What is the reason if things do not go well for a person?
- Some things have happened to me recently; things do not go well; doors are closed for me. I want to hear some good news but unfortunately, I don’t. I want to love and to be loved, but in vain. I feel distressed.
- I know that there so many people who undergo harder tests than me. I do not ask with the intention of rebellion but I want to learn why.
- I can say that I had almost no problems in the past. It started with an incident and continued. What can be the reason for it?
Submitted by on Wed, 17/04/2019 - 11:34
Dear Brother / Sister,
- First of all, we should say that we cannot diagnose such issues in a certain way and present a cure as human beings. "We cannot understand the reason for everything.”
- However, it is possible to state the following – with the consciousness of belief and meditation:
A person’s being successful or unsuccessful, things going well or badly for him can be evaluated from two viewpoints:
Firstly, predestination of Allah, which holds the reign of everything.
Secondly, whether a person acts in accordance with the system of causes existing in the universe, each of which is a divine law, or not.
- We should believe that Allah’s grace exists behind the successful things that we do and that our souls exist behind the successful things that we do.
The meaning of it is as follows:
It is Allah who creates the good and the evil, the good deeds and the bad deeds.
However, the power behind every success depends on the predestination of Allah. For, the existence of successful things is based on the realization of several causes, not one cause. It is impossible for man to control all of those causes. In that case, the real owner of that success is Allah, who is the creator and controller of all causes. It is He who creates the causes and who uses them.
The role of people is very important in the issues that we are unsuccessful. This role appears in two ways: material and spiritual:
Material role: A person not doing what he himself needs to do properly, not acting in compliance with the system of causes, not following the way that enables success, and taking similar wrong steps.
Spiritual role: Disrespect to Allah by disobeying His orders and prohibitions. The penalty for this disrespect sometimes occurs with this kind of negative things in this world. This penalty can sometimes occur as a warning and sometimes as a punishment.
“"Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!" If some good befalls them, they say, "This is from ALLAH"; but if evil, they say, "This is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from ALLAH." But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact? Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul. and We have sent thee as a messenger to (instruct) mankind. And enough is Allah for a witness.” (an-Nisa, 4/78-79)
This fact is underlined in the verse above.
- We, as human beings, have to listen seriously to those lessons given by the Quran.
We should not attribute the failure that is a consequence of our material or spiritual mistakes to the predestination of Allah in order to feel relieved.
However, it is possible to console oneself by remembering the role of predestination in order to relieve one’s bad situation in the past.
“He who believes in qadar (predestination) gets rid of grief.” (Munawi, Faydul-Qadir, 3/187)
The hadith above allows us to refer to predestination “related to the problems and misfortunes in the past”.
However, to refer to predestination related to the plans and programs about the future is a non-Islamic understanding of predestination.
Questions on Islam
- There are some people who claim that belief in qadar does not exist in the Quran and that it was added to hadiths afterwards. What is the source of belief in qadar?
- Is it predetermined what (how much) people will receive as sustenance?
- Why do we take precautions against acts of God though Allah creates everything?
- Would you briefly mention the pillars of faith?
- If living things have to change, how can it be argued that they were created perfectly? How can we answer those who show it as evidence for evolution?
- Does “Chance” have the chance to exist? What is the effect of Qadar (fate) in games of chance?
- What purpose does Prophet Moses’ have by using these words in his prayer; "O my Lord! Expand me my breast, Ease my task for me. And remove the impediment from my speech. So they may understand what I say:”? (Surah Taha, 20/25-28)
- What is the explanation of the chapter of ad-Duha and the reason why it was sent down?
- Question 72: If Allah created everything, why are 24 million trials made for a protein synthesis in the body? Would it not be done only once If Allah existed?
- Does Allah help the unbeliever?
