affairs in a miraculous way
for it to be believable; the moment-to-moment events of daily life
are one's rewards and punishments. All material and nonmaterial
blessings are gifts from Allah. Of course, rewards and punishments,
like the forces that give rise to them, range along a continuum from
the immediate and tangible, such as a good harvest, healthy
livestock, or the birth of a son, all the way to entering heaven in a
second life. Punishment can also range from, for instance, the death
of a child to entering hell in the afterlife. Thus heaven and hell
are tangible in a sense: people see them as real states of being
comparable to ordinary experience, but much more intense. They know
what these places look and feel like and can imagine them in every
detail. Paradise (il-janne) is a garden with rivers, trees, milk,
honey, beautiful women, and wine - in short, all the good things in
life, including those that are forbidden during earthly existence.
And in hell (jhannam) there is nothing but fire and big, powerful,
bad angels who allow no one to get out.
Of
course men and women, being subject to the punishments and rewards
meted out by the forces of good and evil, can hide nothing. The
angels, the jinn, the devil, and God - all have a way of knowing
everything that one thinks or does. And regardless of content,
neither thought nor action can be neutral. Everything has
consequences, either rewards or punishments. Thus only two angels
(Raqib and Atid) are necessary to keep account of a person's actions.
One sits on the right shoulder recording the good deeds, and the
other on the left recording the bad. On the Day of Judgment the two
books in which these angels have recorded an individual's life are
weighed: if the one on the right is heavier, heaven is the reward;
otherwise, hell. Here again, the angels Raqib and Atid are almost
tangible. People feel their presence and sometimes even talk to them.
At the end of prayer, a Muslim will turn the head first to the right
and then to the left, greeting the angel on each shoulder by saying,
"Peace to you!" (as-salamu alekum).
Despite
the influence of supernatural forces, human beings can do nothing
that is not predestined. Each person's fortune is written on the
forehead at the moment of birth, and life is an unfolding in time of
the plan already drawn by destiny, which is the instrument of God.
Belief in predestination does not necessarily entail abandonment of
individual effort or lack of responsibility for one's actions. A dear
logic impels toward taking initiative: even though from the
perspective of the Divine the future is known, from a human
perspective it is unknowable. And because it is unknowable, it
remains mysterious and full of promise - it can be acted upon. All
actions have commensurate consequences, and by performing good deeds
(hasanat) individuals help their destinies in this life and improve
their chances in the life to come.
But by
the same token, because the future is unknowable, consequences are
unforeseeable. One can know them only after they have taken place,
and so it is useless to worry about the future. Having acted, one
awaits the results, which one has no choice but to accept. Herein
lies the true meaning of belief in fate and predestination. It is not
that individual will is abandoned, but rather that one's fate is
accepted. People thus use the doctrine of predestination to justify
and help resign themselves to what happens, especially in the case of
misfortunes. "There is no strength or power save in Allah,"
says the heroine of Tale 42 after she falls into the well. The fruits
of action, whether bitter or sweet, must be accepted, for they cannot
be changed. Nor would it be useful to blame oneself or feel sad or
guilty when misfortune strikes, because what comes is only the
unfolding of what has already been decreed, regardless of one's
personal feelings about it. Belief in predestination thus helps
people cope with the present and eliminates worry about
for it to be believable; the moment-to-moment events of daily life
are one's rewards and punishments. All material and nonmaterial
blessings are gifts from Allah. Of course, rewards and punishments,
like the forces that give rise to them, range along a continuum from
the immediate and tangible, such as a good harvest, healthy
livestock, or the birth of a son, all the way to entering heaven in a
second life. Punishment can also range from, for instance, the death
of a child to entering hell in the afterlife. Thus heaven and hell
are tangible in a sense: people see them as real states of being
comparable to ordinary experience, but much more intense. They know
what these places look and feel like and can imagine them in every
detail. Paradise (il-janne) is a garden with rivers, trees, milk,
honey, beautiful women, and wine - in short, all the good things in
life, including those that are forbidden during earthly existence.
And in hell (jhannam) there is nothing but fire and big, powerful,
bad angels who allow no one to get out.
Of
course men and women, being subject to the punishments and rewards
meted out by the forces of good and evil, can hide nothing. The
angels, the jinn, the devil, and God - all have a way of knowing
everything that one thinks or does. And regardless of content,
neither thought nor action can be neutral. Everything has
consequences, either rewards or punishments. Thus only two angels
(Raqib and Atid) are necessary to keep account of a person's actions.
One sits on the right shoulder recording the good deeds, and the
other on the left recording the bad. On the Day of Judgment the two
books in which these angels have recorded an individual's life are
weighed: if the one on the right is heavier, heaven is the reward;
otherwise, hell. Here again, the angels Raqib and Atid are almost
tangible. People feel their presence and sometimes even talk to them.
At the end of prayer, a Muslim will turn the head first to the right
and then to the left, greeting the angel on each shoulder by saying,
"Peace to you!" (as-salamu alekum).
Despite
the influence of supernatural forces, human beings can do nothing
that is not predestined. Each person's fortune is written on the
forehead at the moment of birth, and life is an unfolding in time of
the plan already drawn by destiny, which is the instrument of God.
Belief in predestination does not necessarily entail abandonment of
individual effort or lack of responsibility for one's actions. A dear
logic impels toward taking initiative: even though from the
perspective of the Divine the future is known, from a human
perspective it is unknowable. And because it is unknowable, it
remains mysterious and full of promise - it can be acted upon. All
actions have commensurate consequences, and by performing good deeds
(hasanat) individuals help their destinies in this life and improve
their chances in the life to come.
But by
the same token, because the future is unknowable, consequences are
unforeseeable. One can know them only after they have taken place,
and so it is useless to worry about the future. Having acted, one
awaits the results, which one has no choice but to accept. Herein
lies the true meaning of belief in fate and predestination. It is not
that individual will is abandoned, but rather that one's fate is
accepted. People thus use the doctrine of predestination to justify
and help resign themselves to what happens, especially in the case of
misfortunes. "There is no strength or power save in Allah,"
says the heroine of Tale 42 after she falls into the well. The fruits
of action, whether bitter or sweet, must be accepted, for they cannot
be changed. Nor would it be useful to blame oneself or feel sad or
guilty when misfortune strikes, because what comes is only the
unfolding of what has already been decreed, regardless of one's
personal feelings about it. Belief in predestination thus helps
people cope with the present and eliminates worry about
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