Question for Sh Yasir Qadhi, this is affecting my eman!

[Riddler]

I'm new to Al-Maghrib and was in the beginning of the 40 hadith class, by Yasir Qadhi, I was trying to post this question I have for him in that section but it says I cant? So I'll post it here, its ok if someone moves it as long as its answered

If Br. Yasir could answer this I would appreciate it, anyone else can too if they want but I was looking for a scholars opinion on this as its really affecting my belief in Islam, so here it is

The fate of a muslim after they die is paradise. The fate of a nonmuslim is hellfire. The fate of a nonmuslim child is paradise. Why then are some nonmuslims killed as a child and as a result, given eternal paradise while others are allowed to grow up, disbelieve, and are sent to hell? For example, a nonmuslim child dies in an earthquake, (and being innocent and not responsible for belief) is given eternal paradise, (essentially a free ticket) while another nonmuslim child living in some other part of the world safe from natural disasters, is allowed to grow up, disbelieve, and is sent to hell. How is this just? The child who dies in the earthquake (or from cancer, or whatever reason you can think of as thousands of children die in the world each day from many different causes, disease, poverty, etc) doesn't choose that fate, and yet they're rewarded with a free ticket to eternal happiness. This implies that many people aren't in control of their eternal life at all, some simply "luck out" while others don't. Is this fair?

[ilmseeker]

I have a friend who asked a similar question, I would like to know the answer too.

[zuhair.shaath]

This isn't a fatwa but my own reflections when I used to have this question. How would sending a "christian" toddler to hellfire be just, if it's just a child with no logical rational? As far as the adult going to hell, well don't blame Allah because the person didn't believe. Allah gave him free will and that person did what he pleased and is ultimately responsible for his own fate.

And I'm not sure that a 4 year old that drowns from a hurricane or is crushed to death from an earthquake is "lucking out".

Allahu A'lam.

[AbdArRahman]

Salaam Alaikum
To the best of my knowledge, there is complete consensus on the child of a muslim being in paradise. They will be the ones who shall be with Ibrahim alayhis salaam.

As for the non-muslim child, I thought there were two opinions on them. One was that they will be with the other children in paradise. Other was that they will be tested along with the insane (and I think those to whom the message did not reach). And those who accept the message will enter Paradise whereas those who will resist shall be the dwellers of hellfire.

In any case, for the explanation, I shall give you my limited ijtihaad till one of the shuyookh post to calm you a bit.

Allah is the Aleemun Hakeem. He is the All knowing, All wise. Hence He knows which of the children, if raised under their parents, would take the religion of their parents, or if the child's fitra is strong enough that he or she accepts Islam despite his or her parents being nonmuslim.

And isn't He who is the Ar-Rahman and Ar Raheem and Al Ghaffaar and Al Ghafur the best to judge in our affairs? For verily He is Al Wakil.

As regarding your question about lucking out, well Allah knows who from banu Adam will be the rightly guided.

‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr reported that the Prophet (r) said,
“Indeed Allaah created people in darkness. Then He cast His light upon them. Anyone who was hit by that light will be guided and anyone who was missed will be misguided. Because of this, I say, ‘The Pen is dry in regard to Allaah’s knowledge.” (Musnad Ahmad, Sunnah at-Tirmithee, and authenticated in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah, no. 1076)
This shows that Allah knew who would accept Islam and gave them honor by casting His Light on them.

Wallahu Alam
P.S. I apologize for the long post but thought it necessary to clarify.

[Riddler]

hmmm

so you're saying since Allah knows which children would grow up to be muslim, he kills thousands of them which he knows would become muslim despite having nonmuslim parents?

And you're missing the greater point of the question, its not about children or adults, muslim or nonmuslim, the point is thousands if not millions of souls daily are simply given eternal paradise at random, those that die from disease or disasters, before reaching puberty and being held responsible for belief in Islam.

Most of them (living in nonmuslim countries) would not grow up to be muslim, since their environment wouldn't encourage it. And lets say they would, then Allah kills all the souls that would grow up to believe in him?

In terms of nonmuslim children being tested...that explantion makes absolutely no sense at all, that they would be asked to jump into a fire and it would really be paradise, I mean come on...

[zuhair.shaath]

And you're missing the greater point of the question, its not about children or adults, muslim or nonmuslim, the point is thousands if not millions of souls daily are simply given eternal paradise at random, those that die from disease or disasters, before reaching puberty and being held responsible for belief in Islam.
The souls aren't picked at random. They're chosen by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The best of planners, the most wise, the most just, the knower, seer and hearer of all things. He guides whom he chooses and misguides whom he chooses, and He is above being questioned by creation.

My question to you is this; does Allah (the creator and sustainer of the world) not deserve to choose who and when will depart from this world and at what time? And if Allah does have this right (which He does and this right only belongs to Him) then why should we think He doesn't have the right to send his slaves and creation to where He sees fit? Allah is the most Just, allowing toddlers and infants into Jannah while punishing disbelievers is justice regardless if you think so or not.

As I said before, everyone has a free will. If someone grows up on misguidance then don't think that that person wasn't given his rights in this world. That person had the chance to obey Allah's commands and follow His messengers and yet that person disbelieved and followed their own whims and desires (I seek refuge from these evil sins).

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to guide us, and to forgive our sins and shortcomings and to grant us Jannatul Firdous. Ameen.

[Riddler]

hmmm

so to summarize what you said, Don't question Allah, it makes sense because he says so...and he can do whatever he wants because hes in charge...it doesn't have to be fair because hes the greatest ever

not exactly the answer I was looking for...I really hope someone with knowledge answers and gives a response that is reasonable instead of defaulting to the standard, Allah is the greatest, so lets just accept what Islam says and move on, answer.

[zuhair.shaath]

hmmm
it doesn't have to be fairOk, I guess I have a question for you. Who's logic dictates what is fair? Why do you think it's unfair that a 2 year old who dies goes to heaven? Is it unfair because someone who grows up and then denies Allah's existence or commits shirk goes to hell?

In my university classes if I remove myself from the class within 2 weeks I get no grade penalty. If I stay in the class, slack off, don't do well then I get an F. Isn't this the same thing?

Wa lilahil mathalul a'la.

[Mehreen Khan]

Hm, I think we need Shaykh Yasir on the forums right now!

[zuhair.shaath]

Hm, I think we need Shaykh Yasir on the forums right now!He's teaching a Seerah class. (http://forums.almaghrib.org/showthread.php?t=27472) Man I wish I lived in Houston!

[Riddler]

well according to that mentality, how can we truly tell whats fair and unfair at all? According to that, lets say someone you really loved got cancer, and you saw them suffering and slowly die from it. Would you say, "oh...its ok, thats fair because the creator of the universe can do whatever he wants." Or would you rather say the obvious and say "I don't know why that happened"? If its not based on reason and common sense, how is anything unfair? We tend to see things as unfair from our perspective, and yet we feel sympathy when nonmuslims are wrongly harmed. We naturally feel for other good people, so how can we say that because they don't share our religious theories about life theyre doomed forever?

its just too easy to have an authority that is beyond questioning and go along with whatever it says, and not think for yourself and use your own brain. But at least with its core ideas and claims, a religion must appeal to reason and not sound like a consoling answer (children go to heaven) instead of one that appeals to reason.

What this is really about is the success of one tribe or group of people above everyone else, the idea that the creator of the universe loves them more than others, favors them, protects them, etc. Its an arrogant claim obviously, as it only sees people in the in group as good and everyone else in the out group as well, unfortunate.

[Agamea]

A’uthubillahi minal shaytanil rajeem<O:p</O:p

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,<O:p</O:p

Brother "Riddler", this riddle is not really a big mystery, nor should it affect your eman insha'Allah. Sometimes people bring up issues which bring confusion and they stick it in our minds and sometimes it causes doubts to enter the hearts. And this is all from Shaytan wal 'iyathubillahi minhu.<O:p</O:p

I am not sure if you are aware that you are questioning Allah's wisdom by making these questions. This question is in fact because of our faults and lack of knowledge of Allah’s attributes. <O:p</O:p

Simple answer: Allah is the Most Just there can ever be and knows more than anyone will ever know. We are created by Allah and He can claim us back when ever He wants to claim us back without us having the right to question. In fact we are in no position to ask Allah for our "Rights", it is completely out of His mercy and justice that He favors upon us Jannah and the prosperities of this life, and that He made it a right for those who say La ilaha illalah Muhammad rasululah with sincerity to enter Jannah. We came from nothing more than a drop of sperm and a microscopic egg, we ourselves have no bases to judge the ultimate Judge for what He does or when He does it. He is not questioned but in fact we are questioned. Allah will judge each and every single soul based on their own situation in the most fair and just way what ever that may be even if our minds are not able to understand that it is in fact fair. Our minds our limited whether we believe it or not its reality, Allah's knowledge is unlimited whether it is “cliché” to use it is reality and no way to go around it. So when we use our limited knowledge to say “Why does Allah do this, it’s not just”, we are saying to Allah with the mind and thinking which is limited and In fact the ability of which is created by Him and Him alone “Why do you who has unlimited knowledge and I have none when compared to your majesty, Why do you the one who knows more about justice then any one else do what you are doing in this way instead of that way, the way you are doing it is unjust because I with my limited knowledge say that it is unjust, and I am pointing out that You with your perfect wisdom made a mistake even though I know nothing when compared to you. So in other words I am saying that My logic is better then yours Allah”. This is in fact what you are really saying without realizing it. May Allah protect us all from questioning Allah. We do not own our bodies but Allah does, so He may do what ever He may please with it. But because Allah wrote upon Himself mercy and Justice, he deals with us in the most Just and merciful manner. In surah Qaf He states that He is not unjust or an oppressor to the servants. <O:p></O:p>

<O:p></O:p>

Not simple answer: The reality is babies die all around us and people die "young" and others die "old", this is a reality which we see around us daily. Allah takes life based on His knowledge which is a knowledge inconceivable by man. So for us to say why does Allah let babies die is us directly questioning Allah and directing all our arguments we use towards Allah as though we know better than He subhanahu wa ta'alla. The point of this life is to test us, everything which happens around us is part of this test. If everyone was to die as a baby and get a "free pass to Jannah" there would be no point in life in this world. The only way to go through this test is if we are capable of making our own decisions, we don't make our own decisions until we reach puberty or full mental awareness. So it would only make sense if people are allowed to live that long so they can be tested. Babies dying and some entering into paradise is all part of the wisdom of Allah and in fact part of the test we are receiving in this life, perhaps to see if we will accept Allah's Wisdom in this regard and have firm belief that He is the Most just as He said so, and test us to see if we will accept that this is all from His wisdom which we don't understand fully or if we will reject and question Him about it. <O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

Allah knows what we would have done had we lived longer and what we would have done had we lived less and what we will do before we do it. So Allah knows what those babies would have done had they lived longer and what they would have followed. You brought up an excellent point; sometimes we are a product of our environment. SO isn't it safe to say that those born into a Muslim family will most likely remain Muslim until death (generally) or have a better home environment on Tahweed as opposed to those who were born in a kaffir family? So out of Allah's wisdom, those born into a Muslim family and die children enter into Jannah. And those born into Kaffir families according to many scholars such as Ibnul Qayyim (rahimahullah) would be tested on the day of judgment. As far as what the test is, we should not question it and speak about its “injustice” or “illogic” as we have no place to speak of what Allah has ordained. This is out of Allah's wisdom and it makes perfect sense and in fact answers your question, because look, if they lived they would have had to face trial when they are adults, deciding between changing Kufr to belief or remain on Kufr, so Allah tests them on the Day of Judgment out of His justice to his creation. That way your question as to "how is it fair that babies of disbelievers enter paradise, yet Allah lets others grow and go through the trial of kuffr while giving the others a free pass?" would have no reason to be asked, because in fact they are not getting a free access to Jannah, because had they lived longer, they would have went through that same trial in this life as the others, the only difference is that Allah the most wise and Just made their trial in the after life. <O:p></O:p>

You might now say "ok so why do the babies of Muslims enter paradise? That might not be fair.", if you look at the Muslim family situation you would realize insha'Allah that this is not a problem at all, but again it makes perfect sense. A Muslim when he grows up in His family he doesn’t have to go through the trial of changing from kuffr to Eman. He already has Eman and was raised upon it, His test is keeping His faith by practicing His deen according to Allah and not question Allah's wisdom. Allah forgives anything other than shirk, Allah knows what the Muslim baby would have been if he grew up in a Muslim family (he would be a Muslim as this is the most likely chance), So Allah enters Him into Jannah without the test because he would have been a believer and Allah may Easily forgive those sins which don't constitute as shirk have he done them if he would have lived. Muslims are born on the fitrah and this keeps us Muslim even if doubts are cast upon us and we face difficulties and we sin. When a Muslim leaves his deen, it is usually because he never practiced, wasn’t on it in the beginning, had doubts in him from beginning to end, lacked a lot of knowledge of the deen, or was tricked. So it is a sign of Allah's wisdom and mercy as well as much more and the other example is a sign of Allah's wisdom and Justice as well as much more.<O:p</O:p

Wallahu a'lam, this of course is just some wisdom out of the infinite of amount of wisdom behind why Allah does an act. And again we are to accept Allah's judgment without questioning His knowledge subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah Forgive us for our sins and short comings. I am looking forward to read Shaykh yasir Qadh's answer.

[zuhair.shaath]

its just too easy to have an authority that is beyond questioning and go along with whatever it says, and not think for yourself and use your own brain. But at least with its core ideas and claims, a religion must appeal to reason and not sound like a consoling answer (children go to heaven) instead of one that appeals to reason.
Islam's core idea and claim is the shahada. We witness that there is no diety worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is his last messenger. This claim is logical and there is no doubt about that.

it only sees people in the in group as good and everyone else in the out group as well, unfortunate.Why shouldn't those that are successful be rewarded? Allah says Qadd aflahal mu'minoon "Verily, surely successful are the believers". The Muslim ummah is not a tribe, we are a nation of people who believe in La Ilaaha illalah, wa anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah. Allah loves the Muslims because we worship Him alone and don't associate any partners with him, and we believe in his last and final messenger. How is this an arrogant claim? It isn't arrogance at all, rather it's affirmation to our beliefs.

The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salam said: "I have only been sent to perfect noble character". We learned that noble character encompases 3 things at Sacred Scrolls: 1) Akhlaq towards Allah; 2) Akhlaq towards others; 3) Akhlaq to others. Just because someone might have good character towards you doens't mean they deserve heaven. Rather the culmination of all 3 is what a person should strive to have. If you don't have the akhlaq towards Allah that He deservers then you don't have noble character (regardless of how well you treat your guests in your house).

[Agamea]

BTW brothers please contribute to this thread when you get the chance:

http://forums.almaghrib.org/showthread.php?t=27404&page=1&pp=10

Jazakumullahu khair

[Um Tammer]

Just remember knowing when to say Allahu Alim is half of knowledge!!!

[abdrahman11]

As-Salamu Alaikum,
Allah (swt) Knows best but I think the proper response to the quesiton should be like this.....

Allah (swt) tells us in Quran that He (swt) will not punish a people until they recieve a messenger. So based on this the only people who we can say for certain are in the hellfire are those who clearly recieved the message and then they turned away from it while knowing that it was the truth (like Abu Lahab and Firaun). Do all non-Muslims in the world today fall in this boat? I think not. I think the vast majority of non-Muslims may have heard something about Islam but they have never been properly presented with this Message. So I think that we cannot say for sure that all of the non-Muslims in the world today are going to the Fire. We can only say that Allah (swt) Knows best as to what their fate will be.

But our obligation is to carry the dawah to them. And as Shaykh Zarabazo once beautifully said, it might well be that on the Day of Judgment, Allah (swt) will forgive them and punish us because we did not take the Message to them.

Allah (swt) Knows best.

[eternalmuslimah]

Ok, I guess I have a question for you. Who's logic dictates what is fair? Why do you think it's unfair that a 2 year old who dies goes to heaven? Is it unfair because someone who grows up and then denies Allah's existence or commits shirk goes to hell?

In my university classes if I remove myself from the class within 2 weeks I get no grade penalty. If I stay in the class, slack off, don't do well then I get an F. Isn't this the same thing?

Wa lilahil mathalul a'la.
hmm...an analogy to ponder over

that is so true

[Siraaj]

I'm new to Al-Maghrib and was in the beginning of the 40 hadith class, by Yasir Qadhi, I was trying to post this question I have for him in that section but it says I cant? So I'll post it here, its ok if someone moves it as long as its answered

If Br. Yasir could answer this I would appreciate it, anyone else can too if they want but I was looking for a scholars opinion on this as its really affecting my belief in Islam, so here it is

The fate of a muslim after they die is paradise. The fate of a nonmuslim is hellfire. The fate of a nonmuslim child is paradise. Why then are some nonmuslims killed as a child and as a result, given eternal paradise while others are allowed to grow up, disbelieve, and are sent to hell? For example, a nonmuslim child dies in an earthquake, (and being innocent and not responsible for belief) is given eternal paradise, (essentially a free ticket) while another nonmuslim child living in some other part of the world safe from natural disasters, is allowed to grow up, disbelieve, and is sent to hell. How is this just? The child who dies in the earthquake (or from cancer, or whatever reason you can think of as thousands of children die in the world each day from many different causes, disease, poverty, etc) doesn't choose that fate, and yet they're rewarded with a free ticket to eternal happiness. This implies that many people aren't in control of their eternal life at all, some simply "luck out" while others don't. Is this fair?

In the scenario you've posed, it is your belief that every sane, adult nonMuslim ends in Hell after death?

[Riddler]

again, the point of the question is this

Islam states people have free will, that we have a choice to "believe"

millions of souls are given (or chosen for) paradise, its not in their control at all because they're killed before reaching puberty


its like if 30 people take a final exam, 6 of them aren't even given the exam, the professor says they automatically get an A, and another 10 are given a much harder exam (as some people have much harder tests and trials in life than others). Its not a fair test.

As for people who say its not random, if you think about it, it is. Those souls have done nothing to deserve paradise more than any other innocent child, aren't all children innocent and worthy of pardise? And yet some souls are given it at that point while others are not. Out of their control, they just happen to live in an area where an earthquake happens, or happen to get a disease and die from it.

Are souls really in control of their next life? For millions of people, the answer is no. Islams explanation of eternal life after death, and Allahs justice seems
extremely flawed.

[Siraaj]

again, the point of the question is this

Islam states people have free will, that we have a choice to "believe"

millions of souls are given (or chosen for) paradise, its not in their control at all because they're killed before reaching puberty


its like if 30 people take a final exam, 6 of them aren't even given the exam, the professor says they automatically get an A, and another 10 are given a much harder exam (as some people have much harder tests and trials in life than others). Its not a fair test

Interesting analogy. It has a lot of problems, however:

1. It assumes one grade for all who pass - your system of explanation is not one of levels, but simply pass / fail. All who make it to Jannah - A. All who end in Hell - F. Not quite - the one who struggles and strives and enters paradise are likely higher in status and therefore reward and enjoyment.

2. It assumes that all who fail receive the consequence of hell - Allah knows best who was given the opportunity to really "understand" and prepare for the test and pass - your typical professor doesn't do that.

Siraaj

[Riddler]

hmmm

1. It is pass/fail, either paradise or hell

2. Even those who don't get the proper message of islam, are asked to jump into a fire on the day of judgment (which is really paradise), and if they don't, they're thrown into hell - again, pass or fail.

[Riddler]

ya I've read the World of the jinns and the devils, I'll check the other ones out too, thanks.

[Siraaj]

hmmm

1. It is pass/fail, either paradise or hell

2. Even those who don't get the proper message of islam, are asked to jump into a fire on the day of judgment (which is really paradise), and if they don't, they're thrown into hell - again, pass or fail.

Your perspective on pass / fail, I believe, is not accurate. In academia, an A B C or D is a pass, an F a fail. Is that also simply pass / fail in the end? It's not - there are levels. One who gets an A gets a better GPA, status, recognition, and potentially better opportunities (better rewards) than the one who passes with the lower GPA.

A better question to ask is, what is the function of those children who die? Could they have been created with a specific function in mind - testing their parents strength of character? Is there some other sort of function? In that regard, you might shift your paradigm to view them as you would angels - angels don't disobey allah and they are not punished, from what we know. Many are the angels in heaven, and they did not go through this testing. They too, fulfill various functions.

Again, I think the paradigm you're trying to map everyone into is a bit too simple and not properly constructed. Try adding the rest of creation into the picture, and try looking for similarities among them. I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Siraaj

[Agamea]

Just two things for all of us insha'Allah:

A brother is a master doctor, another brother is a bumb in the street. The bumb was able to read an article or two on the stucture of the heart. The doctor engages in a heart surgery and he is making a cut. The bumb comes and says, Ummm, According to my knowledge Doctor brother your surgery is flawed and wrong, it is not a correct heart surgery and I am right about it while you are wrong. Now who knows about the heart surgery better the doctor who is a master in this field or the
bumb who read two articles about the heart?

The second question:

Who knows better about Justice, Allah the one who created everything and was created by nothing neither bound by space or time ,and the knowledge of whom is unlimited, or the slave who was created from sperm lives a little while and then dies? Are you going to tell Allah how to do His work, which He is the master of? Or do you know more than the one who gave you the ability to think in the first place? If you thought the first example was obsurd of the bumb to do, then how about when you apply it to someone who is the Master of everything. If we don't know about what exactly exists beyond our galaxy, and how it functions precisly how do you expect to even come close to correcting the creator who knows you more than you know your self?

[Nazia Awan]

Assalaamu'alaikum,

I'm not here to give an answer, but rather a reflection. When I was young, I used to have this type of question a lot, not the exact same one...but something along the lines of "why does this happen? isn't it unjust?". I remember asking my mom again and again, and she would get frustrated at the question b/c there really isn't any good answer in the "logical" sense. At least I haven't found one yet...maybe we will get one from Sh. Yasir inshaAllah.

The thing is, your question is just one specific question in the broad range of Qadr, Allah's wisdom, Free Will, etc. You might satisfy yourself with an answer to this question, but come up with another one along the same lines...maybe even the one that I used to have.

So for me, strengthening my eman had to begin somewhere other than these questions. You have to ask yourself why you believe in Allah, who you think He is, what He can do, etc. What are His qualities and characteristics? This is where you feel your heart begin to strengthen, and suddenly, the urgency of answering those questions begin to lessen b/c you realize you're a microscopic particle in Allah's vast plan.

I remember learning a hadeeth where the Prophet sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam warned against going too deep in the matters of Qadr and questioning and wondering why certain things happen the way they do. And that makes total sense to me...b/c no one will ever be able to explain the intricacies, mysteries, and "whys" of the world around you...that's exactly why I believe in Allah. Because He is so Majestic and His Creation is so vast that you just stand in awe. You can't expect everything to make sense...maybe that's not our right b/c we didn't create it? I don't know, I'm still learning.

Anyways, these are my thoughts and this is what I tell myself when Shaytaan starts distracting me with these questions. Maybe you will come to a better conclusion after this and can enlighten the rest of us as well! I have also enjoyed reading everyone else's comments, they are very good mashaAllah.

[Riddler]

hmmm

the more I think about how Islam explains life and the universe, at least where I stand now, it seems like islamic explanations are just telling people what they want to hear, and naturally people buy into it. People WANT to believe that the creator of the universe cares about what happens to them, despite the natural disasters which kill thousands of innocent people, or their loved ones being tortured and dying from a disease. Theres a very strong emotion factor in belief. People are naturally hopeful and Islam tells them if you belief and do this this and this everything will be ok, and they go along with it.

Whenever something bad happens, people would naturally go to positive thinking and believing that Allah cares about them and their loved ones, even when it seems like thats not true. Its hard to think Allah has a "plan" when you see someone get cancer, slowly get worse and worse and die from a result of it. For many seeing such suffering turns people away from God.

The point about not questioning Gods wisdom, Islam says that Allah is all just and wise, the human mind can never comprehend God and say he is unjust, But in a way Islam itself is built on the idea that if God does not do something, hes being unjust, like sending revelation; I've heard a few muslims use the argument that if God did not send revelation to guide people, hes not doing his job as the creator; what kind of a God is that? That statment in itself is acusing God of being unjust.

For me, id rather say "I don't know" than go along with islamic explantions that sound crazy if you think about them (Allah gives a disease to a good muslim, putting them through severe pain and torture, because he loves them and is testing them so they can earn a higher reward in paradise)

I understand completely why Islam says what it does, its telling people what they want to hear

ya that true that this is just one question in a never ending list of questions; the only way to stop is to pray and close your mind to any doubts

Althought Islam has alot of wisdom in it, its explanations about life are just...not acceptable to me. I have to respect the core beliefs that Islam is built on since its the foundation for rulings and a way of life that is in many ways good for people and society, positive thinking, family values, brotherhood, respect and rights for women, community, etc. but to me it seems like if you think for yourself and look at islamic explanations about destiny, life after death, the creator, etc. using reason and not wanting to accept any answer instead of no answer, islamic explanations just aren't reasonable

[UmmSarah]

(Cut and paste from QuranJam.com)

{They will say: "Yes indeed; a warner did come to us, but we belied him and said: 'Allah never sent down anything (of revelation), you are only in great error.'" And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!"} [67:9-10]

There was once a man named Abdullah. He was known for his good nature and cheerful personality, but lately his every waking moment had become overshadowed with troubling thoughts. His mind dwelled on a most profound question, the answer of which eluded him. He knew that only the Most Knowledgeable One could give him the answer, so he set out on a journey for truth.

After traveling for many months, Abdullah passed through a small village. As he entered the village square, he came across a man named 'Aql. Desperate for guidance, he asked 'Aql, "Can you take me to the Most Knowledgeable One?" 'Aql replied, "Indeed, I can guide you to Him. Follow me!" So they both proceeded to their destination.

Standing before the Most Knowledgeable One, Abdullah asked his question and finally received his answer. Thankful and relieved, he proceeded to depart. Yet as he was leaving, 'Aql stopped him and said, "Wait, I know better than the Most Knowledgeable One and I have a better answer!"

Upon hearing this, Abdullah turned to him in rage and said, "Silence! If it were true that you knew better than He, then you would be the Most Knowledgeable One, but you are not. All that is in your power is to direct me to Him. Know your place!"

Moral of the story: 'Aql (intelligence) helps you to recognize the Divine Guidance. Once it has led you to it, both you and your 'aql must submit to that guidance. 'Aql cannot be used to deny the very guidance it has led you to.

Wa Allahu a'lam.

[zuhair.shaath]

MashAllah that's a great story!

[Mariam Raza]

Whenever I have waswas about qadr...why this? why that? I turn to the story mentioned in al-kahf about Musa and al-khader. How can we have sabr for something that we don't know much about?

Perhaps, our logics won't explain it. Make du'a to Allah to guide you to the truth.

[Siraaj]

hmmm

the more I think about how Islam explains life and the universe, at least where I stand now, it seems like islamic explanations are just telling people what they want to hear, and naturally people buy into it. People WANT to believe that the creator of the universe cares about what happens to them, despite the natural disasters which kill thousands of innocent people, or their loved ones being tortured and dying from a disease. Theres a very strong emotion factor in belief. People are naturally hopeful and Islam tells them if you belief and do this this and this everything will be ok, and they go along with it.

Whenever something bad happens, people would naturally go to positive thinking and believing that Allah cares about them and their loved ones, even when it seems like thats not true. Its hard to think Allah has a "plan" when you see someone get cancer, slowly get worse and worse and die from a result of it. For many seeing such suffering turns people away from God.

The point about not questioning Gods wisdom, Islam says that Allah is all just and wise, the human mind can never comprehend God and say he is unjust, But in a way Islam itself is built on the idea that if God does not do something, hes being unjust, like sending revelation; I've heard a few muslims use the argument that if God did not send revelation to guide people, hes not doing his job as the creator; what kind of a God is that? That statment in itself is acusing God of being unjust.

For me, id rather say "I don't know" than go along with islamic explantions that sound crazy if you think about them (Allah gives a disease to a good muslim, putting them through severe pain and torture, because he loves them and is testing them so they can earn a higher reward in paradise)

I understand completely why Islam says what it does, its telling people what they want to hear

ya that true that this is just one question in a never ending list of questions; the only way to stop is to pray and close your mind to any doubts

Althought Islam has alot of wisdom in it, its explanations about life are just...not acceptable to me. I have to respect the core beliefs that Islam is built on since its the foundation for rulings and a way of life that is in many ways good for people and society, positive thinking, family values, brotherhood, respect and rights for women, community, etc. but to me it seems like if you think for yourself and look at islamic explanations about destiny, life after death, the creator, etc. using reason and not wanting to accept any answer instead of no answer, islamic explanations just aren't reasonable

This is not Paradise - this is a testing ground. Some will suffer, some will die of unnatural causes, some will die in old age, some will get away with injustice in this life.

In the Hereafter, those rights will be wronged, and due justice will be served. Human life is temporary, as is death - the Hereafter is forever and your moment of truth is the day of judgement, as it will be for others.

Again, this life is not Paradise - it's a test of one's mettle, one's worth, and in many cases, we are a trial and test for one another. If all suffering were stopped, then we all may as well be simply herded into Paradise and bereft of our will because there would be no choice in anything.

Siraaj

[HalaTayybah]

hmmm

the more I think about how Islam explains life and the universe, at least where I stand now, it seems like islamic explanations are just telling people what they want to hear, and naturally people buy into it. People WANT to believe that the creator of the universe cares about what happens to them, despite the natural disasters which kill thousands of innocent people, or their loved ones being tortured and dying from a disease. Theres a very strong emotion factor in belief. People are naturally hopeful and Islam tells them if you belief and do this this and this everything will be ok, and they go along with it.Forgive me if I'm wrong but the way you word these questions makes it seem like the diseases and disasters are separate from Allah. How do you think these things come about in the first place? I'm not sure but I remember one of the shuyookh that when someone is faced with a disease it may be a means of purifying them. And the disasters, as was stated before somewhere, may be a test for all the people who faced it or it may all be to show one person there the path to Allah. What the truth is, we won't be able to know so we can just pray for the best outcome for everyone. And also grouping all of these people together as hell-dwellers because they're non Muslim or as heaven-fated cuz they are Muslim is kind of wrong because everyone is tested as an individual. There may be one nonMuslim in that group who could go to a different country and revert to Islam or there may be a Muslim who may allow doubts to kill his Iman.

Also we can never truly say who is innocent or not so we can't go around rallying for rights that for all we know may have been abused. We must keep that in mind.

The point about not questioning Gods wisdom, Islam says that Allah is all just and wise, the human mind can never comprehend God and say he is unjust, But in a way Islam itself is built on the idea that if God does not do something, hes being unjust, like sending revelation; I've heard a few muslims use the argument that if God did not send revelation to guide people, hes not doing his job as the creator; what kind of a God is that? That statment in itself is acusing God of being unjust.
But then again, how do we know the fate these people will get? Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.) was sent to all of mankind. And alhamdulillah there are very few places in the world today that you'll go and won't find a masjid in the whole country. It becomes our duty to spread the word though so yes He did send revelations to everyone but those of us who have the knowledge and ability are responsible for finishing the job. And as was stated earlier we might be punished more for not bringing the word of Allah to them as much as we should/could have.

For me, id rather say "I don't know" than go along with islamic explantions that sound crazy if you think about them (Allah gives a disease to a good muslim, putting them through severe pain and torture, because he loves them and is testing them so they can earn a higher reward in paradise)Maybe this is the only way that a certain person's status could be raised for him/her to gain paradise. If the person wasn't as great as they could have been and then died and went to heaven how just would that be? People who knew them and the knew how lax they may have been in salah or siyaam or something would be crying "Unfair!" So it's out of Allah's justice that He create a scenario that would make everyone get what they deserve in a way that is fair to everyone.

I understand completely why Islam says what it does, its telling people what they want to hearI think it tells us to be patient more than it tells us what we want to hear. If it really did tell us what was appeasing to us then I think the whole world would be a different place with a lot more hedonism everywhere.

I hope this helped and inshallah you'll get an acceptable answer soon enough.
Once again, please be careful of how you word these questions.
You don't want to delve into dangerous territory.
May Allah keep us safe from the waswasa of the Shaitaan, inshallah.