What Is the Relationship between Fate and Destiny? Are Decree and Destiny Obstacles to Our Wishes?
- What is the difference between fate and destiny?
- Is our destiny predetermined?
- Who determines our fate?
- Is our fate and destiny in our own hands?
- Why do most of us not achieve our wishes?
We all want to know about our future and destiny. Some of us believe in determinism, thinking everything is predetermined, and that is why we blame fate for everything that happens, and constantly complain and curse our bad luck and bad times. Like someone who has diabetes, high cholesterol, clogged arteries and knee pain, and attributes all these problems to bad luck cursing the world and their misfortune. Or consider a person who constantly complains about their child being rude while comparing them to another well-mannered child. These people do not ever consider their role in these issues. Some even go to fortune tellers and soothsayers to find out about their pre-written futures.
But is everything truly predetermined, and do we have no role in our own fate and destiny?
We must understand that this is not the case. God has created us with free will, and we are constantly making choices and decisions. Based on our choices and efforts, we reap corresponding results and shape our own destiny. As we know, the entire creation system is mathematically designed, governed by laws, formulas and measurements [1]. There is nothing in the universe that does not have a measure, number, or value, i.e., a decree, and every decree we choose entails a result or destiny. This divine law is called the law of fate and destiny, which has been discussed in detail in previous lessons. In this lesson, we will discuss the relationship between the law of fate and destiny and our wishes, fate and destiny.
The Relationship between the Law of Fate and Destiny and Our Wishes
We said that according to the law of fate and destiny, every decree has a consequence and fate. Therefore, to achieve our desires and wishes, we must first choose the appropriate decrees for those wishes to achieve our desired results. While most of the time this is not the case! For example, we may wish to have a polite and well-mannered child, but if we haven’t learned the necessary methods to raise a child or don’t know how to interact with them properly, with this decree, how can we achieve the desired destiny or outcome?
Or we may wish to excel in a particular artistic or sporting field, pass the university entrance exam, have a successful marriage and experience a lasting love or achieve success in our careers. All these wishes require us to first choose the right decrees that align with those wishes and then expect to achieve the destiny or our desired wish. In General, we first obtain the necessary knowledge in the desired field through education and consultation, and then through effort and perseverance, we achieve our wish and goal.
Is it possible to wish to become a good and strong martial artist without proper training under a good coach and sufficient practice and effort? Is it possible to desire a healthy body while consuming excessive sweets, salt, fat, and unhealthy food, and being physically inactive? Certainly, if we do not have proper nutrition and do not exercise, the result will be various health issues such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and vascular diseases. More importantly, is it possible to seek human perfection and a beautiful and blissful eternity, but not know our true selves, not prioritize our beloveds, and not move towards resembling our True Beloved, Allah?
Therefore, it is we who hold our fate and destiny in our hands through our choices and decisions, shaping our lives in this world and the hereafter. Of course, it should be noted that some fates and unfortunate events in life are not in our hands and we have no role in them, yet how we respond to them and ultimately, the results that arise still largely depend on us!
The Impact of Unwanted Fates on Our Destiny
We said that some fates are not in our hands, such as the family we are born into, our appearance, or natural disasters like earthquakes, or some certain calamites and problems that occur in life that we have no role in. For instance, we might be driving carefully, following all traffic rules, when suddenly another vehicle swerves off the road and has a serious accident with us. In this case, the other party is at fault, but we, too, suffer financial and physical damages.
Such incidents can happen to anyone, but even in these situations, we decide how to respond. The decrees of choices made by different people in these situations vary. Some of us lose ourselves and do not manage the crisis effectively. As a result, we fall into despair, hopelessness and ingratitude, and the consequence is that we harm both our worldly and eternal lives. But, those of us who know ourselves, have reached human maturity, and consider the world as a gym understand very well that all the events and incidents in life are a kind of divine test and opportunities for our growth. Therefore, not only we do not allow the ups and downs of life to discourage us and prevent us from the main path of life and moving towards the purpose of creation; but by dealing appropriately with unfortunate incidents we acquire human perfections and divine names such as Sabur (The All-Patient) and Shakur (The Grateful), and we become closer and more similar to our Beloved. In other words, by choosing the right decree, we never allow the hardships and miseries of this limited worldly life to disrupt our inner joy and peace and destroy our eternity.
Therefore, our fate and destiny depend largely on our choices and decisions within the natural system and completely so within the fitrah-oriented system. A wise person, who is aware of their purpose of creation, chooses their life’s decrees within divine limits and through prayer and tawakkul seeks help from their Creator and Lord in this path.
In this lesson, we discussed the relationship between fate and destiny. We said that the entire creation has measures, numbers, and decrees, and according to the law of fate and destiny, whatever decree we choose will lead to a specific destiny and result. Therefore, our fate and destiny are in our hands. The most important fate and destiny is related to our eternal life in the hereafter, which is directly related to our choices. So that even if we encounter unwanted fates and bitter incidents, through the way we deal with them, we can turn that incident into a launching pad for acquiring human assets.
What other factors do you think influence our fate and destiny?
References
[1]. Quran, 65:3