The Prophet Says That at the Sixth Week of the Embryo’s Development, God Sends an Angel to Write Whether it Will Be Righteous and Prosperous or Wicked and Condemned. What Does This Mean, and, How Can We Reconcile it With Human Free Will?

 

In addition to what has been said above, we will make the few following comments.

Destiny is a title of Divine Knowledge. It does not cancel our free will or force us to behave in a preordained way. Since God knows beforehand what we will do and say (as He is not constrained by our concept of time), He has an angel to write down our life-history. A human being behaves according to the dictates of his or her free will, not because God wrote down his/her future life.

Destiny is related both to the cause and effect. There are not two separate destinies, one for the cause, the other for the effect. God knows beforehand how His servant will behave in what circumstances and His pre-knowledge does not contradict a human being’s having free will.

Only God knows whether we will go to Paradise or Hell. Although unbelief deserves eternal punishment, we may not say that unbelievers are going to Hell, for one day they might accept belief and go to Paradise. Many atheists have become Muslims. Islam came to guide unbelievers to faith and worship, and to eternal happiness in Paradise.

 

This article has been adapted from Risale- i Nur Collection.