Page 81 - World Religions I - Islam

9.4 Let’s Practice…

1. What event marks God’s final assessment of humanity?

2. In that day, according to what will men be judged?

3. What happens to all unbelievers in the day of Judgment?
4. What do the Hadiths teach about Allah’s decrees?

5. In what ways does Allah determine the destination of every person?
6. In what ways does Allah determine what every person will do?

9.5 Let’s Personalize this Lesson…

Activity: According to Islam, Allah predestines every person to either believe or disbelieve. They
believe Allah even controls every man’s will. In the final judgment, all unbelievers will be sent to Hell
and believers MAY go to Heaven, depending on the will of Allah. Yet, Allah will hold every man
accountable for what Allah has willed.

How can you put those two ideas together? If man has no choice but to follow Allah’s will either to believe or
disbelieve, then how can Allah hold a man accountable for his choices? He basically has no choice but to do the
will of Allah. And actually, if Allah wills every man to do good or evil, then Allah is the motivator of what every man
does, either good or evil. Allah becomes the source of evil. Does all this make sense to you.

There are those in Christianity whose theology is similar. They believe that God is in total control of everything that
happens which is true (He is omnipotent or all powerful). They believe that from the foundations of the Creation
He elected or chose some to be saved (which is taught in Ephesians and other passages of Scripture) but some
believe that He also chose the rest to be damned in Hell (which is contrary to Scripture). They believe that all men
are dead to all spiritual things and cannot understand the Gospel unless God enlightens their minds to believe.
They believe that the Holy Spirit will enlighten every elected person’s heart and that the grace that God gives to
that person to believe cannot be resisted. Man has no free will to believe, and even the faith to believe is totally a
gift from God. This view is the same or similar view as that of Islam about Allah.

Take a moment to think about this, and then write your view to these difficult theological views below, but support
them by Scripture.

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