Do you believe that God gave us all a free will

[Goljano Lion]

and i know this a metaphorical question. So, God gave us free will then you have the right to choose how you live your life

[Hyperactive]

God made clear his right path and sent prophets and anbiya'a.
gave us brain to know wrong and right and there's a concequesces whatever path you take.

so yes we have free to choose our path.

[Keyse_0208]

god gave us free will but with the condition that you should only take your life depending on certain situations. ..i.e - fighting for your diin, or country...

[Goljano Lion]

so this must mean we all have the right to believe what we will and do what we do.. if that makes any sense

[Faranacab]

Not to get confused you have to firts decide from which anlge you might want to look for your answer. For example you may chose to see your answer from Islamic prespective. Now that you have decided you have too look at the roots of islam. Basically islam stands for emancipation and not suppression, empowerment and not oppression, liberty and not slavery, peace and not war, harmony and not discord, universality and not sectarianism, democracy and not tyranny. And the teachings of Islam are for all those who through their own free will embrace Islam, for as the Book says, ‘There is no compulsion in religion’.

In otherwords human being is considered the master of the earth and is endowed with free will. God created man with free will to either obey Him or not.

The difference between the wild beasts and wild humans is the difference of free will.

When a lion or a wolf is angry, he does not think. When a man becomes angry as a result of provocation, he has a choice to control his anger or to respond to it as he has been taught by the teachings of prophets and saints, or forget all that and become a wild animal.


So basically we have free will and must choose our own lifestyle.

[Goljano Lion]

I am confused, do we really have free will, or is that our destiny is already predetermined before we are born? My point is that what is happening in Southern Somali is already predetermine, if that is the case then there is nothing we can do but if you believe that we have a free will, then there is something that Somalis can do to change their destiny and their future

[FAH1223]

Free Will implies we are free from the will of Allah SWT. Which is incorrect!!!

We have free choice, everything happens with Allah SWT's will and he has already pre-determined the universe. Believing in Qadar (Calaf) is one of the conditions of Iman.

We humans don't have the proper knowledge and are ignorant of the future, so we don't know what is pre-destined. All you can do is do your best, hope for the best to work out. If not, it wasn't meant to be.

Somalia like you cited is pre-destined, Allah has made it that way... however people are reponsible for what they do... and blaming fate for bad deeds and misconduct is wrong...

Time and Space doesn't apply to Allah... as he created it all

Check out this lecture by Harun Yahya, it will change how you think about fate, destiny, etc.

http://aswatalislam.net/search.aspx?str ... melessness

[Goljano Lion]

Fah123 like you said, God foresees everything which means God knows the future and every action man will do, whether good or evil, till the end of days, but then we have free will which means that man is given the freedom to choose his actions. So if our future is already predetermined, what is the use of having freewill?

[Goljano Lion]

I believe our futures are in our own hands and we alone determine our actions and held accountable for their outcome, simple as that.

[FAH1223]

Fah123 like you said, God foresees everything which means God knows the future and every action man will do, whether good or evil, till the end of days, but then we have free will which means that man is given the freedom to choose his actions. So if our future is already predetermined, what is the use of having freewill?

you don't know the future, thats the purpose

[Basra-]

Aduunya its all about being "tested". I concur with Fah,Allaah has pre-destined aduunya to be how it is. Humans have a free will to choose their path. I will add my few cents on this matter. If you read Quran, u will notice the power of "intention" constantly coming up. That is, the idea of intentions are as important as the actions.Or even "thoughts" I think we are literally being tested for how we will do with the gift of humanity we are given. We were privileged by Allaah subhaanha waa tacalaah, in being distinguished from animals. We were made humans, the best form of creation for a purpose. We need to achieve to be the BEST humanbeing we can be, and make Allaah proud of us. But the journey to be that is long and treacherous. Therefore, we need to begin perfecting our thoughts, internal beingness, our vital intention and later our actions will reflect our perfected internal intetions.

[Faranacab]

I am confused, do we really have free will, or is that our destiny is already predetermined before we are born? My point is that what is happening in Southern Somali is already predetermine, if that is the case then there is nothing we can do but if you believe that we have a free will, then there is something that Somalis can do to change their destiny and their future

A Muslim must believe in Divine Decree or destiny — qadar in Arabic. The concept of qadar used in the Qur’an means a measure or the latent possibilities with which Allah (God) created human beings and all things of nature. When Allah created each thing, He determined when it would come into existence and when it would cease to exist. He also determined its qualities and nature. And everything in the universe, the seen and the unseen, is completely subject to the overriding power of Allah. Nothing can happen outside His Will.

As for Somalis, they are not completely masters of their fates, nor are they puppets subject to the hazards of destiny. Allah gave Somalis limited power and great freedom, including the freedom of choice. That autonomy makes each Somali accountable for his or her deeds.

We cannot know our future and, to a large extent, we cannot control it. But we can make decisions within the limits of what we can control, based on our understanding of the way the world works. If someone chooses to punch his fist into a brick wall, he cannot claim any injustice when it hurts. He knows that the wall exists and that it is hard. That is the reality — the “laws of nature” — he has to deal with. Yet the ultimate reality is that Allah could make the wall disappear just before one’s fist reaches it.

Just as Allah created nature and its laws, He made moral laws, and we cannot claim any injustice if we get punished for disobeying or ignoring those moral laws.

Only sincere prayers can change the way events unfold

The concept of qadar, therefore, indicates that we must seek harmony with Allah’s rules of human nature and nature at large, and consciously submit to His will. Destiny as conceived by Islam, therefore, does not take away our freedom of choice and action. It is our willful choice of those actions from our inherent possibilities that are in harmony with Allah’s will that earns us our reward from Allah.

Yet, when Allah set certain rules in His decree as to how things evolve, even these things can be changed through prayers. The Prophet stressed that only sincere prayers can change the way events unfold, and that true worship and sincere submission to Allah can raise the believer above the normal ways of nature. Prayers can and do result in “personal miracles” — events or experiences that we consider almost impossible and certainly highly improbable.

From an Islamic point of view, human beings are free for all practical purposes. A person has no excuse for making the wrong choice and then blaming qadar or destiny, any more than a man punching his fist into a wall can blame the laws of nature. He knew the consequences of his actions for all practical purposes and he shouldn’t expect a miracle!

We should not worry about what Allah has written for us, since we can never know it. But our duty is to strive for the best in this world and the next. Then, good results will follow, if Allah wills.

[SummerRain]

I am confused, do we really have free will, or is that our destiny is already predetermined before we are born? My point is that what is happening in Southern Somali is already predetermine, if that is the case then there is nothing we can do but if you believe that we have a free will, then there is something that Somalis can do to change their destiny and their future

A Muslim must believe in Divine Decree or destiny — qadar in Arabic. The concept of qadar used in the Qur’an means a measure or the latent possibilities with which Allah (God) created human beings and all things of nature. When Allah created each thing, He determined when it would come into existence and when it would cease to exist. He also determined its qualities and nature. And everything in the universe, the seen and the unseen, is completely subject to the overriding power of Allah. Nothing can happen outside His Will.

As for Somalis, they are not completely masters of their fates, nor are they puppets subject to the hazards of destiny. Allah gave Somalis limited power and great freedom, including the freedom of choice. That autonomy makes each Somali accountable for his or her deeds.

We cannot know our future and, to a large extent, we cannot control it. But we can make decisions within the limits of what we can control, based on our understanding of the way the world works. If someone chooses to punch his fist into a brick wall, he cannot claim any injustice when it hurts. He knows that the wall exists and that it is hard. That is the reality — the “laws of nature” — he has to deal with. Yet the ultimate reality is that Allah could make the wall disappear just before one’s fist reaches it.

Just as Allah created nature and its laws, He made moral laws, and we cannot claim any injustice if we get punished for disobeying or ignoring those moral laws.

Only sincere prayers can change the way events unfold

The concept of qadar, therefore, indicates that we must seek harmony with Allah’s rules of human nature and nature at large, and consciously submit to His will. Destiny as conceived by Islam, therefore, does not take away our freedom of choice and action. It is our willful choice of those actions from our inherent possibilities that are in harmony with Allah’s will that earns us our reward from Allah.

Yet, when Allah set certain rules in His decree as to how things evolve, even these things can be changed through prayers. The Prophet stressed that only sincere prayers can change the way events unfold, and that true worship and sincere submission to Allah can raise the believer above the normal ways of nature. Prayers can and do result in “personal miracles” — events or experiences that we consider almost impossible and certainly highly improbable.

From an Islamic point of view, human beings are free for all practical purposes. A person has no excuse for making the wrong choice and then blaming qadar or destiny, any more than a man punching his fist into a wall can blame the laws of nature. He knew the consequences of his actions for all practical purposes and he shouldn’t expect a miracle!

We should not worry about what Allah has written for us, since we can never know it. But our duty is to strive for the best in this world and the next. Then, good results will follow, if Allah wills.

Excellent post.

[Goljano Lion]

I am just wondering how both these two principles (free will and destiny) can exist simultaneously. Do we truly have free will if Allah already knows which path we will choose?

[Faranacab]

Goljano,

The absolute order and harmony displayed by the whole of creation bear witness that God is All-Wise and Just. Wisdom and Justice demand that man should possess free will so that he may be chastised or rewarded for his acts. Although we cannot know the exact nature of this free will, and we may not be able to reconcile it properly with Divine Destiny, this does not mean that free will does not exist.

Man’s free will does not contradict Divine Destiny, rather, Destiny confirms the existence of free will. Divine Destiny is in some respects identical with Divine Knowledge, which goes parallel with man’s free will, in determining his actions, thus it confirms free will, and does not nullify it.

There are not two destinies: one for the cause, the other for the effect. Destiny is one and relates to the cause and the effect simultaneously. Our free will, which causes our acts, is included in Destiny.

To understand the subject you have to read more about the nature of human free will.

Excellent post.

Thanks Inaabti