One of the common misunderstandings that I find with people doing the free Online Islamic Course is when I ask them to explain the six articles of faith, I will often get the response about the Decree of Allah that it means predestination. It is very confusing, as they seem to be the same, but they are not. I have covered this topic before, but feel I need to try and explained it again, but fear I might confuse you even more.
Predestination means that future events have already been decided by God or fate.
Taqdeer means that whilst God knows the future events and they have been decided, you still can make or change your future.
Belief in the Taqdeer or Divine Decree means believing that both the law of nature and the law of religion (Shariah) have been devised by Allah and He alone holds Supreme power over these laws which are operating in the universe. Allah has laid down the principles for every material or spiritual thing. According to these principles, certain actions lead to good results while certain other actions result in evil consequences as a matter of course.
Man is subject to Divine decree. If a human design is not in accord with the design of God, no amount of effort can succeed in putting it into effect; but when the time of the design of God arrives, that which had appeared most difficult becomes easily available.
This explains that everything has been decreed, as Allah knows the past, present and future. He knew you would be reading this article before you were born. But Allah has also given us free will - the choice to make our own decisions. Yes, He knows what you are going to do, before you do it, but it is important to give you the choice, as that is what develops us. This is the main difference between us and every other creation on Earth - free will. This is why you can read this on the computer. It is through this ability, that we can develop beyond our animal self. The way to learn is through the decisions we make – whether they are right or wrong. Then Allah is also All-Forgiving, so if you make a wrong decision and repent, Allah can forgive you. But if you want Allah to make all the decisions for you, then He will take away your free will and you will become like a robot, never having to make decisions – is that what you want? Allah will not interfere unless He desires to do so. Usually, it is only in special circumstances, where Allah may cause exceptional changes in these laws to produce miracles for the sake of His prophets and saints. However, these exceptional changes are never contrary to His known ways, His promises or His attributes.
Now if everything was really predestined, then you should ask yourself ‘what is the point of prayer?‘ If everything is ordained, then why pray to Allah, is there any point? There would be no point asking anything from Allah, as it has already been decided! This is not what Taqdeer means. The fact is prayer is very important and Allah wants you to ask, as He informs us in the Holy Qur’an that “He answers the prayer of the supplicant, when he asks Him” So how does this work? Let’s say that your mother was seriously ill, God forbid, and the doctors told you that she had only days to live. So, you pray to Allah for help and Allah grants your Mother another five years of life. How did this happen if it is all ordained? In this case scenario, Allah decided that your mother would live for let’s say 70 years, but then Allah knew that you were going to pray for your Mother and so Allah would accept your prayer and grant your Mother another 5 years. But if you did not pray, then your mother would have died at 70 years. You chose (free will) to pray for your mother and so Allah knew this (beforehand) and decided to accept your prayer. There are two types of Decrees, one which is fixed – the sun will rise and the sun will set; and the second type which can change according to your actions.
Furthermore, Allah is always guiding us, to help us find Him. This is why the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said “if anything pricks your conscience, then leave it” as this could be a warning from Allah. If you are going across the road without looking, then Allah will make you aware, but it is up to you to listen to your conscience. If you choose to ignore it, then Allah has put into play ’cause and effect’, that with every action, there is a reaction. Therefore, if you walk in front of a lorry, then you may get hit by that lorry. Now Allah again could lessen the effect and you may just bounce off it, or you may break a leg, or you may die. But it is important that you have the choice.
Now the main time that Allah will interfere with our lives is when it comes to the Prophets. As a Prophet’s main responsibility is to deliver the message of Allah, unfortunately, man usually opposes him and tries to prevent the message getting heard or kill him. If Allah sends a prophet and man kills him, then He has to send another prophet – but man kills him as well and so on and so forth. Thus, Allah will protect His prophets from the mischief of man. This is why we cannot accept that Jesus Christ (may peace be upon him) was killed by the Jews. That would have then made him a false prophet who went to hell (as the Holy Bible states that if a person is hanged on the tree (crucified) then he will go to hell) so Allah saved him and allowed him to continue his message to the ‘other sheep’ – the lost tribes of Israel – who were scattered all around the Middle East.
Therefore, to sum up, it means that whilst everything has been determined by Divine Decree, yet this does not mean that one should not strive for one’s betterment or adopt means to avoid the calamities.
Divine Decrees are of two types; one may be described as suspended, and the other as absolute. The operation of a suspended decree may be averted by the Grace of God Almighty through prayers and alms giving. The operation of an absolute decree cannot be averted through prayer and alms giving, although God Almighty bestows some other benefit in return for them. In some cases God Almighty causes a delay in the operation of a decree.