Divide the marbles as Allah would

Its kind of scary knowing that people think life is “fair”. Its not “fair” and you cant make it “fair”.

Two children found a bag containing twelve marbles. They argued over how to divide the toys and finally went to see the Mulla. When asked to settle their disagreement, the Mulla asked whether the children wanted him to divide the marbles as a human would or as Allah would. The children replied, “We want it to be fair. Divide the marbles as Allah would.”
So, the Mulla counted out the marbles and gave three to one child and nine to the other.

– Nasreddin

Exactly what is this story here supposed to be? Whatever it is, how could the Mullah divide the way Allah would? He is NOT Allah...this doesn't prove anything.

Allah says in the Qur'an that every human is given a burden he can bear.

Re: Divide the marbles as Allah would

Life is fair if you look at the whole picture ...

Those who get more will be tested more
Those who get less will be tested less

Those who get more will be tested for their gratitude to God
Those who get less are tested for patience

Those who leave the world in the state of injustice - their have a reward in the Hereafter
Those who leave this world suffering no losses will be taken to account for their deeds

If you only look at the micro scale which is this worldly life then of course some get more and some get less ... this not unfair but rather this is disparity. It becomes fair when you see the time of how they are dealt with afterwards comes.

Re: Divide the marbles as Allah would

OK, I think I see the point you were trying to make... Maybe I could add this to a little...

Imagine, two kids are playing one is form a poor family and the other is form a wealthy family a man comes along and gives some money to the kid from the wealthy family, the kid from the poor family steals the money from the kid form the rich family and justifies it by arguing he is poor and needs the money more so. So, we use simple logic and say how would Allah reason, there is a problem here, there is a paradox... Allah is the most merciful and the most just...

A merciful person would argue the money should go to the poor kid, regardless of the means which he required the money by, but a just person would say the money should go to the rich kid... Thus, if someone claims to be perfectly just and perfectly merciful there is a paradox here.

I think this is what the OP was trying to reason...

Re: Divide the marbles as Allah would

In other words, something cannot be perfect by definition... It's a paradox.

quiet thoughtful. yes life is not "fair" when we see it through God's eyes.

(The Mulla, as a human might, have chosen to give half and half to both - but in God's eye - God will not be able to "test" us in life, if he is equal to all).

God is too much into testing people. kyu? :(

Re: Divide the marbles as Allah would

Don't you think we are missing one person in the story. The real owner of the marbles. These were in a bag and obviously belonged to someone else.

None of the kids deserved the marbles. They actually did not 'earn' the marbles.

So one can say, Allah expects people to earn the rewards.

Just a thought.

Some wise people say never ask justice from Allah, ask mercy.

One never knows what one has to end up paying for which mistake if asks for justice.

Re: Divide the marbles as Allah would

The difference is not about ‘fairness’. Its just our notion of ‘equitable’. If everyone in this world has an ‘equal’ share of wealth, the society will not run the way it is intended to be. So, it has to be an ‘equitable’ distribution of wealth that Islam supports. (This can even be calculated by ‘gini coefficient’ for an economy).

Gini coefficient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Allah would want the distribution to be the 45 degree line and we are more equitable as we move closer to that line. Its is interesting to note that capitalistic societies move away from that ‘ideal’ and socialist societies are closer.

**isnt tht kind of shirk ? :konfused:
**

How long would we be stuck with ‘shirk’? How long would we discuss where to hold our hands during namaz?

There are bigger issues facing our nation and ummah. Please stop considering issues such huge ‘fatwas’ like shirk on such small issues!

Shirk is when we think money is God and our career is ‘shariyah’ and our immediate family is ‘ummah’. This is not a fatwa but this is what makes you ‘unhappy’ as a whole.

**
i m not a scholar .... not even a student ...
but as far as i know ......
according to surath ikhlaas ...... this is shirk ......
n Allah can forgive any sin ..... other then sin ....

p.s. this thread in no context deals wid "bigger" issues our nation and ummah are facing ......
**

The originator of this thread had no intention of contradicting any Islamic teachings. The idea is just that God did not distribute wealth 'equally' in this world and we should not protest to God about it since HE had a reason to do so.

Saying something is 'shirk' is a very very sensitive issue with great implications (God would not forgive this sin) and should not be taken up by a person who is not a 'scholar or not even a student'.

**
in my 1st post … i asked …
**isnt tht kind of shirk ? :konfused:

in 2nd … i said…
****but as far as i know …
according to surath ikhlaas … this is shirk …


I submit to your intellect.

My lips are sealed now on this issue.

Maybe Allah divides the marbles this way because we have been born with a sense of fairness so perhaps the child who gets more marbles needs to give the kid with less marbles some of the marbles and that would be a good deed, while if the kid just keeps them all he does not earn anything good with Allah. If Allah divided equally than there would be no test on the people who are blessed to act equitably.

Life is as unfair as much as we fail to assume our responsibilities to make it fair; our presumed inability to make it fair is, by and large, a diabolic conclusion based not on the failure of a combined effort, but a predisposition to circumvent an endeavor for its fairness.

"Cross and Christians, from end to end,
I surveyed; He was not on the Cross.
I went to the idol-temple, to the ancient pagoda;
No trace was visible there.

I went to the mountains of Herat and Candahor.
I looked, He was not in that hill and dale.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Qaf
In that place was only Anqa's inhabitation.

I bent the reins of search to the Ka'ba;
He was not in that resort of Old and Young.
I questioned Ibn Sina of His State;
He was not within Ibn Sina's range.

I fared towards the scene of two bow-lengths distance,
He was not in that exalted court
I gazed into my heart;
There I saw Him; He was nowhere else"

Look inward, know thyself and you will know the fairness in otherwise unfair "life".

Re: Divide the marbles as Allah would

......why am I not surprised with these responses...

You guys simply cannot understand basic principles in life. Tell me this, is having a retarded born child "fair"?

This coming from a guy who is discussing “divide the marbles as Allah would” :rotfl:

^ Dude, EDITED: Nevermind..you are same due from religious forum.

It is not fair... and the world is not intended to be 'fair'. Thats why we have a concept called 'hereafter'.