Qadar: Fate & Choice

Bismillah

The concept of plausible truth within the Preserved Tablet (Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ) is articulated in the Quran, notably in Al-Burūj 85:22 and Al-Ḥadīd 57:22, which affirm that nothing occurs on Earth or within human beings without first being recorded in a divine register prior to its actualization. This principle embodies both divine predestination and omniscience while simultaneously affirming human moral responsibility. Observations of the contemporary environment suggest that the natural equilibrium (mīzān) has been altered by human activity, resulting in intensified storms and altered seasonal patterns. Although the extent to which these changes are anthropogenic or natural remains a complex scientific question, the Quranic perspective emphasizes the accountability of humans for the ecological disruption they cause.

Predestination raises critical questions regarding human agency: if God possesses complete knowledge of the timing of death and all events, does this entail that human decisions are predetermined? Islamic theology clarifies that divine foreknowledge does not negate human free will. The Quran affirms God’s omniscience and absolute will, as in Al-Qamar 54:49, Al-Anʿām 6:59, and Ar-Raʿd 13:11, while maintaining that humans are morally responsible for their actions and accountable for them, as stated in Al-Jathiya 45:15. Predestination, therefore, concerns divine knowledge and governance rather than coercion of human choice.

An analogy to natural causality illustrates this principle: knowledge of a future event does not cause its occurrence. For example, foreseeing rainfall does not bring it about, though it allows for preparation. Similarly, God’s awareness of the moment of an individual’s death does not annul the freedom exercised during life. Human existence can be likened to a river: God comprehends its ultimate course, but individuals determine their own navigation. In this metaphor, God is the director of life’s narrative, while humans act as agents experiencing and shaping their actions moment by moment.

Qadar, or divine decree, can also be examined through psychological and physiological frameworks. Human choices emerge from complex interactions among character, habits, cognition, emotion, past experience, social context, and motivation. Neuroscience demonstrates that behavior arises from structured mental processes. In Islamic thought, God possesses complete knowledge of the inner constitution of each individual, including their dispositions and limitations, as the Creator of both the human being and the causal networks shaping personality. Divine knowledge thus encompasses future choices, yet these choices originate genuinely from human free will.

Physiologically, human behavior is mediated by neuroelectrical activity, cardiac electromagnetic fields, hormonal fluctuations, and emotional states, all of which influence cognition and action. Positive emotional states and spiritual practices, including prayer and meditation, mitigate stress and promote psychophysiological equilibrium, whereas fear and anger activate specific biological pathways. Repetitive behaviors restructure neural networks, facilitating or inhibiting tendencies toward beneficial or harmful actions. All of these processes fall within divine knowledge, as God establishes the natural and psychological laws governing human conduct.

Human actions may be conceptualized as waves propagating through the world, analogous to phenomena measurable by scientific instrumentation. The Preserved Tablet records these possibilities and outcomes without constraining human freedom: while humans enact their choices, God possesses foreknowledge of all actions prior to their manifestation. Qadar can thus be understood as the interaction of three domains: the creation of physical, psychological, and spiritual laws by God; human agency operating within these frameworks; and divine omniscience encompassing all causes, effects, and potentialities. Within this integrated paradigm, human autonomy and divine sovereignty coexist harmoniously: humans exercise authentic volition, and God’s perfect omniscience apprehends the ultimate outcome of every choice.

Alhamdullillah.