Principles of Belief
Qadar
Question: How are we supposed to answer the question; Now that Allah Almighty, with His eternal knowledge, knows what I shall do, so what is my fault?
Some of those who ask this question are both not sincere and does not get the point well. After explaining these two points, I would like to the answer of the question.
Why is questioner not sincere? Let me first explain this: every person knows, as far as their conscience concerned that there are two separate activities in themselves. The first of them rests on free will, which means that things happen with their own wish and free will. And the other group of activities is collective, which means that things happen out of their wish and free will.
For example, the first includes their speaking, sitting, and standing; second includes their heartbeats, growing taller, having gray hair. As far as the first types of activities are concerned, we wish and Allah gives. That is to say, whatever we prefer and decide Allah Almighty creates them with His absolute will. As for the second type of happenings, our will has no right of speaking about it. Both who wishes and creates is Him. We are not responsible for the activities in this second group. In other words, in the Hereafter, we shall not be questioned about our length, color, race, gender or the age in which we were born.
Now the questioner is in the heedlessness of considering these two happenings similar. Let us turn to the big mistake: Man claims to be the owner of every good deed he does and tells about them proudly I did, I earned. But when it comes to the sins he commits, the mistakes he makes, the oppression he inflicts, he clings to fate: He used to try to escape from difficult situations by saying this is my fate. However, he forgets about fate while suing the thief who broke into his house.
This man, he says, broke into my house, and stole my stuff. When the thief defends himself saying, I am innocent. I am predestined to rob this man, and he is predestined to be robbed by me, he gets angry about this defense and is foaming at the mouth. But when his sins are in question, he embraces the thiefs defense!..
Is it ever possible to talk seriously about fate with someone like this? Truth is that: We are not the prisoners of fate in every action of us. We have been recognized freedom in the actions we do with our free will. We know this by our conscience. In these happenings, it is us that wishes and it is Allah the Almighty Who creates...
Doesnt the fact that we have been sent to this world for testing require that anyway? Someone who is going to take an examination cannot choose their examination class. They cannot start and end the examination whenever they want. They cannot determine the grading of questions. All this comes true with the determination of the one who puts them on the examination. However, after the examination has started, the examiner may give the answers as he pleases. He is not interfered during the examination. Otherwise, it would not be called an examination.
Now let us seek the answer of this question: Do people not in this world fill their book of the deeds as they please? Are they not free in following the orders and prohibitions? Then what do these men try to arrive at?!.. On the one hand, they attempt to deny their free will in order to get rid of the responsibility of the sins they have committed; and on the other hand, when a little child, who even Allah does not hold responsible, stones at their windows, they show no hesitation to beat him. Is this scene not enough to hold them responsible and make them embarrassed?
We said that those who asked this question did not get the point well. Let us examine this question in terms of grammar: Now that Allah Almighty, with His eternal knowledge, knows what I shall do, so what is my fault?
There pass two verbs in this sentence: to do and to know. The subject of the verb to do is I. The subject of the verb to know is Allah Almighty. This means that questioner comes to says, I do and Allah knows. Then he asks us, What is my fault? We kindly reply, Your fault is to do that.
At this point, The Words from the Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi writes as follows: Divine Determining is a sort of knowledge. Knowledge is dependent on the thing known. That is, it knows it as it is. The thing known is not dependent on knowledge. Knowledge means, to know or information. The thing known means learned thing, scholar means the one who knows. Let us try to explain this rule with an example. For example, supposing I know that a young person studies in the faculty of science. This information is knowledge. The thing known is that the young person is a student there. Now this piece of knowledge of mine is dependent on the thing known. That is, since this young person studies in the faculty of science, I know that as it is.
We can multiply the examples.
By saying that Allah Almighty knows what I shall do, it is agreed in advance that Allah is All-Knowing and the questioner will act like that. That the man acts like that is the thing known and that Allah knows this with His eternal knowledge is knowledge. And this knowledge is dependent on the thing known.
In the following sentences of The Words, it reads as follows, That is, the principles of knowledge are not fundamental so that the knowledge directs the thing known with regard to its external existence. Because the essence of the thing known and its external existence look to will and are based on power.
As known, to know something, an event or an action is not enough to be its doer. An example: Everybody knows how to speak. However, unless any person makes an attempt at it and takes action to speak, can we say that they speak?
Another example: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) announced the good news with regard to the conquest of Istanbul. But since the action of conquest was done by the Sultan Mehmed, we give the title of conqueror to this padishah (ruler). We would not claim that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) conquered Istanbul.
In order to be doer, to know the action is not enough. One needs to will it, attempts at it and take action towards it. Allah (SWT) knows mans every deeds and actions. But it is man who does that action by using his will and strength and he is to be held responsible for it.
As we previously mentioned, on what –either evil or good- man uses his free will, Allah Almighty creates it. Man desires, Allah creates. But the fact that Allah creates all actions would not make man free of responsibility... It is Allah Who grants man power and bestows upon him every sort of opportunity. If servants use this power contrary to His approval, certainly, they are to be held responsible and they become guilty.
Let us consider this: If a police officer, by abusing his authority and gun, kills someone unjustly, is it state to be called killer or the police officer himself? Doubtlessly the killer is the police officer!.. Now, can this police officer excuse himself saying, I committed that crime with the gun which the state has given me? I used neither my own gun nor my own bullet.
Alaaddin Başar (Prof.Dr.)
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