11-16-2003, 11:41 AM
I've been observing this topic... I think I'll have a say on this one even though I restrain myself from 'discussions' that lead to 'arguments' or topics that can draw ambiguous opinions...
There are two things, namely - Fate (Tadbeer)& Destiny (Taqdeer)...
Fate is something on which we excercise control to an extent...There are numerous occasions in life where we find ourselves in a place where we have to choose an option... Now that's where Fate plays an important role... It's wholly up to us what to decide and which option to choose... Therefore, we are 'moulding our own fate', or in simpler words, 'insaan apni Tadbeer (and not taqdeer) khud hi banata hai'...
Destiny (Taqdeer) is something over which we cannot have control... Lets say I was born in Karachi... I had no choice of being born in Lahore, Islamabad, etc... It was something that 'had to be this way' and that's what Allah had already written for me...
However, Fate (Tadbeer)& Destiny (Taqdeer) are both inter-related... For example, you come across a situation where you have to choose between travelling by plane or by train... Allah, certainly without a shadow of a doubt, knows that will happen in both the situations, no matter which option you choose... Allah knows what hurdles you will come across, and how exactly your trip will be, how many people you will meet, etc., either you travel by plan or by train...
Hence, it is Fate for you to choose and mould how your next upcoming hours will be if you choose to travel by plane or by train... But the Destiny will remain the same... If you are 'destined' to reach a certain place, lets say, Islamabad by train, then you will reach Islamabad by taking up either of the alternatives... But if you are 'destined' to die before reaching Islamabad, then you will die no matter which way of travelling you choose... Because its Destiny on which we don't have any authority, because it's not a matter of choice like Fate... Its something that has already been decided...
Concluding, Allah knows everything that will happen with every single option, no matter how many different options he presents in front of us... It is however, upto us to decide our 'Fate' in taking up those options but the 'Destiny' remains unchanged...
When people relate fate to Jannat and Jahannum, they go against the simple logic and basics of Fate and Destiny... In life, we get a lot of different options, some that might take us to Jahannum and the others that might lead us to Jannat... Allah knows very well what will happen if one chooses a certain option... Whether he will go to Jannat or Jahannum... But it is all upto us to decide which route to take... Therefore, the selection of the option is termed as Fate and what place (Jannat or Jahannum) that path leads us to becomes our Destiny, which means we will be 'Destined to go to that place if we choose a certain option'...
This is why Quran describes the life of hereafter as one of justice.
And about the example that Sajjad_Daar presented... Shahid was actually Destined to stay alive whether he chose to go to the picnic or sit back home... Even if he had gone for the picnic with his family, he might have survived the car accident... But he was presented with the option of going or not... He chose to take rest at home and hence, decided his Fate for himself, decided for himself how his next upcoming days/hours would be spent.
However, Fate and Destiny might get very complicated... I've seen people suggest not to talk about things over which we don't excercise any control, as they are labelled - 'knowledge beyond our thinking'.
There are two things, namely - Fate (Tadbeer)& Destiny (Taqdeer)...
Fate is something on which we excercise control to an extent...There are numerous occasions in life where we find ourselves in a place where we have to choose an option... Now that's where Fate plays an important role... It's wholly up to us what to decide and which option to choose... Therefore, we are 'moulding our own fate', or in simpler words, 'insaan apni Tadbeer (and not taqdeer) khud hi banata hai'...
Destiny (Taqdeer) is something over which we cannot have control... Lets say I was born in Karachi... I had no choice of being born in Lahore, Islamabad, etc... It was something that 'had to be this way' and that's what Allah had already written for me...
However, Fate (Tadbeer)& Destiny (Taqdeer) are both inter-related... For example, you come across a situation where you have to choose between travelling by plane or by train... Allah, certainly without a shadow of a doubt, knows that will happen in both the situations, no matter which option you choose... Allah knows what hurdles you will come across, and how exactly your trip will be, how many people you will meet, etc., either you travel by plan or by train...
Hence, it is Fate for you to choose and mould how your next upcoming hours will be if you choose to travel by plane or by train... But the Destiny will remain the same... If you are 'destined' to reach a certain place, lets say, Islamabad by train, then you will reach Islamabad by taking up either of the alternatives... But if you are 'destined' to die before reaching Islamabad, then you will die no matter which way of travelling you choose... Because its Destiny on which we don't have any authority, because it's not a matter of choice like Fate... Its something that has already been decided...
Concluding, Allah knows everything that will happen with every single option, no matter how many different options he presents in front of us... It is however, upto us to decide our 'Fate' in taking up those options but the 'Destiny' remains unchanged...
When people relate fate to Jannat and Jahannum, they go against the simple logic and basics of Fate and Destiny... In life, we get a lot of different options, some that might take us to Jahannum and the others that might lead us to Jannat... Allah knows very well what will happen if one chooses a certain option... Whether he will go to Jannat or Jahannum... But it is all upto us to decide which route to take... Therefore, the selection of the option is termed as Fate and what place (Jannat or Jahannum) that path leads us to becomes our Destiny, which means we will be 'Destined to go to that place if we choose a certain option'...
This is why Quran describes the life of hereafter as one of justice.
And about the example that Sajjad_Daar presented... Shahid was actually Destined to stay alive whether he chose to go to the picnic or sit back home... Even if he had gone for the picnic with his family, he might have survived the car accident... But he was presented with the option of going or not... He chose to take rest at home and hence, decided his Fate for himself, decided for himself how his next upcoming days/hours would be spent.
However, Fate and Destiny might get very complicated... I've seen people suggest not to talk about things over which we don't excercise any control, as they are labelled - 'knowledge beyond our thinking'.
