Free Will... Predestination... Determinism... and Islam.

[ajazz]

scientists tells us our universe had a beginning and was created.
our universe is a deterministic system.

A system that is designed or created is 100% deterministic for its creator because the creator has absolute knowledge and information about his creation.

We humans are not the creator of the universe therefore for us it is not 100% deterministic.

In Islam Allah (swt) is the creator of our universe and he has absolute knowledge of everything that exists therefore our universe is 100% deterministic for him.

Noble Quran 49:16

"Say: "What! Will ye instruct Allah about your religion? But Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on earth: He has full knowledge of all things.”

We know Free Will exist, the very fact that you choose to believe in God or not to believe and people can be forced against their will, proves Free Will exist.

Human bodies are made of atoms and molecules and it has deterministic attributes.

Physical actions of our body are driven by two things.

1) Auto response built into our system, for example if you hold something very hot, you drop it immediately without thinking, this is an auto response of your body, daily our body is attacked by germs and our immune system fights these germ, this is again auto response of our body.

2) Our thoughts also drive our bodies into physical action.
Suppose you are standing in a crowded place and all the seats are occupied,
And you think as soon as someone vacates a chair you will immediately go and sit and somebody does vacate the seat, you immediately go and sit down.

Now before you sat down you had already determined the physical action that will take place, this is pre-determination, the act of going and sitting was the result of the deterministic nature of your body and it was the thought that was responsible for this physical act,

Our thoughts exhibit physical electro-chemical reactions ; they can be recognized as electrical signals in our brain.

Scientists today are able to detect, intercept, analyze and to some extent determine what physical response they can elicit in our body.
Using this knowledge they are able to make gadgets that can be driven by our thoughts in fact one scientist was able to move his colleague’s hand by using his thought.

“University of Washington researcher Rajesh Rao sends a brain signal to Andrea Stocco via the Internet, causing Stocco's right hand to move on a keyboard.”
http://goo.gl/4npF9E


Multiple thoughts can occur in our brain and many times conflict with each other.
Our ability to choose which thought manifests itself into physical action is our Free Will.

Unlike our thoughts Free will does not exhibit physical existence just like information exist but cannot be defined in terms of physical attributes.

Free Will is a separate component from the deterministic mechanism of our body.

Not everything that exists in our universe has free will.
Also our free will has limits; we can choose but have limited options.

You cannot will and become ‘Prince Charming’ if you are a Toad you remain a Toad…:(

So if Humans have free will can they influence the future? There by undermining the deterministic nature of our universe.

No…!!! They cannot…

One of the article of faith in Islam is al-qaḍāʾ wa al-qadr.
The phrase means "the divine decree and the predestination";

"No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves
but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees -- (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz),
before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah"
The Noble Qur'an Al-Hadid 57:22

Allah (swt) ordered to be written in the Preserved Tablet ("al-Lauḥ al-Maḥfūẓ") all that has happened and will happen, which will come to pass as written. According to this belief, a person's action is not caused by what is written in the Preserved Tablet but, rather, the action is written in the Preserved Tablet because Allah (swt) already knows all occurrences without the restrictions of time

You may believe that the choices we make can influence our future

But this is not true,

Let’s say you want to become a surgeon you work hard and you are almost there but suddenly you are struck by some illness which makes your hand shake, all your planning and hard work has come to naught.

You may argue that though we don’t have full control of our future there are many examples where people succeed when they plan ahead and make right choices and thereby have controlled their future.

Well no…! , they succeeded because they were _destined__ to succeed._

and this is how it works.

Our present is not defined by the choices we made in the past

Our present is defined by the Preserved Tablet ("al-Lauḥ al-Maḥfūẓ") that Allah (swt) had ordered written.

Once we make a choice it becomes our past and it has no influence on our present we can only move forward in time and cannot go back.
Arrow of Time, does not allow us to change any event from past.

only our present is relevant , our future is yet to happen.
and
Our present is defined by the future which is already written in the Preserved Tablet.

Does this sound logical?

Well... It is; in fact science agrees and hasscientific evidence. for it.

“A series of quantum experiments shows that measurements performed in the future can influence the present. Does that mean the universe has a destiny—and the laws of physics pull us inexorably toward our prewritten fate?”
“A succession of quantum experiments confirm its predictions—showing, bafflingly, that measurements performed in the future can influence results that happened before those measurements were ever made..”

http://goo.gl/EXWcP8


This is predestination in Islam…!!!

Everything that has had happened and will happen cannot happen without the will of Allah (swt).

You may ask, evil things happen in our world does that mean it is the will of Allah (swt)?

Yes…!

He allows evil things to take place, but he is not responsible for it.
People by their free choices are responsible for evil.

Nothing can take place against the will of Allah (swt) if anything takes place against the will of Allah (swt) then it will mean he is not all powerful and is not in control of everything.

By De-linking our past actions from our present and by linking our present to the future.

Allah (swt) has allowed us to exercise our Free Will, kept the deterministic attribute of our universe intact and showed us that nothing can happen against his will.

pretty neat huh...!


Related Topic: http://www.islamicboard.com/forum/ge...ah-this-is-why

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[Abz2000]

Sort of...however we'll never fully understand Qadr, it is totally for Allah swt to understand. And despite knowing that it exists, no matter how hard we try - our limited minds cannot make sense of it, we know our sustenance and lives are known by Allah, it doesn't mean we won't fix our brake shoes on vehicles or try to get a decent meal. And if we decided not to brush our teeth, they'd likely rot - since these phenomenon aee also subject to laws of Allah, since the bacteria submits to His law. Our task is to submit to Allah and follow His commands just like the brakes and gravity and air do. Otherwise you could say - since this person's life and sustenance are determined - i can tape his mouth and tie him to a tree. If anyone asks, i'll say it's Allah's hukm. However - i'd be in the wrong since Allah has given a hukm to mankind to avoid oppression to feed the hungry and to not take life unjustly. Again, though they are intertwined, the laws and commands given to us by Allah are of the importance to us - while keeping in mind that His Wisdom is entirely in His hand. I don't pretend to understand it fully, yet have seen it playing out so know that it exists, however trying to understand or explain it completely is impossible. It is sufficient to have trust in Allah and obey His guidance.