Page 95 - Timelessness and the Reality of Fate

Relativity of Time and The Reality of Destiny 93

Those who submit themselves willingly to Allah may hope to enjoy
Allah's pleasure and mercy and to win paradise; they will live a life of well
being in security and happiness both in this world and in the world to come.
This is because, for a person who submits himself to Allah, knowing that
there is nothing better for him than the destiny created for him by Allah,
there is nothing to fear or be anxious about. This person will make every
effort, but he knows that this effort is in his destiny and, no matter what he
does, he will not have the ability to change what is written in his destiny.
A believer will submit himself to the destiny created by Allah. In the
face of what happens to him, he will do his best to understand the purpose
of these happenings, take precautions, and make an effort to change things
for the better. But he will take comfort in his knowledge that all these things
come to be according to destiny and that Allah had determined the most
beneficial things in advance. As an example of this, the Qur'an mentions
measures taken by Jacob for the security of his children. In order to make his
sons beware of people with evil intentions, Jacob advised his sons to enter
the city by different gates but he reminded them that this would never influ-
ence the destiny determined by Allah.
He said, "My sons! You must not enter through a single gate. Go in through
different gates. But I cannot save you from Allah at all, for judgment comes
from no one but Allah. In Him I put my trust, and let all those who put
their trust, put it in Him alone." (Surah Yusuf: 67)

People may do what they like, but they will never be able to change
their destiny. This is revealed in this verse:

Then He sent down to you, after the distress, security, restful sleep over-
taking a group of you, whereas another group became prey to anxious
thoughts, thinking other than the truth about Allah-thoughts belonging to
the Time of Ignorance-saying, "Do we have any say in the affair at all?"
Say, "The affair belongs entirely to Allah." They are concealing things
inside themselves which they do not disclose to you, saying, "If we had
only had a say in the affair, none of us would have been killed here in this
place." Say, "Even if you had been inside your homes, those people for
whom killing was decreed would have gone out to their place of death." So
that Allah might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your
hearts. Allah knows the contents of your hearts. (Surah Al 'Imran: 154)