Zakir Naik – The Concepts of Free will and Qadar
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Tina discusses her past experiences with Jyotish, a fast-growing gimmick designed to make money. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging past mistakes and not resorting to guessing future outcomes. The speaker also discusses the use of "traditional" language in Islam and the importance of researching religious scriptures to gain peace of mind and knowledge.
AI: Summary ©
My name is Tina.
I'm a pharmacy student, and I'm a Hindu.
Doctor Zakir, I just wanna ask, you're from
India. I'm not so sure whether you're familiar
with this,
practice
in among Indians.
You know,
regarding this leaf
that you go and
consult,
someone
and if you manage to find your leaf
based on some pain and other things like
that, Your whole life, your name, parents name,
past, future, what's going to happen is all
written in that leaf.
I don't know whether this is a practice
of Hinduism
or is something made by the temples of
people.
And if so,
if everything is already written,
how is it comparing Hinduism or maybe this
practice
with Islam,
faith and free will. Thank you.
The sister posed a question that there may
be certain practices in India about picking up
leaf, which mentioned about the future. There are
different types of practices. It may not be
part of the scripture,
but there are different different types mainly talking
about the future.
Jyotish, you go to Jyotish, to a fortune
teller.
Go to a fortune teller, different types. You
see on the streets, there are many cards
kept and a parrot goes and picks up
a card,
and then they read, and that talks about
the future. You go to a machine, put
your date of birth and the machine tells
you something.
Now based on
this based on this, you go. It's very
common and people make a fast buck out
of it.
I'll first tell you about it. There was
a psychologist
in States
who taught
a class of 100 students,
And at the end of a week, he
said, I will tell you
about
your past
to each student. And he wrote to each
student separately.
He gave them a chair. He said don't
open.
You open together and after you open, you
tell me how accurate was I
in my
talking about your past.
So all the students open.
And 95%
of the students,
they said
that the professor was more than 90% correct.
5% said that he was 80% correct.
The key to it was the professor wrote
the same thing for everyone.
For example, you go to a machine and
give a birth date,
The machine tell you something bad is going
to happen in the next 10 days. Even
if 100 good things happen, something bad will
happen.
The next person, the machine will say that
something good is going to happen. Even if
100 bad things happen, something good will happen.
So most of these things,
talking about the future,
it's a big fast. Sorry. I just wanted
to say because like my family,
it's a thing to do this.
So my leaf was found and they read
it. So things in it like because, you
know, science student try to think
rational, whether it's possible.
Because sometimes when some things they say, for
example, this is your mother's name, they got
it correct. This is your father's name, they
got it correct. And I think it's in
Sanskrit so
it's like you have to believe entirely
what the guy is saying because you can't
check it yourself whether it's right or wrong.
I think I was 16 when I read
it. So is it the age where you
read it was 16? There's 2, like, maybe
out of 10 things, 8 things you got
correct. And it's like sometimes I try to
think how do they do this, and it
seems a lot of people also come. So
it's like this
logic and the faith, it's like a it's
there's a fight there. Which should I believe?
I'll just come to it, sister. Let me
complete my answer. That will cover your question
also. As I was saying, that most of
the people that do is a big fast.
It's a big gimmick just to make fast
money. What Quran says which I mentioned in
my talk. So reminder chapter 5, verse 7
90.
Oh,
you believe
in Most certainly intoxicants and gambling. While,
dedication of stones. Divination of arrows.
These are set to the handiwork.
Abstain from the handiwork. Here, Quran says
Here Quran says alcohol,
gambling, fortune telling, and dedication of stone. Fortune
telling is fame.
These are sentence handiwork
obtained from it that you may prosper. Quran
does not say that no one can predict
the future.
See many Muslims don't realize what the Quran
says.
Alcohol, gambling, fortune telling, dedication of stones, these
are Satan's handwork. Abstain from it. Quran does
not say no one can predict the future.
But most of the people who predict the
future, they are just doing a gimmick to
make fast money out of it.
Based on the Quran and the hadith we
come to know that there are hadith of
prophet Musa,
that there are jinns
who listen
and they pass on the message to certain
people. We, as Muslims, should not be involved
in it. It is prohibited.
But that does not mean no one can
predict the future. Most of the people who
claim
are all wrong.
But there may be certain human beings who
can't predict the future. But we, as human
beings, should not indulge in it. Whether it's
right or wrong. It will be bad for
us. So based on this, the Quran says
you should not indulge in it. Quran does
not say you cannot. There are many people
who talk about palm reading.
And there are time when some people are
50% correct, some people are 70% correct. If
you put heads or tails, 50% will be
right, sister.
No heads or tails, 50% will be right.
So some people do it just by chance.
There may be few,
may be a very small percentage who may
have the art of knowing about the past.
That is mentioned in Hadith
But we, as Muslims, should not indulge in
it. We should not indulge in black magic.
We should not indulge in fortune telling.
Why? It will cause us harm. So in
this context, sister, we as Muslims are not
allowed. There may be a very small
percentage which may tell
quite a major portion of your past or
of your future.
A very small portion. But we as Muslims
are not allowed to indulge in
it. That's a commandment. Like how we're not
allowed to have alcohol. We aren't allowed to
gamble. So indulging in it is not good.
It is prohibited.
The same thing I'll tell you
that as a human being, if you agree
that Quran is the word of God. The
Quran does not allow a human being to
indulge in it. It will be nothing but
lost in the long run for you.
Hope that answers the question, sister. Now, I
mean, like, now once I've already seen it,
I
rather would have not seen it but because
now you know it and then it's stuck
here
it's a bit difficult sometimes when you want
to just believe in faith or free will
And then in this context,
do you believe that
we can still practice free will or is
on faith? Sister asked a question that if
you know what is happening then can you
practice free will? As I told you, there's
no one you can say who can 100%
talk about the future.
So even if you're like you said, out
of 10 things, 8 are coming correct.
You may never know the thing which hasn't
come correct yet, will come correct or not.
So you yourself said 80% correct. So it
may come, may not. So it's in the
free will. As far as Islam is concerned.
Islam, we have to believe in destiny that
is.
It's one of the pillars of iman that
we Muslim should believe in destiny.
I will tell you what is destiny as
far as Islam is concerned.
That is clearly mentioned in the Quran that
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, when a child is
born, The fatir is wound on the neck.
They mentioned in the Quran. Everything what they're
gonna do, Allah knows.
But that does not interfere with your free
will. Allah has given a free will.
For example, if a teacher is teaching in
a classroom
for 1 year,
just before the final examination, the teacher predicts
that this student,
he will get 1st class. He'll come out
1st in the class. This student, he'll get
2nd class. This student, he will fail.
Just an example, brother. Don't feel bad.
Now,
when the examination takes place, after the results,
out this student comes out 1st class first.
He gets 2nd class, the student fails.
Now can the student who failed,
tell the teacher because the teacher predicted I
will fail, therefore I failed. Can he blame
the teacher?
Yes or no?
No. Why? Because the teacher knew this student
intelligent, used to do his homework, used to
attend the class throughout the year. This student
average, this student used to go for movies,
play hooky, bunk school.
So teacher predicted.
Same way Allah
Now the difference between the teacher and Allah.
The teacher, the human being can make a
mistake. Can be right 99%, but not 100%.
Always Allah has
He has knowledge of the future, but he
has given you a free will. For example,
you come at a crossroad.
There's road 1, 2, 3, 4. You can
choose any. You choose road 2. So Allah
knows in advance on this particular date, on
29th September, you'll come at a crossroad. You
will choose road too.
It is not because Allah has mentioned you
will choose road to your choosing. It is
because you will be choosing Allah road in
advance.
For example, after you pass standard 12, your
a levels. You can either become a doctor
or engineer.
You choose to become a doctor.
So Allah knows in advance that after you
pass your a levels, you will choose to
become a doctor. Choice is yours.
Not because Allah has written you have become
a doctor, because you have chosen Allah wrote
in advance.
Now once you have come at a crossroad,
1, 2, 3, 4, you have taken road
2. You come at another crossroad,
a, b, c, d,
e. You choose road d.
Allah knows in advance that when you come
at the next crossroad you will choose road
d.
So it is because you will be choosing
Allah Road. Otherwise people will say, it's mentioned
my tagdeed.
I will commit more than I committed more.
Who's to blame? Allah has to blame, not
me. If it's mentioned my destiny, I'm gonna
draw back who's to blame, Allah has to
blame. Allah gave you the option that after
you finish your college, you can either rob
or earn by doing hard work. You choose
to rob. So Allah knows
after you finish your college, you could do
hard work or you could rob. You choose
to rob. So you can't blame Allah. Allah
knows in advance Allah will make gap. So
there is something like tagdih, destiny
in Islam,
but Allah has given us the free will.
Allah has given us the free will. We
are responsible.
Otherwise, they marry the test. And Allah says
in the Quran in Suramulk chapter number 67
verse number 2.
It's Allah who has created death and life
to test which of you is good indeed.
This life is still the test for the
hereafter. So that is the reason Islam said,
don't indulge in
fortune telling about the future. Now as you're
saying, something is always clicking here.
So you may think that he may have
told you, okay, at the age of 30,
you'll die. So you may be thinking that
I'm gonna die. You may not die.
So what if you have done a mistake?
Forget it, sister. Take it out. You lead
your normal life. Try and find out which
is the truth. What you have to do,
sister? Do a research.
Do a research of various religious scripture, which
is the true scripture that will give you
serenity,
calmness,
peace of mind.
Read that scripture,
follow it, and forget what the fortune teller
has told you.
Even if it comes out to be right,
no problem.
You do what you feel is right based
on your research.
That how to lead a life. So this
Quran,
sister, is the last and final guidance given
by almighty god to humanity. It's not meant
only for the Muslims or the Arabs or
the Malay. It's meant for the whole of
humanity.
And if you read this book, inshallah,
you would get peace of mind. I request
the volunteer to gift you
a copy of the English translation of the
Quran. You read it, Inshallah, it'll give you
peace of mind. Thank you. Thank you.