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Fortunately, there are students who ask questions. And fortunately they have teachers who answer. Isn’t life actually made up of questions and answers? In the past, life and the things necessary for life were learned in the master-apprentice relationship. I become happy when I receive these notes. I am pleased when I see these questions – some of which are calls for help and some are asked to help others – are asked and their answers are given. Of course, as the editor-in-chief of the magazine, I share them with you.
Again, I share with you the posts of our secret heroes on social media.
11.00 P.M.
“Salamun alaykum Sir, how are you? If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you another question. I can’t pray thinking that everything is destiny and kismet, and we live what is predestined for us in any case. I’m just watching the events because the result is already definite [in destiny], and [it is also definite] what we will do, where we will be. I didn’t want to say this, but when I pray, I get very bored!”
Destiny or predestination must be understood correctly. I hope to write in detail when I get to my computer tomorrow. Let me just write this much right now, would you please think about it: The time of sunrise is written on the calendar. Is the sun rising at that time because it is written on the calendar, or is that time written there because someone knows that the sun will rise at that time? 🙂
“Sir, what a beautiful example this is, I am very surprised right now…”
Next day 2.36 P.M.
In order to understand the subject of predestination, it is necessary to know a couple of concepts well. One of them is “partial will” (irada-i juziya) and the other is “universal will” (irada-i kulliya).
Partial will (limited will) is the will that is given to man by Allah, that is, man’s freedom of choice. In other words, every person is free in their choices. Universal will (unlimited will), on the other hand, is the will of Allah Almighty. Without exception, every action and action happens by Allah’s will and creation.
Allah has given people the freedom to choose. Every person tends to choose one option or another in every particular situation that they come across; that is, they make a choice. Allah creates this choice – in other words, Allah creates the action that will occur as a result of that choice. Here, freedom of choice belongs to man, and therefore responsibility too.
What we call predestination or destiny is that Almighty Allah knows in advance our options and which one we will choose. Predestination is within the sphere of knowledge. In other words, it is a manifestation of Allah’s knowledge. It is not an interference in the limited will of man. Please remember the calendar example.
Since we humans are creatures (that is, we have been created), we can only see the time in a sequence. We describe the time as past, present, and future. On the other hand, Allah Almighty sees the past, the present and the future all at once. This is a manifestation of Allah’s infinite knowledge.
I would like to return to our main issue without deepening the subject too much. When a person commits a mistake, the responsibility belongs to him; because he is given a partial will, what is good and what is evil and how he should act when he comes across them are taught him through holy books and prophets, and yet he is left free in his choices.
For example, a child climbs on his father’s back. He directs his father to left and right by holding his ears. He forces his father to go to a cold place upon a hill. Even though he is told that he may have a cold, he whines and still wants to go there. And finally he gets cold and become sick. Now, this kid has no right to be angry with his father because he has had a cold and got sick. Here the universal will – so to speak – belongs to the father, and the partial will to the child. 🙂
As in this example, people do not have the right to be angry with destiny or Allah because of their own choices. Because they are the ones who choose.
Now, let’s combine the discourse of “we live what is predestined” with what I wrote above and the example of calendar. And let’s reflect a little on them.
Same day 9.48 P.M.
“Sir, how well you explained, I was ashamed as I read it. L For example, I have something like this in my mind: I got into a university in my third attempt. It was really a difficult-three-year for me; I went through a lot of hardships. I could have passed the university entrance exam in my first attempt and graduated with my friends of the same age. I can’t understand the wisdom there. If I had given up after my first attempt, and had registered to a different department than today’s, would my life and my destiny have been shaped accordingly? I worked hard and tried for three years. I wanted my current department very much, so it was only possible in my third attempt. This is a line drawn by Allah, I said. I have rebelled at times; then I repented.”
After midnight 2.45 A.M.
Man’s duty is to endeavour. It is Allah Who gives the result. There is no rule that Allah gives us whatever we want, and in the way we want it. Let me give another good example.
A boy walks into a pharmacy and says to the pharmacist, “Give me one of those chocolate-coloured pills!” He insists a lot. Since the pharmacist knows that those pills are poison to that child, he does not give them to him, or he gives the boy something else. And for instance, a sick adult cannot say, “Give me the same medicine you gave to that person”. Everyone’s illness and medicine are different. Similarly, we also ask some things from Allah [in our prayers], but we don’t get them. This does not mean that Allah did not answer our prayers. Our Lord has already said in the Qur’an, “Pray, and I will respond”. He has accepted our prayer in a different way by not giving us what we have asked, by perhaps giving us something better and more beautiful. 🙂 We can understand that better as time goes on. Even if we don’t understand it in this world, we will in the hereafter, but we definitely will understand and live.
After all, you tended to choose one of the options you had. So you came this way as a result of your choices. Allah did not prevent you from choosing. It was in your destiny, along with all the other options. But you chose this. You tried and tried. And this was the result. In conclusion, there is a very nice saying that puts us Muslims at ease: There is a goodness in what happens. Because we have a Lord Who knows and sees everything and wants the best for us.
5.01 A.M. in the morning
“Now I see more clearly, sir. Now I understand things better. I guess I’m a very hasty person. May Allah open good doors for you and your family! Thank you so much again!”