The submission
A middle aged woman steps on the entrance of a shop. She looks at the conventional black and red slate hung up near the entrance and reads the price of chicken breast, chicken leg, half chicken, full chicken & boneless chicken written on it. She asks the shopkeeper for the boneless chicken. The shopkeeper nods, and goes towards the cage while the “pucking” sound of the hen, “thudding” sound of the butcher’s knife on the wooden slab and the “meowing” sound of the stray cat…
waiting for the piece of the wasted slices of the raw meat fill in the air. He unlocks the cage & puts his hand inside to take out the first hen available as all the hen make an unusually louder noise and try to move towards the opposite end of the cage but since the room is limited, the shopkeeper is easily successful. He then hands it over to the butcher who picks up his sharpest knife to slaughter the hen.
An everyday scene like this probably fails to impart an important message that although the meat of the hen means a delicious dinner for the woman’s family and a source of bread and butter for the shopkeeper & butcher’s family, it also means an end of something as precious as life for the hen to fulfill one of the reasons it is created for by Allah SWT.
Although with a freewill, we are created to LIVE a life for Allah SWT in return for Jannah. How many of us actually submit to that?
good analogy!
Very thought provoking. I have often thought of this whenever butchers kill chickens, and you've phrased it beautifully. However, I find the idea of free will paradoxical. Fate is predetermined. Allah has already decided when we will die, who we will marry, how many children we will have, etc. Then doesn't He know whether we will turn out to be good Muslims or not, and can we actually influence that?
Yes we do,we are given choices, Aa'aamal are not predetermined at all.What are fixed are the parameters of life as you already have written few of those.Simply put,we are given the life as a test,so there will be no reason if we are not given free will,we do make choices and are entitled to. What people confuses is the concept of taqdeer,it deals with the fixed parameters given to us plus the knowledge of Allah(SWT)which He knows in advance what a person will do so its written not vice versa,its not forcing anyone to do good or evil. JazakAllah
Nice one 🙂
thankyou MAryam, MK, Shahrukh and Saeed for commenting.
Yes, I do agree with Shahrukh. Although Allah knows everything including who is going to hell and who is going to heaven, that still doesnt mean that we dont have a free will and free choice. That is what basically distingguishes humans from animals and angels!
Allah created us, hell and heaven, the good and bad, He defined the objectives n goals, the right n wrong and provided a tool (Brain) to find the difference. Provided a treasure (QURAN) to explore and refer.
You who believe! If you heed Allah, He will give you a criterion [to judge between right and wrong] and will cleanse you of your sins and forgive you. Allah's favor is indeed immense. (Surah al-Anfal: 29)
He gives wisdom to whoever He wills and he who has been given wisdom has been given a great good. But no one pays heed but people of understanding. (Surat al-Baqara: 269)
Those who listen well to My precepts and follow the best in them are the ones whom Allah has guided. They are the people of understanding". (Surat az-Zumar: 18)
So Allah has given us a choice to select path (right or wrong) for HIS defined objective.
we should struggle to differentiate between good n bad. Understand HIS Message (Quran) instead of just reading it.
Thanx
The Noble Quran speaks clearly of man's weakness and impo_tence "Man was created weak and impotent." (4:28) Nature has left man to his own devices far more than the animals. We see in man, on the one hand, an unfolding of freedom and an emergence of a capacity to grow and gain awareness, and, on the other, an increase in dependence and neediness. While entying a relative freedom, man is powerfully drawn deeper and deeper into the thralls of need.
These varying situations of different orders of creation constitute, in the view of certain thinkers, factors impelling growth and development. The farther a being advances on the ladder of progress, the closer it comes toward freedom. It is precisely neediness and lack of innate equilibrium that enable growth and advancement to take place.
For free will and choice to express themselves, a factor opposing natural instinct must exist. Man will, then, be caught between two opposing attractions, each seeking to gain his obedience, so that he is compelled to choose the path he desires, freely, consciously, and relying on his own efforts and resources. Free of all determining factors and mental preconceptions, he begins the work of making and developing himself on the basis of specific principles and criteria.
Once faced with this element of contradiction, man cannot attain equilibrium or choose a correct path for himself by acting as an automaton or refraining from all effort. Bearing as he does the burden of the divine trust, the great divine gift that the heavens and the earth were unfit to receive, man alone proving worthy of accepting it, man is confronted with only two choices in his conflict and struggle. Either he becomes a prisoner to the tyranny of instinct and unbridled desire, thus debasing and degrading himself; or, drawing on his abundant capacities of will, thought and decision, he embarks on the path of growth and development and begins to ascend.
Jazakallah Khair
Bad analogy,hen without any will of her own is forced by humans and mercilessly slaughtered to feed them supporting the dictum of might is right,weak is always exploited.
I am sorry friends but it is better to stop criticize on things like what Animal wills? either willing to be slaughtered; it may result in misleading the generation. All is that ALLAH KNOWS BETTER. It is not our job to take their (animal) side in such a way. Allah said we do and a way to fulfill human need (Hunger). Don’t drag the vegetarian’s concepts.
Secondly, my friend belief make u stronger and winner … u believe u win
Hope you won’t take me wrong
thanx
Nice one Nida ………. the concept of free will is defintely the difference btw humans and other creatures but the concept of 'free will'is complex to understand especially due to the limitation of human mind in comparison to Allah's knowledge and 'Hikmaat'. Our task is too make our thoughts simple and realistic keeping in mind our limitations.
May Allah bless us all and keep all ourself on Imaan to get His mercy and kindness in other world.
Nice one Nida ………. the concept of free will is defintely the difference btw humans and other creatures but the concept of 'free will'is complex to understand especially due to the limitation of human mind in comparison to Allah's knowledge and 'Hikmaat'. Our task is too make our thoughts simple and realistic keeping in mind our limitations.
May Allah bless us all and keep all ourself on Imaan to get His mercy and kindness in other world.
Friend Please go through my newly created blog and help me improve.
http://wasiqmustafa.blogspot.com/2010/08/istighfar-parable-of-imam-ahmed-and.html
Regards,
Wasiq
@Ali: Yes,history makes it very clear to us that might has almost been the right and exploitation of masses(weak) is done in the pretext of race,nationality,religion,ideas,acquisition of resources etc but i disagree to ur understanding as far as eating of animals are concerned,it is made halaal in abrahamic religions and its followers in their belief subit their will to All mighty God be it by pure monotheism(Islam & Judaism) or have impurities(Christianity except protestants,unitarians and few others),its upto you whether you follow one of these religions or not or even believe them or not,still do have some proper research over them butif you are of the opinion that these need not be killed as in jainism,then its good for you,do one more thing,stop taking breathe even as it kills bacteria and germs which too are weaker species but of your necessity if you don't do so the criteria which you are supporting then it has clear loop holes. JazakAllah