In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Eternal Destiny and Free Will

[112:1] Proclaim, "He is the One and only God.
[112:2] "The Absolute God.
[112:3] "Never did He beget. Nor was He begotten.
[112:4] "None equals Him."

We often hear that if God existed evil would not exist or God is unjust because He allows evil or God is just but He cannot always prevent evil. Others justify injustice, cruelty and arbitrariness of their actions as a result of the will of God. As humans, we find it hard to understand why bad things happen to us and why there is a lack of order and misery on earth. But God teaches us that there is always a reason for everything that happens (18:60-82).

Is there any relationship between the free will of man and his eternal destiny? Are these two so opposed that the existence of one abrogates the other? Based on Quran, the answer for the first question is yes and for the second one is no. The human's free will and his eternal destiny are in fact one and the same reality. Both are components in one illustrated graph of the human's entire journey from his first death at God to his eternal abode. The human's free will represented by his own earned sins or his righteousness is already known and documented, already judged according to God's decreed will and laws and readily point out and reveal his own eternal destiny in front of his eyes. Therefore, the human's destiny is absolutely bound by God's judging laws that are outlined in His scripture in general and the the driving force towards a specific eternal destiny or another is the human's free will.

Because God's knowledge is absolute and man's knowledge is relative and limited, such graph that represents his free will and reveals his ultimate destiny remains puzzling, unknown or poorly defined. The truth is loud in Quran tho: God's Decreed Will, defined by His crystal clear laws and His perfect & consistent judging standards in His scripture, spells out the two possible eternal destinies of the human race, fluently and justly. It is we who choose and further earn our eternal destiny in accordance with our decisions we freely make on earth. All of that is already recorded by the One whose knowledge encompasses the seen & unseen of the past, the present, the future and the eternal.

If we dwell on the knowledge He has offered in His proven and coded message, we will be able to connect the dots and reach the conclusion of our full accountability:

[13:31] Even if a Quran caused mountains to move, or the earth to tear asunder, or the dead to speak (they will not believe). God controls all things. Is it not time for the believers to give up and realize that if God willed, He could have guided all the people? The disbelievers will continue to suffer disasters, as a consequence of their own works, or have disasters strike close to them, until God's promise is fulfilled. God will never change the predetermined destiny.

[64:11] Nothing happens to you except in accordance with God's will. Anyone who believes in God, He will guide his heart. God is fully aware of all things.

[20:123] He said, "Go down therefrom, all of you. You are enemies of one another. When guidance comes to you from Me, anyone who follows My guidance will not go astray, nor suffer any misery.

[42:30] Anything bad that happens to you is a consequence of your own deeds, and He overlooks many (of your sins).

[34:48] Say, "My Lord causes the truth to prevail. He is the Knower of all secrets."
[34:49] Say, "The truth has come; while falsehood can neither initiate anything, nor repeat it."
[34:50] Say, "If I go astray, I go astray because of my own shortcomings. And if I am guided, it is because of my Lord's inspiration. He is Hearer, Near."

[11:88] He said, "O my people, what if I have solid proof from my Lord; what if He has provided me with a great blessing? It is not my wish to commit what I enjoin you from. I only wish to correct as many wrongs as I can. My guidance depends totally on God; I have put my trust in Him. To Him I have totally submitted.

[19:75] Say, "Those who choose to go astray, the Most Gracious will lead them on, until they see what is promised for them - either the retribution or the Hour. That is when they find out who really is worse off, and weaker in power."
[19:76] God augments the guidance of those who choose to be guided. For the good deeds are eternally rewarded by your Lord, and bring far better returns.

[28:56] You cannot guide the ones you love. God is the only One who guides in accordance with His will, and in accordance with His knowledge of those who deserve the guidance.

[16:93] Had God willed, He could have made you one congregation. But He sends astray whoever chooses to go astray, and He guides whoever wishes to be guided. You will surely be asked about everything you have done.

[35:39] He is the One who made you inheritors of the earth. Subsequently, whoever chooses to disbelieve does so to his own detriment. The disbelief of the disbelievers only augments their Lord's abhorrence towards them. The disbelief of the disbelievers plunges them deeper into loss.

[2:175] It is they who chose the straying instead of guidance, and the retribution instead of forgiveness. Consequently, they will have to endure Hell.

[28:50] If they fail to respond to you, then know that they follow only their own opinions. Who is farther astray than those who follow their own opinions, without guidance from God? God does not guide such wicked people.

[20:50] He said, "Our Lord is the One who granted everything its existence, and its guidance."

[28:56] You cannot guide the ones you love. God is the only One who guides in accordance with His will, and in accordance with His knowledge of those who deserve the guidance. Had we willed, we could have given every soul its guidance, but it is already predetermined that I will fill Hell with jinns and humans, all together.

[4:78] Wherever you are, death will catch up with you, even if you live in formidable castles. When something good happens to them, they say, "This is from God," and when something bad afflicts them, they blame you. Say, "Everything comes from God." Why do these people misunderstand almost everything?
[4:79] Anything good that happens to you is from God, and anything bad that happens to you is from you. We have sent you as a messenger to the people, and God suffices as witness.

[57:22] Anything that happens on earth, or to you, has already been recorded, even before the creation. This is easy for God to do.

[20:98] Your only god is God; the One beside whom there is no other god. His knowledge encompasses all things.

[20:110] He knows their past and their future, while none encompasses His knowledge.

[33:72] We have offered the responsibility (freedom of choice) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant.

[2:148] Each of you chooses the direction to follow; you shall race towards righteousness. Wherever you may be, God will summon you all. God is Omnipotent.

[67:2] The One who created death and life for the purpose of distinguishing those among you who would do better. He is the Almighty, the Forgiving.

[90:4] We created the human being to work hard (to redeem himself).

[18:7] the path of those whom You blessed; not of those who have deserved wrath, nor of the strayers.

[47:31] We will certainly put you to the test, in order to distinguish those among you who strive, and steadfastly persevere. We must expose your true qualities.

[18:48] They will be presented before your Lord in a row. You have come to us as individuals, just as we created you initially. Indeed, this is what you claimed will never happen.

[17:13] We have recorded the fate of every human being; it is tied to his neck. On the Day of Resurrection we will hand him a record that is accessible.
[17:14] Read your own record. Today, you suffice as your own reckoner.
[17:15] Whoever is guided, is guided for his own good, and whoever goes astray does so to his own detriment. No sinner will bear the sins of anyone else. We never punish without first sending a messenger.

[53:38] No soul bears the sins of another soul. [53:39] Every human being is responsible for his own works. [53:40] And everyone's works will be shown. [53:41] Then they will be paid fully for such works. [53:42] To your Lord is the final destiny.

[75:12] To your Lord, on that day, is the final destiny.
[75:13] The human being will be informed, on that day, of everything he did to advance himself, and everything he did to regress himself.
[75:14] The human being will be his own judge.
[75:15] No excuses will be accepted.

Conversely, Satan's point of view is geared towards denying the human his God-given free will only to offer him with a seemingly right or sugar-coated justification for all the committed injustices on earth. His famous line attributes all the chaos on earth to a god who is not omnipotent enough with flawed laws and therefore we do not have any valid accountability for any evil we commit and we are not gifted with any free will. The chaos on earth does not define the Will of God but rather is a presentation of our free will to side with Satan and a profound manifestation of Satan's failure as an authority. If we only connect all dots and sincerely seek the facts offered in God's proven and coded message, we could reach for the solid definition of God's Will and we could distiguish it from our free will and our chosen and earned eternal destiny.

Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.