Symposium 25
What is the Implication of ‘Guidance and Aberration
are in the Hands of Allah’?
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:I am sure you did not forget your promise to answer my question.
Hasan:Of course not, and I am at your service.
As you know, Quranic Holy Verses refer to the fact that guidance and aberration are in the hands of Allah:
(Then Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will. He is the Mighty, the Wise)14;4.
There are many other Verses that talk about this matter. Such Verses including this one seemingly express compulsion, but we all know that the Gracious Allah does not force anyone to do good deeds nor bad deeds because God gave us free choice, so it is up to us to be obedient or disobedient.
Anwar:How do we come over this problem?
Hasan:There is no problem here at all; it is our ignorance that makes it seem like it is a problem. In this regard, I have to make clear that there are two types of guidance: a general and a specific guidance. Simply, When the Glorious Allah says:(He guideth whom He will)2;142, this is a reference to both general and specific guidance, and when He says:(Allah sendeth whom He will astray)13;27, this is a reference to deprivation only from the specific guidance.
Anwar:I need more explanation to be able to understand it all, if you don’t mind.
Hasan:With all pleasure! In fact, general guidance is for all creatures, human and non-human, and it is divided into two parts:
· General creational guidance: it is to create something and prepare it with what they need for the sake of the purpose they were created for as the Glorious Allah says in the Noble Quran:(He said: Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its nature, then guided it aright)20;50. Also, part of the general creational guidance is man’s reason that the Most Exalted Allah bestowed upon us in order to achieve what we were created for.
· General legislative guidance: it is only for human beings because they can understand the Divine rules and codes that lead them to comfort and perfection.
Now, the specific guidance is neatly related to individuals, so it only embraces those who have been enlightened by the general guidance so much that they have fully benefited from it. In other words, if people use their reason and commit to the Divine codes, they will consequently be under His especial care and attention in a sense that the Almighty Allah grants them success to find the path to salvation and to also take along provisions for the next life. This is evident in the words of the Glorious Allah:
(While as for those who walk aright, He addeth to their guidance)47;17.
(As for those who strive in Us, We surely guide them to Our paths…)29;69.
Anwar:Now we know the general and specific guidance, but what does it mean that ‘aberration is in the Hands of Allah’?
Hasan:The implication of(Allah sendeth whom He will astray)is deprivation from the specific guidance only and not granting success to those with ugly deeds such as injustice and dissipation. This is also evident in the words of the Glorious Allah:
(And Allah guideth not wrong doing folk)2;258.
(And He misleadeth thereby only miscreants)2;26.
There are still many other Holy Verses in the Noble Quran that demonstrate deprivation of some people from the specific guidance as well as the Divine success and prosperity for their ugly deeds.
Anwar:Thank you very much indeed. It is completely obvious for me now!
Symposium 26
Is Happiness and Misery from Allah?
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:I still have a question on the Divine Justice. May I ask, please?
Hasan:Of course, go ahead!
Anwar:We hear a lot that this person is happy and that person is unhappy or miserable! Is happiness and misery from Allah or from the slave, or is it something in between?
Hasan:Very good question! But before we show their origins, we need first to shed light on their meanings.
Anwar:Yes, Very good.
Hasan:Happiness has been defined as an attribute to describe the slaves who achieve and enjoy a welfare that suits their body and soul. On the other hand, unhappiness is lack of this and being deprived from it.
Anwar:There are other definitions, but I think more or less they all say almost the same thing. Please, go on!
Hasan:We need here to demonstrate that these issues are mentioned in the Noble Quran and the Hadith. The Most Exalted Allah says in the Noble Quran:
(On the day when it cometh no soul will sneak except by His permission; some among them will be wretched, others glad۞As for those who will be wretched on that day they will be in the Fire; sighing and wailing will be their portion therein۞Abiding there so long as the heavens and the earth endure save for that which thy Lord willeth. Lo! Thy Lord is Doer of what He will۞And as for those who will be glad that day they will be in the Garden, abiding there so long as the
heavens and the earth endure save for that which thy Lord willeth: a gift unfailing)11;105-108.
Moreover, there is a Prophetic Hadith reported by Omar:
“Once one is born either happy or unhappy, what would we work for? For what is finalized or yet not finalized?” Prophet (PBUH) replied “For what is already finalized, Omar, as pens were dried and fates were practiced, but all is possible for what created for”.
Both the Holy Verse and the Hadith might give us this impression that happiness and unhappiness are forced on mankind, but the truth is that it is nothing but an invitation to obedience and rejecting disobedience. This is because the Almighty Allah wants happiness for whoever chooses obedience and unhappiness for whoever chooses disobedience, and this notification comes out of His Eternal Knowledge and Will. So, again there is no compulsion in this, and on the contrary, it is free choice that is being only confirmed as both happiness and unhappiness are the result of actions that come out of the doer willingly, and after all, what has been said refers to the next life and not this life.
Anwar:But these two concepts – happy and unhappy – are attributes with which people are described in this life. How is that?
Hasan:My dear Brother, happiness and misery or unhappiness are two things mankind acquire during their lives; they are not attached to us from birth to death. Happiness and unhappiness are the result of certain requirements applicable to a certain degree and not of forcing or compulsion.
These requirements might be genetic, cultural or environmental as they might or might not influence us, because we are born with freedom of choice, so we are free to become happy or unhappy, and this freedom cannot be totally canceled by these elements.
Anwar:But how about this Prophetic Hadith:“An unhappy person turns unhappy in his mother’s womb, and a happy person turns happy in his mother’s womb”?
Hasan:I need you to focus, my Brother. If this Hadith has a reliable source linked to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), then it refers to this implication that human