Qadar: The Mystery of Divine Decree
A Conversation Between Faith, Awareness, and Surrender
For those who seek understanding before acceptance, and who are willing to explore the mysteries of life without demanding that every question be answered.
It began with a question.
After watching a Deen video on Qadar—the Divine Decree—I found myself reflecting on a subject that has puzzled believers for generations.
If Allah knows everything before it happens, including every choice we make, then what does that mean for our freedom to choose? Are we truly responsible for our actions, or are we simply playing out a destiny already known to the Creator?
I have often wondered about this, but perhaps the question is best approached through the living of our lives rather than through intellectual speculation alone.
I shared my thoughts with ChatGPT, and what followed was an exploration that touched upon my own life, my faith, and the Buddhist teachings I had encountered along the way.
The Painter, the Canvas, and the Unseen Hand
I offered an analogy.
Imagine the Creator as an artist who has prepared the canvas, the paints, and the brushes. The artist knows what the finished painting will look like before the first stroke is made.
Yet the painting still unfolds through the movement of the brush.
Does the artist's foreknowledge diminish the significance of each stroke?
And if the Creator knows the outcome of our lives, does that necessarily mean our choices are meaningless?
I could not answer these questions with certainty. Perhaps the mystery of Qadar is something we are meant to live with, rather than something we can completely unravel.
My Life as God's Great Experiment in Qadar
Reflecting upon my own life, I recalled the years I spent in America, when I was young, angry, and often hedonistic.
I made choices that I knew were wrong. I indulged in pleasures, experimented with drugs, and lived in ways that brought consequences I had to accept.
I have never attempted to whitewash those years. They were part of my journey, and I take responsibility for the choices I made.
Yet looking back, I cannot help but feel that I was watched over.
Despite my many shortcomings, I was never abandoned. Somehow, life continued to offer opportunities for reflection, change, and a return to faith.
I jokingly described myself as God's great experiment in Qadar.
Of course, I do not mean that Allah literally conducts experiments. The expression was simply my way of acknowledging how little I understand the workings of Divine wisdom, while recognizing the mercy I have experienced throughout my life.
Allah's Mercy and the Acceptance of Consequences
I have always believed that Allah is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful.
My love for Allah is not merely because I fear punishment, nor simply because the Book or the Prophet tells me to love Him.
It comes from a deeply personal recognition of the mercy and compassion I have experienced in my own life.
I accept that my past actions have consequences. I do not expect faith to erase them.
But I also believe that repentance, reflection, and the willingness to change are gifts of Divine mercy.
Perhaps one of the most profound things about faith is learning to accept responsibility for our actions while never losing hope in the mercy of the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
Awareness, Intention, and the Choices We Make
Our conversation then moved into the subject of awareness.
I have often felt that awareness is essential to making conscious choices.
When we act without awareness, we may simply be reacting to anger, jealousy, fear, desire, or circumstances beyond our immediate understanding.
A moment of pause—a breath before responding—can sometimes make all the difference.
This led me to ask:
How do we worship without being aware of the action? How do we understand the how, the why, the who, and the when of our worship if we are not even conscious of what we are doing?
In Islam, we find the teaching of Ihsan: to worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, to know that He sees you.
I began to wonder whether saying Bismillah before an action might also serve as a reminder to pause, to become aware of our intention, and to consider the nature of the action we are about to undertake.
Not as a guarantee that we will always act wisely, but as an invitation to bring awareness into our actions.
Right Mindfulness and the Mystery of Karma
Having been raised Buddhist before embracing Islam, I naturally found myself reflecting upon the Buddha's Eightfold Path.
Right Mindfulness is one of its essential factors.
In Buddhism, karma is closely associated with intention and action. We are encouraged to become aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds, and to recognize how our intentions influence the course of our lives.
Yet Zen introduces another question.
After all the teachings about awareness, karma, and the path to liberation, the Zen Master may suddenly ask:
Who are you?
Or perhaps even:
Do you exist at all?
The question is not meant to deny our ordinary existence, but to challenge the assumptions we hold about the self.
And there I was, once again, caught between the teachings of two traditions that have profoundly influenced my life.
Islam speaks of surrender to Allah.
Buddhism speaks of awakening from ignorance and the mistaken notion of a permanent, independent self.
They are not identical teachings, and I do not wish to force them into agreement.
Yet both have encouraged me to look beyond my habitual assumptions and examine the way I live.
Wallahu Alam
At some point, I realized that I was beginning to circle around the same questions.
I could continue exploring the relationship between Divine Decree, free will, awareness, karma, and surrender.
But perhaps it was time to stop.
I concluded:
Wallahu Alam! Let us leave it up to the Divine for the answer and avoid getting a migraine for now.
And perhaps that is not an admission of defeat.
Perhaps it is an acknowledgment that there are mysteries before which the most honest response is humility.
We are explorers seeking understanding before acceptance.
We ask questions not necessarily to challenge our faith, but to deepen it.
We reflect upon our lives, our choices, and the consequences of our actions—not to escape responsibility, but to become more conscious of how we live.
And when we reach the limits of our understanding, we may simply say:
Wallahu Alam. Allah knows best.
Perhaps, in His infinite mercy, the understanding we seek will reveal itself in time.
Until then, we continue our journey.
Salam and Gasho.
— Cheeseburger Buddha
#Qadar #DivineDecree #FaithAndAwareness #SpiritualJourney #IslamicReflection #RightMindfulness #KarmaAndChoice #SurrenderToTheDivine #WallahuAlam #CheeseburgerBuddha #SeekingUnderstandingBeforeAcceptance
