Why does God want me to pray if life is predetermined?

WE believe that everything is predetermined in destiny. We pray and it comes true if it is predetermined in our destiny. If it is not, our prayer is not accepted.  That is to say, dua changes nothing in our destiny. Then, why do we pray?  

First of all, we recommend you to read the article entitled “Is man doomed to destiny?”

Let’s handle the question “Does destiny change?” now:

“Allah blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book (The Preserved Tablet of Divine Decrees)” (Surah al Ra’d, 39)

As Allah swt is eternal and ever-lasting, so are His Divine attributes. And one of His attributes is “Ilm” (knowledge) which means Allah swt knows anything in the past, in present and in the future with His eternal knowledge. The Divine Knowledge surrounds anywhere and anytime, nothing is out of His ilm and it never changes.   As Allah swt is All-Knower, neither a decrease nor an increase is in question for His eternal ilm. Because His eternal knowledge already knows a tiny change, detail and encompasses anything in past, present and future which are concepts about time for creatures like us who are stuck in time and never restricts the Creator who is free of time and place.

Two books of Destiny

  1. 1.       Lawh al Mahfuz (The Preserved Tablet)

There is a term mentioned in the Quran which is defined as “the tablet where destiny is written”: Imam Mubin (Clear Record):

"...And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record (Imam-I Mubin)." [Surah al An’am: 59]

The term Imam-i Mubin, which is interchangeably used with Lawh al-Mahfuz (The Preserved Tablet) by many Islamic scholars, is associated with Divine Knowledge and Command. Since Divine Knowledge encompasses everything, the Lawh al Mahfuz includes the past, present and future as well as the world of unseen. Time from azal (eternity in past) to abad (eternity in future) are found in Lawh al Mahfuz. As there  is no change in the Divine Knowledge since Allah swt already knows any changes with His eternal Ilm, “lawh al mahfuz” doesn’t change.

  1. 2.       Lawh al Mahw wa Ithbat” (The tablet of erasure and writing).

Then a question arises here, if destiny does not change, why do we pray for our life and future?

Here, we must mention the second type of “book of destiny” which is “Lawh al Mahw wa Ithbat” (The tablet of erasure and writing).

In this tablet, the events are not written in consequences, as they are in Lawh al Mahfouz, but they are written with “conditions”.  For example, it is written “He will have an accident, but if he gives sadaqa or makes dua before that, his sadaqa  or dua will protect him and save from the accident.” Then it ends up according to his act.

However, as the eternal knowledge of Allah swt, who is free from time, surrounds everywhere and everything, He swt already knows the consequence and it is already written in “Lawh al Mahfuz.” In other words, it is written in Lawh al Mahfuz wa ithbat what will happen in which condition. What happens if he gives sadaqa? Or what happens if not? What happens if he makes dua or else what happens? They are written there and He has the will to make his choice. But what will he do in the end? What will his decision be? Will he make dua or not? Will his dua be accepted or not? They are the questions which the answers are already known by the Eternal Knowledge of Allah swt and are written in Lawh al Mahfuz.

 

So, dua, which is a very significant worship before Allah swt that is a means of attaining His mercy and pardon, has a great impact in our life. So “dua” is ordained in ayahs and hadiths.

 

For further information about this issue you can read “Are all prayers answered?”