Accountability: Predestination, & Our Actions

I have read in a Hadith that when person is still a fetus in mother's womb, an angel is sent to write down his deeds, livelihood, date of death and whether happy or wretched. This is confirmed in practice when a person may do good deeds throughout his life, but what was written for him may change his actions to bad ones just before his death, so that he will be among those to suffer in Hell. The reverse may also be true. Yet we appeal to God all the time to grant us what is good for our lives in this world and the next. How can we reconcile that?

 The Hadith to which the reader has referred may be given in translation as follows: 

"Indeed, the creation of each one of you is brought together in the mother's belly for 40 days in the form of a drop of sperm, then he is a germ-cell for a like period, then an embryonic lump for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows the breath of life into him & who is commanded about four matters: to write down his means of livelihood, his life span, his actions and whether happy or unhappy"

"By Allah, other than whom there is no God, one of you may behave like the people of paradise until there is but an arm's length between him and it, and that, which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of hell fire and thus he enters it; and one of you behaves like the people of hell fire until there is but an arm's length between him and it, and that, which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of paradise and thus he enters it." (Related by Al Bukhari & Muslim.)

It is very important to understand Hadith according to the well-established Islamic principles about life and death, deeds and reward, predetermination and man's freedom. But what we have to understand first of all is the concept of God's will and His knowledge of every thing that takes place in the universe.

We know that God's will is absolute, unrestricted and cannot be frustrated by any power. When He wills something to take place, He only says to it, 'Be," and it exists. In fact He does not need to say anything, but creation is described in this way in order to make it clearer to our minds. The moment God's will is directed to the creation of something, it comes into existence. Nothing stops it. He has willed to grant man freedom of choice over much of what is related to his life and how man conducts his affairs.

Thus, the freedom of choice exists beyond any shred of doubt. It takes effect whenever man takes a decision concerning any matter. We actually feel it when we decide on our actions regarding major and minor things, as well as when we are confused; unable to decide over the best solutions to a problem we face.

Accountability goes hand in hand with this freedom. This life is made a test for human beings so that they can prove what they deserve of reward or punishment, which determines whether they will be happy in the Hereafter or not. God states in the Qur'an, addressing the believers: "This is Paradise; you have inherited it by virtue of your past deeds." (43: 72) This is a clear statement showing that there is no pre-judgment as to the final destination of any human being. That destination is determined by very person's actions in his life, made on the basis of his or her free choice. Hence, God orders us to do what we can in order to secure a happy ending in the Hereafter.

At the same time, God knows everything before it takes place. We have often said that, like His will, God's knowledge is absolute and unrestricted. Nothing comes into God's knowledge as a result of any event. He knows it before the event takes place.

Whatever took place a million years ago and what will happen a million years from now, is the same with regard to God's knowledge of them. Some people confuse this knowledge with pre-destination. They argue: since God knows beforehand what every person will do before that person does it, then He must have willed it so. This is a false argument. God has willed that each person shall have the freedom of choice and that freedom takes place according to man's decision. It is true that God knows what every person chooses even before he makes the choice, but there is no coercion in that matter.

It is the knowledge that the angel records when he, by God's command, breathes the spirit into the fetus. He writes what God knows, not what God wills that person to do.

There are areas, in which man has no choice; such as his being affected by natural forces, being subject to burn in fire, drown in water, be killed with a bullet that hits his heart or brain, etc. The angel does not record these areas because man has no control over them. What is recorded is what is subject to his free choice. One of these is his deed. In this matter, man is the one who makes the choice. Another in his means is livelihood, which is again subject to his choice and his effort.

If one sits at home doing nothing for a livelihood, he will get nothing. If he goes out to work and exerts his best efforts in improving his situation, he will get the immediate results of his reward. The same applies to his life duration. If he exposes himself to great risks, he is likely to die quickly. If he does the type of good acts, which the Prophet, peace be upon him, describes as prolonging life, such as kindness to relatives and dutifulness to parents, then God will give him extra years. 

The end of this Hadith is often misunderstood, because some people may take it as a reference to what God had already written down to be the fate of a person in the Hereafter. God has not determined that fate for anyone. It is everyone's total sum of the working of his or her free choice and free will that determines their fate. Thus, it is the person himself who may change his or her course of action shortly before their death. He would have done good deeds throughout his life, but then one day he sinks into disbelief and takes actions that place him among those who will go to Hell. This is again his free choice. It is true that the angel recorded this before his birth, but that recording is based on his [exercise of] free choice.

This ending of the Hadith stresses the importance of being always on the watch for what may enhance our position in the Hereafter. We must never feel too secure as a result of having done well in our past life. We must continue to do so until we die. At the same time, we must never despair if we have done badly. Repentance and mending our ways, with sincerity and trust in God, will ensure our safety.

"They pray to Allah, 'Our Lord, let not our hearts become perverse after You have once guided us aright; bestow upon us mercy from Yourself for You are the real Benefactor'!" [The Family Of Imran - "Al-Imran" 3: 8]

Adam: Was Adam the First Man on Earth?

 Verse 30 of Surah 2 of the Qur'an, tells us that when God informed the angels of His intention to place a vicegerent on earth, the angels exclaimed: "Will you place therein one who will make mischief and shed blood?" As we learn from the Qur'an, the angels could not know anything other than what God has taught them. How could they ask such a question, if there were no creatures on earth before Adam?

Your question is valid. Certainly the angels could not know unless God had imparted to them the information, or they might have witnessed something taking place. When they described mankind as creature who are likely to make mischief and shed blood, their knowledge could only have come through either of these two methods. It may be that there were on earth creatures similar to mankind who perpetrated the same sort of mischief and shed blood as human beings do. On the other hand, God might have informed the angels of the nature of His new creation. Whichever may be the case, the question put by the angels relies on confirmed information.

There is nothing in Islamic teachings, which excludes the possibility of some other type of creation having populated the earth prior to the creation of man. Nor do we need to exclude the possibility of other species of creation living in other planets in our own solar system or in other solar systems or other galaxies. The universe is so vast that our minds cannot envisage how far its outer limits are. When we speak of stars being millions of light years away from us, we are talking in astronomical figures, which are not easy to imagine. It is only to be expected that God, the Creator, may have placed many other types of creation in different planets and stars. That indeed fits with His greatness. That we know nothing about them is only due to our limited knowledge. If it so happens that in future, we may come in contact with any such creatures, that should only strengthen our faith in God, the Creator of all worlds.

Adoption: Taking Orphans into Family & Formal Adoption

It has always been my dear wish to take an orphan girl into my family, but the law in my country does not allow this except through formal adoption. My husband is opposed to this on grounds that adoption is un-Islamic. Is there a way out?

Islam encourages looking after orphans of both sexes. The Prophet, peace be upon him, mentions very high reward for people who take good care of orphans and bring them up as they would bring up their own children. However, formal adoption is not allowed in Islam. It is forbidden, as the Qur'an makes clear. You may refer for this purpose to Verses 4 and 5 of Surah 33, which make clear that God does not approve of anyone claiming a child as his own when that child is born to different parents.

"Allah has not put two hearts in a person's body nor has He made those wives of yours whom you divorce by Zihar [declaring them to be] your mothers, nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. These are the things, which you utter from your mouths, but Allah says that which is based on the reality and He alone guides to the Right Way. Call your adopted sons after their father's names: this is more just in the sight of Allah. And if you do not know who their fathers are, then they are your brothers in faith and your friends. There is no blame on you if you say something unintentionally, but you will surely be to blame for what you say with the intention of your hearts. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [Surah Al-Ahzab - "The Clans" 33: 4 & 5)

The verses include an order to call such children after their own parents. If their parents are unknown to us, then we treat them as brothers or sisters in Islam, but not as our own children.

Such are the Islamic rulings and they are clear in their import. What is strongly disapproved is the claim that a certain child is called after an adopting father, or given the name of the adopting family. This is a fraud, and Islam makes it unlawful. But this does not stop Muslims from looking after orphan children. In fact they are strongly recommended to do so. But they should let those children keep their own names.

Laws in different countries may make things very difficult for a family, which wants to look after a certain child. For example, I know the case of a family who wished to look after an orphan girl and was keen to stick to Islamic teachings. The difficulties they had to encounter were enormous. Their task was made pretty impossible. They had no option but to leave the country where they were living, and get the child registered as their own before returning to their place of living with that child. No longer did they have to face any bureaucratic rigidity of the type that makes life difficult. They informed the child of their true relation with her when she was able to understand. There was no difficulty in the matter. Do we blame them for doing what they did? They simply tried to overcome unreasonable difficulties and look after a child that had no one to look after. God will certainly reward them according to their intention. They had no desire to disobey God's rules. You may be able to approach the difficulty in your country in a different way. You may need to seek advice. A sympathetic government official may be able to understand the Islamic requirements and suggest to you a way of meeting them while taking an orphan girl to look after. But I encourage you to seek some way of carrying out your plan. May God reward you generously for it.

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