Choice and its Boundaries
To those
who say that man has been given ultimate choice in this universe, we tell them
that the moment of giving birth dismisses what they are saying and that man
even at the moment when he is born does not have any choice. And to complete
the picture, let us move from the time of birth when man comes to this world up
till the time of death when he leaves it. Does man have any choice when it
comes to death? Is he capable of saying no to death? Saying that he does not
want to die now or that he will delay his death to the next day or the next
year? Definitely not, Allah (SWT) warns us about that truth in many of his Ayat
in Al-Qur’an Al-Karim. He (Galla Gallaloh ) says
<<And every nation has its appointed term; when
their term comes, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or
a moment)>>
Ayah 34 from surat Al-A’raf
About those
who think that death is related to the events of life like war and conquests
and who think that man by staying at home will escape death, AlHaqq (SWT) says
<<O you who believe! Be not like those who
disbelieve (hypocrites) and who say to their brethren when they travel through
the earth or go out to fight: “If they had stayed with us, they would not have
died or been killed.”>>
Ayah 156 from surat Al-i-‘Imran
And his saying (Galla Gallaloh)
<<(They are) the ones who said about their killed
brethren while they themselves stayed (at home): “If only they had listened to
us, they would not have been killed.” Say: “Avert death from your own selves,
if you speak the truth”>>
Ayah 168 from surat Al-Imran
And the two
Ayat Al- Karima talks about the infidels and the hypocrites and how they linked
death to the human will and the universal events. In the first Ayah the infidels
told their brothers that if they traveled and risked their lives or if they went
to fight they might die or get killed. But if they stayed at home and did not join
Al-Jihad they will save their lives. So those infidels related the time and place
of death with the path they would decide to take or with their decision to join
Jihad(fighting for the cause of Allah in protecting Islam), and they claimed that it would be a
reason for their death. They thought that those who died or got killed would
have been alive, if they had stayed in their homes. Death is a decree by Allah
(SWT), there is no reason for it. Man dies because his life term has reached an
end. A fighter who fights in lots of wars may stay alive, when another man
staying in his room may die.
For example
Khaled Ben Al-Walid who fought in many wars died in his bed and he said before
dying “I have joined a lot of conquests and in every inch of my body there is a
hit by a sword, a wound by an arrow or a stab by a spear and here I am dying in
my bed same way the animals ÇáÚíÑ
die. May the eyes of the cowards not sleep.”
So actually
death is not related to being in war joining a conquest or not. A man staying
at home may die while another joining a battle may come back safe. And then the
second Ayah shows the hypocrites who refused to go to Jihad, and how they were
saying to their fellow hypocrites that if the believers had listened to them
and had not gone to fight, they would have not died and that they would have
been living among them. Al-Haqq (TWT) tells them that they have stayed and
refused to fight but yet if their concept is true they should be able to keep
death away when it approaches them. Truly, no one can stop death whether one is
in a battle, hiding at home or anywhere else. Al-Haqq (SWT) explains this
thoroughly in the Ayat that were descended at the time of Ghazwat ‘Uhud when
Muslims were defeated and the hypocrites and the unconfident said that if the
decision was in their hands, they would have not gone to fight and those who
died would not have been killed.
Al-Haqq (SWT) answers them by saying
<<They said, “Have we any part in the affair?” Say
(O Muhammad PBUH): “Indeed the affair belongs wholly to Allah.” They hide
within themselves what they dare not reveal to you, saying: “if we had anything
to do with the affair, none of us would have been killed here.” Say: “Even if
you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would
certainly have gone forth to the place of their death.” >>
Ayah 154 from surat Al-i-‘Imran
They kept
what they said to themselves and did not show it to the messenger of Allah
(PBUH), so Al-Haqq (SWT) wanted to reveal the truth and inform his messenger
(PBUH) about it. So then the reply came from Heaven, from AlHaqq (Galla Gallaloh)
and He asked his prophet to tell them that being in the battle does not bring
them death and does not drive it away either. For those who were at home and
were pre-destined to die would have left their homes to the place of their
death where they would rest. That is, being conscious about danger and trying
to get away from it will not give you more life because death is pre-destined
by Allah and it is going to happen no doubt. Moreover you may find that a
person pre-destined to die, is struggling to reach the place of his death.
For example a man insisting to find a seat in a flight and may be paying more money for it not knowing that it is the reason for his death, that this flight is going to crash and all on board will die. And you may find someone else trying to reach a certain place and has suffered a lot of trouble to reach that place and then find death facing him there. Merely death is a decree by Allah and no one can run away from it.
For example a man insisting to find a seat in a flight and may be paying more money for it not knowing that it is the reason for his death, that this flight is going to crash and all on board will die. And you may find someone else trying to reach a certain place and has suffered a lot of trouble to reach that place and then find death facing him there. Merely death is a decree by Allah and no one can run away from it.
To be continued....
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