On Qadar (Destiny): Every aspect of Qadar is nice

Let us try to mention briefly some fundamental issues related to Qadar. First of all, let us mention some basic concepts in summary:

Qadar (Destiny) is the preordination by God Almighty of everything from pre-eternity to post eternity by knowing the state, time, place, attributes and features of everything.

Qada (Decree) is the occurrence of the planned things and events.

Irada al-juziyya (partial free will) can be defined as the free will of man that can wish only one thing at a time and that cannot be related to two things at the same time.

Man cannot wish two things at the same time. If he could, he would be given the power necessary to do it. However, man’s power is partial just like his will. He cannot do two things at the same time. He has two hands but he cannot write two letters together. He cannot look at two directions at the same time; he cannot go to two different places at the same time.

Man’s thought is also partial; he cannot think of two things at the same time.

Af'al al-ibad means the deeds of the slaves. The deeds that man does are divided into two: voluntary and obligatory.

The former deeds are the ones that a person does using his own will; the latter ones are the divine deeds that are done out of the will of a person. To talk, to read a book and to walk are examples of voluntary deeds; the beating of the heart, getting old and dying are examples of obligatory deeds. Everybody knows the difference between those two kinds of deeds through their conscience. However, some people who follow the path of sins and disobedience do not heed their conscience and they unjustly claim that they were dragged to the path of disobedience out of their own wills.

Kasb (acquiring, gaining) means to tend toward a deed and to decide to do it. It is said that kasb affects the quality of the deed, not the deed itself. That is, when the human will intends to do a deed, it affects the good or bad quality of that deed, not the creation of it.

Khayr and sharr (good and bad deeds): Khayr means that a deed, a state or a thought complies with the divine consent; Sharr means that a deed, a state or a thought belongs to the zone forbidden by Allah. Man is tested to use his partial will to choose one of those opposite poles and to intend to do one of them. However, it does not matter whether man chooses to do the good or bad deed; it is Allah who creates that deed because there is no Creator (Khaliq) other than Him.   

Let us give only one example: Allah creates the deed of saying. All of the sounds, from the chirrup of words to the thunder take place as a result of His creation. The talking of human beings occurs as a result of the creation of Allah. It is Allah who creates all the conditions and causes necessary for the tongue and salivary glands to function and for the air to facilitate talking. If the word that is uttered complies with the divine consent, it is khayr but if it belongs to the class of haram like lie, backbiting and slander, it is sharr. Allah creates talking in both cases.

How can one claim the opposite?

When man tells the truth, Allah will create it; what will happen if he tells lies? To whom can this act, which takes place as a result of the cooperation of the universe and the human body, be attributed?

The following verse teaches us that everything is created by divine preordination:

"And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures." (al-Hijr, 21)

Many tafsir scholars interpret the word “khazainu” (treasures) as rains and the phrase “qadarin ma’lum” (ascertainable measures) as the precipitation (of rain) at certain times and in phases. Other scholars deal with the issue in wider dimensions and say that the word “rain” is not used in the verse and that the word “treasures” is more comprehensive, stating that rain may be one of those treasures.

Accordingly, all of the human beings are in the treasure of Allah; however, he creates them at certain times and in certain numbers.

Since there is no verse, hadith or mental evidence showing that human beings have been created beforehand and that there is another realm where they wait for the period when they will be sent down to the world, we are to understand that treasure of man as a spiritual one. That is, all of the human beings are present in the knowledge of Allah. Each man is present in the knowledge of Allah with their forms, number of organs, places and sizes, and all of their features in their spirits. Those beings in the knowledge are called “mahiyah”. What Muhyiddin al-Arabi calls “ayan thabitah” is that realm of mahiyahs. When they are created, they become real.

We can think of the other beings similarly. There is not a separate realm where human beings gather and wait; similarly, it does not comply with truth to say that the realm of non-living things, mountains, plains, skies were created beforehand, that they are waiting in another treasure and that they will be created when their time is due.

Then, the first part of the verse informs us about “qadar” and the second part about “qada”. That is, everything is present in the divine knowledge “in the preordained form” and they are being sent down in ascertainable measures, that is, they are being created (qada).

There is a nice phrase in Risale-i Nur Collection: “Man is a scale for measuring the Divine attributes.” Man, who is created for belief, knowing and worshipping Allah, has been given various abilities so that he can see the divine truths even if from a distance. A very small example of the big truths like "the emergence of the beings in accordance with the circle of qadar, qada and knowledge” is present in man. When we make a sentence in our mind, that sentence is freed from non-existence and becomes a being in our knowledge. When we want that being to come into existence, we express it in writing by using our power, too. We can make many sentences like that in our brain. The treasure of those sentences is our knowledge. Their arrangement in our knowledge informs us about “qadar” and expressing them in writing informs us about “qada”.

When we apply the word "nunazzilu”, (we are sending down) to the deed of writing, it seems like this: expressing a sentence that is present in our knowledge and that is known only by us in writing resembles the sending down of our knowledge onto the paper.

Then, the phrase, " wa ma nunazzilu illa bi qadarin ma’lum” (We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures) in the verse expresses the creation of all of the beings that are present in the knowledge of Allah at certain times and in certain amounts.

That is, everything that we see in our body and the magnificent realm that surrounds us declares the existence and oneness of Allah and at the same time, they teach us that they are arranged by the preordainment of Allah. Thus, everything informs us about qadar and they open new windows in the spirit of the believer regarding belief in qadar.   

When we think this meaning with what is taught by this verse, " He Who has made everything which He has created most Good" (as-Sajdah,7), we approve the following judgment heartily:

"Every aspect of qadar is good."

Let us see some of the eternal evidences of this truth on our own body with their outlines. For instance, let us have a look at our eyes. They could have been created in the shape of rectangles, squares, hexagons, etc. Our eyes were not created in the form of those shapes but as they are now.

And they have the best shape.

Let us have a look at their size. Our eyes could have been as small as points, or as big as our ears, chins or cheeks. They were not created as small or as big as them. They were created as big as they are now.   

And that size is the best.

Let us go on thinking about the place of the eyes. They could have been on our necks, in our stomachs, or under our feet. However, they are not in any of those places or elsewhere but in their present place.

And it is the best place.

We can think about other things from flowers to trees, from flies to eagles and from atoms the solar system. Our thoughts will always lead us to the same judgment:

"They have been created in the best way.”

We see, understand and accept that truth easily in everything.

The hard part of the issue is to be able to evaluate other manifestations of qadar whose reasons and wisdom we do not know in the same way and to be able to make the right decision when we face misfortunes, diseases, hard tests and death. Man sometimes has great difficulties regarding those issues. However, by taking into consideration the endless mercy and the endless beauties that he has witnessed, he should try to say, "There are definitely some nice aspects of these incidents, which my soul does not like." A person who manages to do it reaches the pleasure of belief in qadar and understands the mystery of the saying, “He who believes in qadar becomes free of grief.” As a matter of fact, the Prophet  (pbuh) stated the following, pointing out that truth: "Belief in qadar eliminates anxiety and grief." (Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir, 3/187)

The events and incidents we encounter are like the day or the night. Man should be able to benefit from both. The benefits of the night are not fewer than those of the day. Man should not be sorry when the sun leaves but should be happy meeting the stars.

Perfect men are exemplary personalities who have managed to do it. They regard death as a great bounty like life. They are aware that beyond the grave is more beautiful than the world. Instead of fearing death, they try to get ready for death in the best way.

They know that diseases eliminate sins.

They regard the incidents like diseases that alienate the human heart from the world and make man turn toward the eternal realm as a divine mercy and they try to benefit from it in the best way. While they do it, they do not forget that the body is entrusted to them; they try to protect it in the best way and they seek treatment when they become ill.   

They know that the rewards of the hard tests are great. They evaluate misfortunes as a “test of patience”. They try to get rid of them but they never complain about or oppose to them.

"They responded to the pains with patience; they turned out to be good." (Abdulqadir Gaylani)

The following line of poetry summarizes their state in a nice way: "Your torture is nice; Your blessing is nice, too." They know that all of the names of Allah are good and they regard their manifestations as good, too. However, they try to avoid mistakes, sins and faults, and try to lead their lives on the straight path. When they face divine incidents that take place out of their own will, they submit and trust in Allah.   

The hadith, "Working is my habit and tawakkul (trust in Allah) is my state" is their life program. They fully do whatever is required whether in the field of art and trade or treatment and health and then trust in Allah; they welcome the result no matter how it is with consent and gladly.

Their state is a nice expression of the manifestation of belief in qadar.

And it is a high degree that makes man experience Paradise life in the world.