Knowledge is not what you cram but it have to do with the power of the mind in reminding of facts after the abiding element disappears. This is not a narrow issue but it is indeed a broad topic that one have to address with care and a broad mind with critical thinking and reasoning beyond the box in order to reach at the truth.
There are several important factors that can affect a human such as environment, education, propaganda, social culture and without doubt, the thoughts of a person. Sometimes, even one’s economic position can provide a motive for why a human being acts a certain way.
It is true that the holy Quran is a complete book and the religion of Islam is pure clean and peaceful. But the challenge faced by Islam in the 21st century is due to the so-called Islamic intellectual and scholars who uses God to address all issues being good, bad or evil which is a threat to peace and the Islamic religion.
I am quite sure of the fact that both true believers in the diving books and the holy religions of Islam and Christianity believe that there is only one God who is the master of the universe. Socrates was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, he himself acknowledge the fact of the existence of one Deity (God).
In addressing the issue that Gambian people put Barrow in to office not God one have to comprehend the meaning of destiny and predestination. “Predestination” applies this to the salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin.
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the “paradox of free will”, whereby God’s omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.
The Arabic word qada (قُضِي) means literally “carrying out or fulfilling”. In Islamic jurisprudence it refers to fulfilling or completing those duties that one may have missed due to some reason or other. It can also mean qadee, a court judgment or the art of adjudication. One of the issues which is directly related to the issue of the justice of the Creator is the question of predestination or free will.
According to the fatalists (those who believe in predestination), a human being has no choice whatsoever in his or her actions, behavior or words and the movement of his organs are just like the predestined movements of the parts of a machine. Thus, the question arises, how does this opinion relate to Divine Justice? And perhaps because of this, the previously mentioned group of the Ash’arites, deny intellectual good and evil and have accepted predestination. Their belief in predestination is a denial of justice. Why? Because when one accepts predestination, justice makes no sense.
In order to further clarify this point, we are obliged to study several subjects with care:
Why Believe in Predestination?
The Main Error of the Fatalists
The Social and Political Factors for Belief in Fatalism
Reasons for Belief in Free Will
The Holy Qur’an and Free Will
God’s Knowledge
It is a clear testimony that there is a Paradise and Hell. Therefore through one’s effort on earth on doing and following the teaching of Islam as per the scriptures will lead him to paradise. The question one might asked to those people like Ebrihima Mbowe, the Deputy Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in the Gambia. Who said and quote from the holy Quran that . “Say, O Allah Lord of Sovereignty, Thou gives Sovereignty to whomsoever Thou pleases, and Thou fakest away sovereignty from whomsoever Thou pleases. Thou exactest whomsoever Thou pleases and Thou a basest whomsoever Thou pleases. In Thy hand is all good. Thou surely has power to do all things.” (3:27 Thou givest to whomsoever Thou pleasant without measure.” (3:28)
If we are to go by this revelation it’s mean that there is no need to pray, fast neither to do good as per the teaching of Islam since God have written before we were born that what will happen to the person after death being in hell or in heaven.
The truth is though Good have written everything before birth which known deny the fact, but still the same God give us the free will to decide either to do good and follow the teaching of the holy scriptures to earn us heaven or to do the opposite to lead us to hell.
It is high time we realize the truth and understand the concept and the meaning of religion and stop accusing God for no reason. According to the Qur’an, certain people go to hell because they chose to do bad deeds, and others to heaven by doing good deeds and even if Allah had chosen to guide them to the truth they themselves would choose to reject the faith:
“And if Allah had known any good in them He would have made them hear, and if He makes them hear they would turn back while they withdraw. “Qur’an, Sura 8 (Al-Anfaal), ayat 23. A hadith reports that Muhammad SAW said about Qadr: Ali narrated that one day the Messenger of Allah was sitting with a wooden stick in his hand with which he was scratching the ground.
He raised his head and said, “There is none of you, but has his place assigned either in the Fire or in Paradise.” They (the Companions) inquired, “O Allah’s Messenger! Why should we carry on doing good deeds, shall we depend (upon Qadar) and give up work?” Muhammad said: “No, carry on doing good deeds, for everyone will find it easy (to do) such deeds that will lead him towards that for which he has been created.” Then he recited the verse: “As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him, and believes in al-Husna, We will make smooth for him the path of Ease (goodness) (Surah al-Lail 92:5-7). Sahih Muslim.
In spite of the fact that the issue of free will is a general human sense, why do some people follow the school of the fatalists?
Therefore through the freewill given to The Gambian by God lead those to decide to vote for Adama Barrow and not God put him to office. In other words, Allah uses the citizens asShabab to bring about the change. We had to do campaigns, form a coalition and then go to the polls on Election Day for Barrow to be elected.
Many of the despotic and selfish politicians in order to extinguish the fire of revolution among the deprived and in order to assure the continuation of their illegal rule (for every rule of regime which oppresses the people and denies people their rights is illegal from the point of view of Islam) convinced the people through all the means available to them that they have no free will, that predestination and predetermination of history holds our destiny in its hands. If one group rules and another is ruled, this is a rule of fate and the destiny of history!
It is clear how this kind of thinking can silence people and aid the policies of colonialism whereas according to our intellect and our Divine Law, destiny and fate lies in our own hands and fate and destiny in thesense of predestination and predetermination does not exist. Divine fate and destiny is determined through our action, desire, willpower, faith, effort and endeavor.
NB: If any Islamic scholar disagree I am ready for debate as per the above subject matter.
To be continued………….
By: Saidina Alieu Jarjou
Activist/Blogger/Watchdog.
