Is our destiny pre decided?

Maham · January 5, 2011, 8:12am

Re: Is our destiny pre decided?

Let me give you an example: an engineer builds a bridge, and he estimates the life of the bridge to be 60 years. Now this estimate is based on the design of the bridge, the materials used in construction, the estimated traffic and load on it in the coming years, the weather pattern (i.e., rain, wind, storms, ice, floodwaters etc.), the climate, etc. In reality if the traffic is heavier than anticipated, or there are more storms than usual, or unanticipated climatic changes occur, or unusual number of floods that result in corrosion, or even a runaway ship collides with the bridge.. all of these factors may combine to reduce the life of the bridge to be 50 years instead of the estimated 60. This is because the engineer could not have foreseen all these events occurring in the future. If he had known about and been able to factor in all the number of variables in his estimate, he would be able to precisely predict when the bridge would fail.

The same concept applies to life and pre-destiny, with the difference that God’s knowledge is perfect. He knows what’s in our hearts, He knows all our tendencies, our genetic disposition, our state of mind, what future events will influence our decision making, etc. etc. Hence he knows exactly what life choices and events will affect our our life expectancy, and when we will die. And he knows this about each and every one of us, and every object living or non-living in the universe. As an example, if I were to die as a victim of an attempted robbery, then Allah knows what events will lead me to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and what events will cause the robber to be at the same place and fire the bullet.

This in no way means everything is pre-destined. We have been given free choice to make our decisions.

Very Articulate, I am really impressed.