Divine Decree

 Here is how I see Divine will in operation. Penning it down just so that I can come back to reading it when I need a "theory" on how things are determined.

I take from Islam that Allah the All Knowing, knowing of the subtle and the explicit, knows clearly what is to happen in every creature's life- down to the minutest detail. I personally believe that All is All Knowing. But he has given Choice to us humans atleast to choose our course of action. These two statements are compatible. Allah's knowledge and ability is so all encompassing and intimate that He is aware of every swerve, turn, move we make with our "free will"- a gift from Allah. This notion I hold is influenced by the book Ra Contact. There is a lot of freedom that we have to choose our life's course. I even believe that the life we lead was a choice/tryst we made with Allah before we were born. The exact nature of that tryst I don't know.. But a hint i get is from the literature that talks of Alam Al Arwah. The land of the spirits where we affirm our covenant to Allah before we are born. I like to add to that (maybe what i am doing is adulteration. but it helps me to have a theory like this) at this Land of Spirits, each of us chose our challenges, strengths and adventures.. to prove some point to ourselves or to Allah SWT. 

So yea, we are born, each with our chosen curriculum for life- to learn engage achieve experience... And as we live, a part of what we comes across is the product of this choice we made in Alam Al Arwah. Then there are contextual decisions we take as we live life and here too choice is given.. 

Quran 42:30 says "Whatever misfortune befalls you is a consequence of your own deeds. But much of it He forgives". 

Qur’an, 47:31 says - “We shall certainly test you, until We ascertain those of you who (sincerely) strive and those who are steadfast (in Allah’s Religion); and We shall test your affairs (to distinguish the liars from the truthful).” 

Only way I can reconcile it is that, the Adversities we invite by choice, as a consequence to action has it's seminal authorship in our hands. When Allah tests us, it could be that he tests us with our ability to deal with the consequences of our own choices and actions. 

Stated in another way, Allah doesn't throw adversity on us. He may not shield us from what we wrought upon us. There could be a kernel in each of these adversities that is wrought by our own agency. I relate here the work of Louise Hay for example. Who found that many of our illnesses are created by thought patterns we create. 

Now to have exercised the agency to choose a certain life or to have a certain dispositional temperament, we should have individuated cardinally somewhere way way back. What distinguished a soul that chose an easy God-fearing life and another soul who chose a more challenging route to evolution? Here I think comes my belief that in the Original Creation of Man merging Clay and breath from God's Ruh, the inherent characteristics of each of the molecules or atoms in that constituting elements resounded, magnified across time to create billions of pixels of being that are humans... 

Consider it like this.. maybe I am a particle of silica that came to life. And you are some other oxide that came to life with Al- Amanah (refer to the story where Adam AS took the responsibility of Al Amanah). And our consciousness, our true nature has expressed itself and reflected itself through the stories created through our lives... Each soul's story being so. 

So seen this way. We need to take full responsibility for what happens to us. While seeking Allah's protection and forgivance passionately. Thats the only way we can outrun our primal dispositions.