If Everything is Already Determined, How Can We Have Free Will?
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If Everything is Already Determined, How Can We Have Free Will?
If Everything is Already Determined, How Can We Have Free Will?
We have already seen that Allah knows everything with his timeless and eternal divine knowledge. Allah knows what you are going to do tomorrow. Allah’s knowledge is never wrong and cannot be changed. This is what we mean by Allah’s determination of things.
This does not mean that we do not have freedom of choice. Every decision that we make is our own. Allah knows with His timeless knowledge these decisions that we make and the moments in time that we make them. He is not in time. We are. Our view of things is limited.
You do not know what you will do tomorrow. Tomorrow is in your future. You know what you did yesterday but cannot change it. Yesterday is in your past. You can only make decisions in the present moment. These are the limits placed on you by Allah. Allah created you in time and space. You exist only one moment at a time and move through time in only one direction.
Allah is not limited by time. He created time. He knows everything that happens everywhere in every moment of time with His single, timeless knowledge. He knows every action that you perform with your free will at every moment in your life. What seems like tomorrow to you is not tomorrow for Allah. It is only tomorrow to you because you are trapped in time.
The fact that Allah knows what you will do tomorrow does not mean that you are being forced to do those things. Allah simply knows what you choose to do with your own free will at every moment in time, including the moments that you consider to be in your future. Remember, those moments will one day be in your past. The actions of your future will one day become your memories.
Please remember me in your duas
Khalil ibn Ilyas Laher
We have already seen that Allah knows everything with his timeless and eternal divine knowledge. Allah knows what you are going to do tomorrow. Allah’s knowledge is never wrong and cannot be changed. This is what we mean by Allah’s determination of things.
This does not mean that we do not have freedom of choice. Every decision that we make is our own. Allah knows with His timeless knowledge these decisions that we make and the moments in time that we make them. He is not in time. We are. Our view of things is limited.
You do not know what you will do tomorrow. Tomorrow is in your future. You know what you did yesterday but cannot change it. Yesterday is in your past. You can only make decisions in the present moment. These are the limits placed on you by Allah. Allah created you in time and space. You exist only one moment at a time and move through time in only one direction.
Allah is not limited by time. He created time. He knows everything that happens everywhere in every moment of time with His single, timeless knowledge. He knows every action that you perform with your free will at every moment in your life. What seems like tomorrow to you is not tomorrow for Allah. It is only tomorrow to you because you are trapped in time.
The fact that Allah knows what you will do tomorrow does not mean that you are being forced to do those things. Allah simply knows what you choose to do with your own free will at every moment in time, including the moments that you consider to be in your future. Remember, those moments will one day be in your past. The actions of your future will one day become your memories.
Please remember me in your duas
Khalil ibn Ilyas Laher
khalillaher- Posts : 132
Join date : 2010-08-29
Age : 36
Location : London
example
I remember what Mufti Inaayatullah sahib said in one lesson explaining taqdeer (to the nearest meaning);
a father takes two of his sons to the shop. Once there he tells his sons to go and choose whatever they'd like to purchase. While there gone the father, due to his experienced knowledge of his sons' characters, says to the cashier that son x will come back with this toy and that game etc and son y will come back with books and staitionary etc. Now, when the sons come with exactly that which the father mentioned can the cashier say that the father made them choose those items?! No ofcoure not because he let his sons loose in the shop to freely grab whatever they wished in plain view and knowledge of the cashier!!(something we've all dreamt of!!!)
Now, if this is the state of knowledge of a father regarding his offspring then what be the state of knowledge of Allah ta'aalaa in regards to his creation,regarding whom we as muslim must also believe in his infinite knowledge and wisdom?!!
Just remebered it as i was browsing through this section and saw your post! Thought i'd post something to mark my registration on this forum!
Salaam
a father takes two of his sons to the shop. Once there he tells his sons to go and choose whatever they'd like to purchase. While there gone the father, due to his experienced knowledge of his sons' characters, says to the cashier that son x will come back with this toy and that game etc and son y will come back with books and staitionary etc. Now, when the sons come with exactly that which the father mentioned can the cashier say that the father made them choose those items?! No ofcoure not because he let his sons loose in the shop to freely grab whatever they wished in plain view and knowledge of the cashier!!(something we've all dreamt of!!!)
Now, if this is the state of knowledge of a father regarding his offspring then what be the state of knowledge of Allah ta'aalaa in regards to his creation,regarding whom we as muslim must also believe in his infinite knowledge and wisdom?!!
Just remebered it as i was browsing through this section and saw your post! Thought i'd post something to mark my registration on this forum!
Salaam
mujahid- Posts : 3
Join date : 2010-09-11
Re: If Everything is Already Determined, How Can We Have Free Will?
A simmillar example to the one above was once explained by one of my teachers. He said think of it as a time machine, the person using it can travel into the future and come back and tell you what your going to do tomorrow. That does not mean he is forcing you to do it.
Different examples help you understand and more importantly explain to other people in an easier way so i thought i'd share this with you.
Either way, it is not the duty of mankind to worry about what has been written for him. It is his responsibility to try his utmost to please Allah.
Different examples help you understand and more importantly explain to other people in an easier way so i thought i'd share this with you.
Either way, it is not the duty of mankind to worry about what has been written for him. It is his responsibility to try his utmost to please Allah.
imran afzal- Posts : 8
Join date : 2010-09-03
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