Belief in God includes the belief that
God alone is the Creator and Sustainer of this world.
Nothing takes place in the universe without His
permission. No good can be obtained nor harm avoided unless Allaah decrees it.
Humans are enjoined to seek refuge in the
Lord of the Dawn from the evil of what He created. (Soorah al-Falaq (113):1-2). Allaah does not attribute evil
directly to Himself, because He is Good and all which comes from His is Good.
The evil which comes from Allaah is relative evil. It may be good from other
perspectives but evil in one perspective.
For
example, sunshine is essential for plants to grow and synthesize chlorophyll,
yet it causes the rivers and lakes to dry up leading to drought, famine and death.
Rain is also essential for plants to grow, yet it also causes floods, drowning
and death. Pure evil, on the other hand, is a result of human activity. Humans
think evil and, if Allaah permits it, they do evil. Allaah on the other hand
does not oppress anyone.
“Your Lord does no wrong to anyone.” Soorah
al-Kahf (18):49
The evil which humans do is by Allaah’s permission,
so that that degree it is from Allaah. But humans are responsible for their
evil because it is a product of their choice. Regarding God’s permission,
Muslim scholars of the past have distinguished between God’s wish and His will.
His wish is sometimes referred to as His Legal Wish, meaning that He wishes for
humans Islaam; the right way of life consisting of submission to whatever God
has instructed. However, He also gave humans the ability to accept His wish or
reject it. Consequently, humans may go against God’s Legal Wish. His will, on the
other hand, is referred to as His Creational Will, meaning that what takes
place is by his permission alone. Among the things which take place are events
beyond human will and events which are in accordance with human will. For
example, humans are governed by the laws of “nature” which they cannot escape.
If one jumps up, he or she must fall back down. If one’s knee is struck by the
doctor, the foot kicks out, no matter how hard the mind fights the reaction.
Humans cannot go against Allaah’s Creational Will.
When those who deny God’s existence are asked why
they are successful and others who have made similar or greater efforts are
not, they reply that it is due to their good-fortune and the others’ bad
fortune. And when human life is analyzed it is easily concluded that all of it
is controlled by good and bad luck. Consequently, life is looked at as being
controlled by the goddess of chance, Tyche, in Greek religion, and Fortuna in Roman.
Religious rites involve, knocking on wood, crossing fingers, wearing amulets like
four-leaf clovers, rabbits’ feet, and horse shoes, while, at the same time,
avoiding black cats, breaking mirrors, spilling salt, and the number 13. The
goddess of fortune is more appealing to Western atheism because it is a blind
force which does not require obedience nor assign obligations.
As a result of modern Western Civilization’s preoccupation
with good luck, business men like Donald Trump, have been reported to fly over Feng
Shui experts from Main-land China to guide their architects in the design of
their buildings. And the commander of Apollo 13 responded to questions about
any doubts he had concerning the lift-off by insisting that he should have
known it was going to happen because the flight was Apollo number 13, which
took off at 1300 hours (i.e. 1 o’clock) on Friday the 13th. Likewise,
most high rise hotels, apartment buildings and office blocks do not have 13th
floors, nor are houses numbered 13. Instead, floor 13 is renamed 14, and house
13 is labeled 12 ½.
Belief in Allaah requires the purification of the
heart from any dependency on these and similar superstitions.
to be continued....
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