BELIEF IN PREDESTINATION Belief in the Divine Decree (order by a leader) is mentioned in the Imaan-eMufassal which says: I believe in Allah,

in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, in the Last Day and in the fact that everything, good or bad, is decided by Allah Almighty and in the life after death. This means that everything, good or bad, is decided by Allah, is an article of faith and without this our faith is not complete. Faith in predestination means that we believe in our heart and confess with our tongue that the Most High Allah has decreed all things; whatever happens in the world whether it is concerning the conditions and operations of things, good and evil, obedience and disobedience, faith and infidelity (unfaithful), sickness and health, wealth and poverty, life and death is contained in the written tablet of the decrees of Allah which is called the Loh-e-Mahfooz. The belief in Divine predestination includes belief in 4 things: 1. Allah is the creator of everything. 2. Allah knows everything; what has, is and will happen. 3. Allah has recorded all that has passed, all that is happening and all that will happen. 4. Whatever Allah wills, happens and whatever He wills not, does not happen. According to the Muslim Faith, Allah is the sole Creator and Cherisher (care for something or someone) of the universe. His power is not limited in any sphere. The Quran says: verily Allah has power over everything. Therefore it will not be wrong to say that God not only has knowledge of each and every affair of the entire universe but also all the matters and occurrences are under His control. We ourselves can see the Divine Will in many objects and phenomena around us. The Quran invites us to appreciate by saying: It is not permitted to the sun to catch up to the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day; each just swims along in its own orbit (according to the Divine Will) (36:40). These are demonstrations of Allahs unlimited power and command. Similarly, man, the most supreme creation of Allah is no exception to this Divine Will. Humans have been granted liberty and free will, but at the same time they are subservient (submissive) to the laws of nature. We should know that that our Creator has knowledge of everything and has command over us and so it should be our duty to submit to His Will. The Quran reminds us by saying: We indeed created man and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him; for We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (50:16). This simply means that Allah knows even the innermost desires and motives of man better than man himself so

it becomes clear that in spite of enjoying free will, our destinies and decisions are under the ultimate Divine predestination. Allah has predestined the span of every persons life, their share of good and ill fortune and the fruits of their efforts in accordance with His eternal knowledge. This is to say that He has ordained (designed) the things as they were to take place in this world and in the life to come. This however does not imply that whatever we do is predestined to be done by us and we have no freedom of action. For example, if Allah has predestined an evil thing to Zaid, it was so because Zaid had chosen to commit that evil thing when he had a choice of not doing it. If he were to do a pious deed, All-Knowing Allah would have predestined that pious deed to have been done by Zaid. No one is forced to do a certain thing because of its predestination. Allah has given every human the ability to do good or bad in life. People decide what to do, but Allah has knowledge of our deeds even before we were created. He knew what we could and would do but does not make us do it. While Allah has given free choice to people, man has also been shown the correct way by means of revelation through His prophets. Man has the final choice to accept or decline this Divine guidance. His choice rests on his will as the Quran says: Surely, We have shown him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will) (76:3).