Qadar

[wel_mel_2]

Bismillah:

In case you're wondering, the main difficulty I'm facing is understanding the concept of evil in Islam. ESPECIALLY NOW!!! If God created us to worship Him, why does evil exist? It's preventing us from carrying out Allah's will.

Ok the answer is taken from <b>Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi</b>, Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County and President of the Islamic Society of North America, he states:

Besides all these negative things that caused by Evil, we also see beauty, health, prosperity, life, birth, wisdom, intelligence, growth and progress. We also see goodness among people, faith, sincerity, charity, love and the spirit of sacrifice. We also see a lot of virtue and piety. So it is wrong to see one side of the coin (Evil) and not to see the other side (goodness). Please also note that it is a fact that the element of good is more in the creation than the element of evil. We all see that there are more people who are healthy than those who are sick. There are more that eat well than those who starve. There are more that lead decent life than those who commit crimes. Goodness is the rule and evil is the exception. Virtue is the norm and sin is the aberration. Generally trees bear fruits, the flowers bloom, the winds move smoothly.
But then the question is why does Allah allow these exceptions to the rules?


Let us ask this question to understand Allah’s ways in His creation. The Qur’an tells us that good, evil and whatever happens in this world happens by Allah’s Will (mashi’at Allah). Only Allah knows fully His Will. We finite beings cannot grasp fully His infinite Will and Wisdom. He runs His universe the way He deems fit. The Qur’an tells us that Allah is Wise and everything that Allah does is right, just, good and fair. We must submit and surrender to His Will. The Qur’an has not given us all the details about Allah’s Will, but it has enlightened us with the guidance that is useful and sufficient for us. There are several points that we should keep in our mind to understand this issue:


1. First of all, Allah did not make this world a permanent world. This is a temporary world and everything here has a time limit. When its times comes it will die, come to an end and finish. Neither the good things of this world are forever, nor the bad things eternal. We are here for a short time and we are being tested. Those who will pass this test will find an eternal world that is perfect and permanent. Those who will fail this test shall see the evil consequences of their sins and corruption.


2. Allah has placed a physical law and a moral law in this universe. Allah allows suffering to occur when one or more of these laws are broken. The physical law is based on cause and effect. Sickness comes if one does not take care of one’s health or is exposed to infections. A car accident occurs when one is not alert, or drives in a careless manner, or if the cars are not checked, roads and freeways are not made and kept in right shape, or the traffic laws are not right or not properly enforced. Study of causes and effects is very important to facilitate safeguards. Even here we should keep in mind that Allah often saves us and He does not let us suffer from every negligence. How many times it happens that we are not careful and still we reach safely to our destinations. The way people drive in some cities, it is a miracle that more accidents do not happen and more people do not suffer. Allah says:


“(Allah) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur’an. He has created man: He has taught him speech (and Intelligence). The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed; and the herbs and the trees both (alike) bow in adoration. And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), in order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance. It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures." (Ar-Rahman:1-10)


The way we exceed the measures set by Allah and violate His laws of cause and effect is incredible. It is really the mercy of Allah that we are saved. Strictly speaking, the question should not be why does Allah allow suffering, but how much Allah protects us and saves us all the time in spite of our violations and negligence. The Qur’an says:


“If Allah were to punish people according to what they deserve, He would not leave on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term: when their Term expires, verily Allah has in His sight all His servants." (Fatir:45)


But sometimes Allah does punish people because of their violations of His laws whether they are physical or moral. The Qur’an tells us that many nations and communities were destroyed because of their sinful lifestyles:


“If they treat thy (mission) as false, so did the Peoples before them (with their Prophets), the People of Noah, and Ad and Thamud. Those of Abraham and Lut; and the Companions of the Madyan people; and Moses was rejected (in the same way). But I granted respite to the Unbelievers, and (only) after that did I punish them: but how (terrible) was My rejection (of them)! How many populations have We destroyed, which were given to wrong-doing! They tumbled down on their roofs. And how many wells are lying idle and neglected, and castles lofty and well-built?" (Al-Hajj: 42-45)


3. Suffering can also be a test and trial for some people. Allah allows some people to suffer in order to test their patience and steadfastness. Even Allah’s Prophets and Messengers were made to suffer. Prophet Ayyub is mentioned in the Qur’an as a Prophet who was very patient. Good people sometimes suffer but their sufferings heal others and bring goodness to their communities. People learn lessons from their good examples. Martyrs die for their faith, soldiers give their lives for their nations and this brings liberation and freedom for their people.


4. Allah sometimes allows some people to suffer to test others, how they react to them. When you see a person who is sick, poor and needy, then you are tested by Allah. Allah is there with that suffering person to test your charity and your faith. In a very moving Hadith Qudsi (Divine Hadith) the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:


“Allah will say on the Day of Judgment, ‘O son of Adam, I was sick and you did not visit Me.’ He will say, ‘O my Lord, how could I visit You, when you are the Lord of the Worlds.’ Allah will say, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so was sick and you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me there?’ Allah will say, ‘O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not.’ He shall say, ‘O my Lord, how could I feed you and you are the Lord of the Worlds?’ And Allah will say, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so was in need of food and you did not feed him? Did you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found that to have been for Me?’ ‘O son of Adam, I asked you for water and you did not give Me to drink.’ The man shall say, ‘O my Lord, how could I give You water, when You are the Lord of the Worlds?’ Allah will say, ‘My servant so-and-so asked you for water and you did not give him to drink water. Did you not know that if you had given him to drink, you would have found that to have been for Me.’ (Muslim, Hadith no. 4661)


Prophet `Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him, is also reported to have said something similar. (See Matthew 25: 35-45)


So to summarize, we can say that sufferings occur to teach us that we must adhere to Allah’s natural and moral laws. It is sometimes to punish those who violate Allah’s natural or moral laws. It is to test our faith in Allah and to test our commitment to human values and charity. Whenever we encounter suffering we should ask ourselves, “Have we broken any law of Allah?” Let us study the cause of the problem and use the corrective methods. “Could it be a punishment?” Let us repent and ask forgiveness and reform our ways. “Could it be a test and trial for us?” Let us work hard to pass this test.


Believers face the sufferings with prayers, repentance and good deeds. The non-believers face the sufferings with doubts and confusions. They blame Allah or make arguments against Him.

Hop this answer your question insh a Allah.

Interestingly, I was speaking to an apostate yesterday (Alhamdulilah he's still alive) & he told me that the notion of freewill in Islam is absurd & there are numerous Ayats & Hadiths that don't support it. Apparently, it's been introduced very recently & only a tiny minority of Muslims accept it.

Ask him to show the references of those ‘numerous Ayats and Hadiths’ and we may explain them to you if you wish, ask him to provide further proofs regarding this "tiny minority of Muslims accept the notion of free will” and that the majority reject it… !!!

Muslimah has provided a satisfactory definition of freewill in another thread but I'm curious to know why certain Muslims disregard the idea altogether ???

I never knew of any Muslim who disregard this idea… in fact this idea is totally against the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Does it contradict Islamic tradition in any way? Next time I see him, I'll ask for more info (which Ayats, Hadiths, etc). In the meantime, please feel free to have your say if you wish!

If the idea of free will is against the teaching of Islam, then why God Almighty said in the Qur’an:


<b>“Neither according to your desires, nor according to the desires of the People of the Book, whosoever will do evil will be requited accordingly and shall not find beside Allah any protector or helper. If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and have faith, they will enter heaven and not the least injustice will be done to them.”</b> (chapter 4: 123-124)


<b>“This because Allah does never change a favor that He has conferred upon a people until they change their own condition...”</b> (al-Anfal: 53)


<b>“Every person stands pledged for what he has earned.”</b> (at-Tur: 21)


<b>“It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let his who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve.” </b> (al-Kahf: 29)


<b>“This is a reminder. So let him, who will, take a way unto his Lord.” </b> (al-Muzzammil: 19)


<b>“And hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord...” </b> (Al `Imran: 133)


<b>“O our people, respond to God’s summoner and believe in him…”</b> (al-Ahqaf: 31)


<b>“Turn to your Lord and submit yourselves to Him...”</b> (az-Zumar: 54)


<b>“Corruption has spread on land and sea because of what people’s hands have wrought.” </b> (ar-Rum: 41)


<b>“Whatever misfortune befalls you is the consequence of what your own hands have wrought. And Allah forgives many of your sins.”</b> (ash-Shura: 30)


<b>“Indeed Allah does not wrong the people at all; it is they wrong their own selves.” </b> (Yunus: 44)


<b> “As for Thamud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness to guidance.” </b> (Fussilat 41:17)


<b>“There is no compulsion in religion. Surely the right way has become distinct from error.” </b> (al-Baqarah: 256)


Please bear in mind that in other places of the Qur’an we can also see that Allah "have power over all things", and that He knows everything and decides everything before even it happens; that doesn’t mean that the Qur’an contradicting each other, it means that Allah’s power and knowledge and human freedom are not mutually exclusive. Whatever freedom we have is granted to us by Allah and we should use it to submit to Him freely and willingly. This is the honor that Allah has given us and for this honor angels were asked by Allah to bow in respect and honor of the progenitor of the human race Adam pbuh…


Salam and good morning from China.


Wael.