12/27/2014
No this is quite a misconception by people who don't have a good understanding of what Allah has pre-ordained and what Allah swt decrees. Humans have a destiny and that is to either go to hell or paradise, the things that you do in this world is what is going to determine the end result, either you get to Hell or Paradise. To say Allah has already chosen everything for you is to say Allah is an oppressor, which is not the case and Allah swt is the most Merciful, Oft-Forigiving. Allah has given us a Brain, Heart, Senses so that we can chose for ourselves and make our an actions that will determine our end destination. However Allah swt knows everything already before you even make them, Allah swt already knows who will end up in the Fire of Hell and who will go to Paradise, but never will Allah swt make that decision for you. How can Allah swt judge you if He is the one who made the choices for you. One of the Attributes/Names of Allah is the All-Just.
Once again, pre-decree does not negate free will and choice, now having said that; let us give an example for this situation. Say a man comes up to you and he gives you two options, one is a job that will make you rich and will make you fruitful till the day you die. Option 2 is that he gives you a job that will bankrupt you, earn you no money and will cause you heartache till the day you die. Logically you will choose option one right? Off course, you wouldn't choose option 2 knowing the bad consequences and problems it will cause to you. In Islam you have the same thing and more, Allah has made it crystal clear to you in the Quran about good and evil, he has made it clear to you on how to act and what to believe in, and if you go by his rulings you will be successful. Allah has also made it clear to you if you choose some other way than his, that you will be unsuccessful in the hereafter, hence logically which one will you choose? Will you choose the bad or the good? You will choose the good! Hence you are completely to blame for your sins, since Allah does not force you to it, he has already given you the choice, hence when you commit evil you cannot say but Allah has pre-decreed it for me so I have simply acted on his all knowing knowledge! This is wrong; the only thing you have acted on is your own flimsy sinful desires and have though to justify it by Allah's infinite knowledge.
“How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for all his affairs are good, and that is for no one except the believer. If something good happens to him, he expresses gratitude, and that is good for him, and if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” [Muslim]
Allah has taught us what we should say when calamity strikes, and has stated that those who are patient will have an honorable position with their Lord:
"… But give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:155-156]
1- Peace of mind: A Muslim who believes in divine decree and predestination will have his mind at ease when he knows for certain that what befell him could not have missed him and what missed him could not have reached him.
2- Contentment: It doesn't make him grieve about anything because he doesn't say things that reflect discontent like "if I did such and such then such and such would have happened". Also, he doesn't worry too much about the future because he believes that everything is already written. What he should worry about is his deeds and doing good.
3- It gives him the will power and determination to go forward in the way of Allah: A Muslim doesn't fear anybody because he knows that no one has the power to afflict harm on him without it being decreed by Allah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, clarified this point to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, saying:
"…If the whole nation were to gather together to benefit you they would only benefit you with that which Allah had already written for you, and if the whole nation were to gather to harm you they could only harm you with that which Allah had already written to harm you. The pen has been lifted and the ink has dried (meaning: everything has been decreed or settled)". [At-Tirmidhi]
4- It teaches the Muslim to be modest and humble. This is so because everything that a Muslim does is by the Will of Allah, so if he succeeds he knows that Allah helped him in doing it; he doesn't succeed because he is intelligent or because he is rich or because he deserves it, and, likewise, a person isn't poor because he is stupid. This stops pride and arrogance from creeping to his heart because he knows that Allah can afflict him with harm and deprive him from the bounties he boasts about.
5- Total dependence upon Allah: A Muslim takes precautions, does as much as he can and then depends upon Allah as divine decree does not stop him from taking precautions and utilizing worldly means.
Prophet Muhammad said: "Take precautions as everybody is guided to that which has been destined for him." You, for example, should drink to quench your thirst. If something bad comes, it is because of our bad doings, and if something good reaches us then it is from God’s grace:
"What comes to you of good is from Allah, but what comes to you of evil, [O man], is from yourself." [An-Nisa’, 4:79]
Yes, predestination is biblical. Predestination is the teaching that God has, from all eternity, freely determined whatsoever shall come to pass. We find this in Ephesians 1:11 which says, “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Notice Paul teaches that predestination occurs according to the purpose of God and that God works all things after His will. The "all things" means exactly that--all things.
The word predestination comes from the Greek proorivzw, "prooridzo." The word occurs six times in six verses in the New Testament.
Acts 4:28, “to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”
Romans 8:29-30, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
1 Corinthians 2:7, “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory.”
Ephesians 1:5, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”
Ephesians 1:11, “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”
JESUS PRAYED AND WAS HEARD BY GOD:
Hebrew 5:7 “For Jesus , in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and WAS HEARD in that He feared,”
