Page 157 - Matter: The Other Name for Illusion

nothing better for him than the fate created for him by God, there is nothing to
fear or be anxious about. This person will make every effort, but he knows that
this effort is in his fate and, no matter what he does, he will not have the ability
to change what is written in his fate.
A believer will submit himself to the fate created by God. 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 fate and that God had determined the most beneficial things in
advance. As an example of this, the Koran 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 influence the fate determined by God.
He said, "My sons! You must not enter through a single gate. Go in
through different gates. But I cannot save you from God at all, for
judgment comes from no one but God. 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
fate. This is revealed in this verse:
Then He sent down to you, after the distress, security, restful sleep

overtaking a group of you, whereas another group became prey to
anxious thoughts, thinking other than the truth about God—thoughts
belonging to the Time of Ignorance—saying, "Do we have any say in the
affair at all?" Say, "The affair belongs entirely to God." 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 God might test what is in your
breasts and purge what is in your hearts. God knows the contents of
your hearts. (Surah Al 'Imran: 154)

It can be seen in this verse that even if a person runs away from a task in
the way of God in order not to die, if his death is written in his fate, he will die
anyway. Even the ways and methods resorted to in order to escape death are

Time is a Perception Too 155