is this fair? I found the answer to this question in a verse where God explicitly tells us not to longingly gaze at what others have as it is a test for them. Achieving material wealth, fame and power which is celebrated as success, however, is all part of the divine test. Thus, in whatever circumstances you are born in, whatever tests that you face, you have to ace it by accepting God’s decree with patience and being at peace with it. This is where another of the pillars of faith comes to mind, the belief in the Hereafter. God constantly reminds us about heaven and hell, and how it is an everlasting abode compared to the temporal one on earth. It gives happiness to those who believe that they will get a better life in the Hereafter and thus look forward to it in the midst of earthly strife.

 

In conclusion, I found that success in this life and the next lies in the patient acceptance of God’s decree and by that you achieve the state of your soul being at peace or what is called the nafs mutmainnah( the tranquil soul ) and qalbun saleem ( heart at peace ). This is the epitome of success in this life.