Questioner: Well, we are told that man can choose between right and wrong and he does as he suits him. Well, Allah knows exactly what a man is going to do when he dies, by the time he dies.
Huzoor (rh): Yes, I follow what you mean. But I have already spoken on this subject both in Urdu and in English so many times before. What is confusing, I’ll repeat just very briefly. The important point to be remembered about this question which agitates so many minds, particularly the youth. The fact is that there is a distinction between knowledge and decree. And that distinction is to be born in mind. If anything is in Allah’s knowledge, that is a different thing altogether from a decree, pre-set decree by Allah. That is also in Allah’s knowledge. But the shifting of responsibility is decided differently in these two different cases. Now, people generally don’t understand this because they project themselves into the past and say, Allah had the knowledge that we will do this thing at such and such time. So because Allah’s knowledge was right, we had no option. We had to do that thing exactly as Allah knew it to be. And because there is no option left for us, so despite the fact that apparently we have options, in reality we do not have options. Because if we had not acted as Allah knew we would act, then we would have defied the knowledge of Allah and it was not possible for us. This is how the confusion is created. But instead of projecting yourself into the past, if you project yourself into the future and look back at yourself at a later date, you will have the complete knowledge of what you did in the past as compared to that future. For instance, today you have eaten something and you remember it very well. And tomorrow you will have that knowledge and a very certain knowledge of what you did yesterday. And that knowledge is so positive and so certain that it can never change an iota from the facts. Nor the facts can deviate from that knowledge. They are fully completely in accord with each other. And yet your knowledge of the future is not responsible for your acts of the past. You understand this relationship? And if that knowledge were shifted to the past, still it will have no bearing. So knowledge has nothing to do with their acts. It is only the decree and willful decision about one’s actions which either do things or undo things. And these willful acts are responsible. But knowledge as such is not responsible because Allah’s knowledge precedes you so you are confused. But Allah’s knowledge apparently in terms of times precedes. But in reality it does not precede. It results from what you might have done. It is born out of what you did in fact. So it is a child in that way of the realities. If you had not done that, Allah’s knowledge would change accordingly. If at the last moment you have decided to do something else, you can do that. But Allah’s knowledge would change accordingly. So because that knowledge precedes so you have that confusion. So when they apply the same situation to you yourself with regard to your knowledge about what you have done, then you will realize that your knowledge is not responsible for the actions despite the fact that the actions cannot be changed and the knowledge is perfect. You understand? Do you understand? Satisfied or not? Have you been able to understand this difference between knowledge and decree or not? So you repeatedly listen to this said because I have come across some very hostile essayists with the same question. And of course I am not bracketing you with them. But I am just quoting this to satisfy you. That although they did not want to believe in this, they thought this was the greatest weapon against the concept of God and against the concept of decree and the freedom of action. Yet, after I spent a little time on the same lines, with the grace of Allah, they did not even return satisfied. But they said it in so many words. Now we follow this point. So because I have tried it already on hostile ears, so it should not be difficult for you to understand. It’s rather difficult to make this distinction, this fine distinction.
Questioner: Insha’Allah.
