Does Islam believe in destiny or fate?

Question

If everything we do and when we die has already been decided by Allah, then what is the point of existence if he knows whether or not we will worship him?

Answer 1

We make our fate by making the decision to believe or not and Allah knows our decision even before creating us .

Knowing that doesn't interfere with the free will Allah gave us .

Answer 2

yes because Allah is all knowing , but he also gave us freewill to choose ...

in islam there is both fate and destiny.

Answer 3

I'll give you an example and hope it helps:

A teacher is teaching a class of 20 students, say, science. There are some good students and a couple of lazy ones.

Come exam time - the teacher has given everyone equal teaching, right? he has taught everyone the same, on the same blackboard, but the lazy student has always been lazy and never bothered to do the work.

When the teacher hands out the exams, does the teacher know that this lazy student will fail or not?

The answer is Yes, he does. He knows this student has never done work on time and will fail... but is it his decision to fail the student???

So the teacher KNOWS but the student had/ has the FREE WILL to change!! If only he got his butt of the couch and did a bit of homework...

So you see, the teacher had nothing to do with the free will of the student but he already KNEW...

this is a very basic example of free will that God has offered us.

Answer 4

We believe in Predestination in Islam known as Qadar, Qadar is one of the aspects of aqidah we believe that the divine destiny is when Allah wrote down in the Preserved Tablet ("al-Lawhu 'l-Mahfuz") all that has happened and will happen, which will come to pass as written.

Because His Knowledge, Will, and Power are absolute and unbounded, Allah knows the results of all events and choices before their occurrence. A human being, however, does not have access to this knowledge, and thus he acts in accordance with a desire from within him. Even though his ultimate choice corresponds with Allah's eternal knowledge, he is still accountable for it, thus that is why as Muslims we should strive for the best.

Answer 5

i guess both, subhanallah, what ever is  written in your faith will happen to you, but allah is watching you, and allah is testing you, no matter how little the situation is, and allah answers your prayers, but if he knows that your prayers will lead you to harm, he will not.

subhanallah.

Answer 6

Allah knows but He gave us free will.

Answer 7

I've seen people with different opinions.  

I believe no..ish.  

Everything about our lives was already written before we were created.  But its not how we should make choices in life, but allah already knows how we will choose to live.   Even from a scientific perspective, our future is already written.

But at the same time, things can only happen if allah allows it to happen.  

So like allah doesn't will someone to not worship him, but already knows if the person will or not.  

No human knows the point of existence...its a concept beyond us.  

Answer 8

who cares

just another slap in the face of logic and reason dealt by the abrahanic faiths

Answer 9

Since Allah is outside of time, he already watches people burning in layers of fire before their parents are even born. It's no point for him but it's a big point for you if you wish to avoid it.

Answer 10

LoL.  I believe the user "she said" has no sense of humor.

Answer 11

I just wanted to say that I love Persian King's analogy. Ninja's answer is nice too.

I think of it in terms of Allah having a grand design, but up to each of us to fill in the details, in terms of our day-to-day choices.

Allah is outside of time, and therefore knows all outcomes, but I don't perceive of Allah as some big grandfather in the sky who is micro-managing the lives of billions of people.

If I were an architect or builder, I could design and build you a house, but it would be up to you to choose the carpet and paint, where to put the furniture, and so on.  

Answer 12

if you will do a little more research. you will find that everything about all people is predestined. allah has already decided who he will guide and who he is sending to h**l. allah knows everything you will ever do or say. because he wills it. some people say that if he refuses to guide someone then he shouldn't them to h**l because it was allah's fault not there's. google, predestination, and it will take you to the bukhari hadiths and koran so you can read the word of allah.