Why Does Islam Want me to Believe in Fate?
How do we know that “belief in qadar” is one of the pillars of faith? Is it mentioned in the Quran?
Quranic verses tell us about “qadar”
There are many ayahs in the Quran mentioning “qadar” (destiny, fate, Divine determining) some of which are:
“… and the commandment of Allah is certain destiny.” (Surah al Ahzab, 38)
“Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation, as written in the Gaurded Tablet of Divine Decrees).” (Surah al Qamar, 49)
“Nor can a soul die except by Allah’s leave, the term being fixed as by writing. If any do desire a reward in this life, We shall give it to him; and if any do desire a reward in the Hereafter, We shall give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve us with) gratitude.” (Surah al Al-i Imran, 145)
“Allah knows what every female bears, and that of which the wombs fall short of completion and that in which they increase; and there is a measure with Him of everything.” (Surah al Ra’d, 8)
“No evil befalls on the earth nor in your own souls, but it is in a book before We bring it into existence; surely that is easy to Allah.” (Surah al Hadid, 22)
Belief in Qadar in Hadith
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (ra) reports:
“One day when we were with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), a man with very white clothing and very black hair came up to us. No mark of travel was visible on him, and none of us recognized him. Sitting down beside the Prophet (SAW), leaning his knees against his and placing his hands on his things,
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He said: “Now tell me about Iman.” He replied: “It means that you should believe in Allah (pbuh), His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and that you should believe in the decreeing both of good and evil.”
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He then went away, and after I had waited for a long time, [the Prophet] said to me: “Do you know who the questioner was, Umar?” I replied: “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
He said: “He was Gabriel who came to you to teach you your religion.”
(Bukhari)
Before Islam, in the Era of Ignorance, people used to mention “qadar” to comfort themselves for their failures. After Islam, Muslims learned the authentic sense of “qadar” through the Holy Quran and the blessed sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Why does Islam want us to believe in qadar?
Belief in destiny is one the six pillars of iman (faith) and it is fard (obligatory) for every Muslim to believe in qadar (destiny). Thereby, he who denies “qadar” is out of Islam and iman. Then, what is the wisdom in Islam’s placing such a great importance in faith in qadar?
This question is answered in the tafseer al Quran named “Risalat al –Noor” by Badiuzzaman Said Nursi:
“Divine Determining and the power of choice are aspects of a belief pertaining to state and conscience which show the final limits of Islam and belief; they are not theoretical and do not pertain to knowledge. That is to say, a believer attributes everything to Almighty Allah (swt), even his actions and self, till finally the power of choice confronts him, so he cannot evade his obligation and responsibility. It tells him: “You are responsible and under obligation.” Then, so that he does not become proud at his good deeds and his achievements, Divine Determining confronts him, saying: “Know your limits; the one who does them is not you.”
Yes, Divine Determining and the power of choice are at the final degrees of belief and Islam; the former has been included among the matters of belief to save the soul from pride, and the latter, to make it admit to its responsibility. Obdurate evil-commanding souls clinging to Divine Determining in order to clear themselves of the responsibility of the evils they have committed, and their becoming proud and conceited on account of the virtues bestowed on them and their relying on the power of choice, are actions totally opposed to the mystery of Divine Determining and wisdom of the power of choice; they are not matters pertaining to knowledge which might give rise to such actions.” (26th Word)
Belief in “Divine Determining” and “will” keeps the balance in “indolence” and “arrogance”; “submission” and “action”
A Muslim, although he knows that Allah (swt) is the only Creator, sometimes falls into heedlessness and starts to become conceited of his good deeds. His soul assumes” himself” as “the doer of the good deeds”. Here, qadar confronts him and says “Do not be conceited! Allah is the Creator of everything!”
Or, quite the opposite, nafs says “Since Allah is the Creator of everything, He is the Creator of my sins as well. If Allah is the Creator of my sins and He has written me among the wrong-doers in destiny, then I have nothing to do about it. It is my destiny to be a sinner!” however, it has no truth but just charging the destiny for his faults. At this point, Islam reminds man the existence and responsibility of his “irada” (power of choice, will) and says “the source of sins, denials and evils are not the Divine Will but your own will. Allah swt creates sins because you choose to commit them. If you would choose to commit good, He would create the good for you. You are the responsible for your mistakes! So be careful and ward off using your will in evil!”
So, in order to save our nafs from arrogance about the good deeds, Islam wants us to “have faith in qadar” and thank Allah swt for the good He bestows upon us. And not to deny “our responsibility for faults” and not to accuse the qadar, we are liable to use our “will” (power of choice) to avoid the evil.