8/7/2019 Is the Properity and Wretchedness in Mankind Inherited

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Presented by HAJI MOHAMAD HANIM HAJI MOHAMAD ISA

Is the prosperity or wretchedness of mankind, inherent?In verse 105 of Surat Hud, we read: { }On the day when it shall come, no soul shall speak except with His permission, then (some) of

them shall be unhappy and (others) happy.

The question which arises is: Does this verse indicate that man's prosperity and wretchedness

is inherent?

There are several points that need to be taken into consideration:

(1.) It as we had mentioned earlier, there are some who, on the basis of such verses, have

sought to prove that man's prosperity and wretchedness is inherent. However, not only do they

fail to prove this point, but they clearly prove that wretchedness and prosperity are states

which are acquired. This is because the verse says: { } As for those who will bewretched

And: { } As for those who are fortunate indeed, if prosperity and wretchednesswere inherent, the verse should have said:

,''As for the wretched ones' and 'as for the fortunate ones or something similar to this.

Accordingly, if someone will say it becomes evident that - In these verses, Allah (s.w.t.) has

already ruled that on the Day of Judgment a group shall be fortunate and blessed whilstanother group shall be wretched; and it is impossible for those, regarding whom Allah (s.w.t.)

has passed this ruling and about whom, He knows whether they shall be fortunate or wretched,

to bring a change within themselves. This is because, should such a thing ever take place, it

would mean that the words of Allah (s.w.t.) were lies and His knowledge was (in fact) ignorance

- and this is impossible!! - is totally baseless.

This is the popular 'knowledge of Allah' objection, which is propounded in connection with the

issue ofjabr(compulsion) and ikhtiyar(choice). The answer to this claim is as follows:

If we desist from imposing our pre-conceived opinions upon the verse, then its meaning is

clear, for it says: On that Day, a group shall be fortunate as a result of their deeds, while a group

shall become wretched due to their deeds, and Allah (s.w.t.) is aware of those, who shalltraverse the path to prosperity out of their own free will, and those, who shall advance towards

wretchedness, out of their own will and choice. Thus, contrary to like-minded individuals

imagine, if the people were compelled to select a path, His knowledge would in reality be His

ignorance since He had known that all the people would opt for the blessed and wretched path

of out of their own will and choice.

A proof to what has been stated above is the fact that the above verses are mentioned

pursuant to the narratives of the previous nations, a large number of whom, as a result of

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deviation from the path of truth and opposition to the divine leaders, were seized by a painful

chastisement in this world. And the Qur`an, with the objective of guiding us by distinguishing

the paths leading towards prosperity and wretchedness, has recounted these narratives for us.

Essentially, as other like-minded individuals imagine, if we were to possess inherent

fortunateness and wretchedness, and if it were to be drawn towards good and evil deeds

without any choice, all the teaching and training would be vain and futile. The coming of theprophets, the revelation of the Divine books, the advices, admonitions, encouragements,

censures, rebukes, criticisms, remonstrations, Reckoning and finally, rewards and punishments -

all of them - would be looked upon as either useless, or tyrannical!

Even those, who regard man as being compelled with respect to performing good or evil acts -

irrespective of whether they consider this compulsion to be Divine compulsion, natural

compulsion, economic compulsion or circumstantial compulsion, only advocate this theory

when speaking or studying; however, when it comes to real life actions, even they do not

profess this opinion. And it is for this reason that when their rights are trampled they regard the

transgressor as deserving rebuke and punishment, never willing to condone him on the basis

that he had been 'compelled' into performing this act (on the part of Allah (s.w.t.) ) or regardpunishing him as being unjust, or say: he could not refrain himself from committing the act, for

Allah (s.w.t.) or nature or the environment forced him into it. This is another proof of the

inherent nature of ikhtiyar (choice).

Furthermore, we do not observe any of those who follow the belief of jabr (compulsion),

adhering to this belief in the course of their daily activities; rather, in their interaction with the

people, they always look upon them as individuals, who possess freedom and choice.

All the world's inhabitants, by setting up judicial systems for meting out punishments to the

offenders, have practically acknowledged man's freedom of will.

All the educative institutions of the world too have implicitly accepted the opinion that man

performs actions by means of his own will and inclination, and it is possible, by means of

education, to distance him from errors, lapses and deviated thinking.(2.) Interestingly, in the above verses, the word ( ) is in the active voice whereas the word( ) is in the passive. This difference in expression could be a subtle allusion to the point thatman advances upon the path of wretchedness by his own self, yet in order to advance upon the

path of prosperity, he requires Divine assistance, in the absence of which he shall never be

successful. Undoubtedly, only those who have stepped out in this direction out of their own

choice and will, and have developed within themselves the worthiness to benefit from such

support, shall come to receive it.[1] Tafsir-e-Namuna, vol. 9, pg. 236

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