Destiny is Allah's perfect knowledge of all events past or future, as if a single moment. This expresses the absolute sovereignty of Allah over all beings and events. People can be aware of a certain event when they experience it. But Allah knows all events prior to their occurrence. For Allah, past, present and future are all the same. They are all within the knowledge of Allah since He is the One Who creates them.

As the verse, "Indeed, all things We created with predestination." (Surat al-Qamar: 49) also suggests, every thing in the world is part of that destiny. The majority of people do not give a moment's consideration to the nature of destiny, and, thus, fail to recognize that it is Allah's infinite might that exists behind this flawless order. Some consider that destiny encompasses only human beings. However, everything in the universe, from the furniture in your home, to a pebble on the road, or a dried-up weed, a fruit or a jar on the super-market shelf, are all part of the destiny predetermined by Allah. The fate of every created thing has been determined within the infinite wisdom of Allah.

Every event a person sees, and every noise he hears, are in ever instance part of a life that has been created for him as a unit. Whether major or insignificant, no event in the universe happens by coincidence. No flower either blooms or fades by chance. No man comes into existence or dies out of pure coincidence. No man becomes sick by mistake, and neither does his sickness develop in an uncontrolled manner. In each case, these occurrences are especially predestined by Allah, from the very moment they were created.

Anything that exists, within the depths of the earth or the oceans, or the fall of a single leaf, all occur in compliance with destiny, as the following verse indicates:

The keys of the Unseen are in His possession. No one knows them but Him. He knows everything in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowing it. There is no seed in the darkness of the earth, and nothing moist or dry which is not in a Clear Book. (Surat al-An'am: 59)

In the Qur'an, Allah informs us that even the smallest detail is predetermined by His infinite wisdom, and in accordance with a divine purpose:

Nothing occurs, either in the earth or in yourselves, without its being in a Book before We make it happen. That is something easy for Allah. (Surat al-Hadid: 22)

The fate of every thing in this universe is known by Allah, the All-Knowing, the Wise. Consequently, every detail is perfectly planned, and for a purpose and "everything is by decree" as stated by the Prophet Muhammad (saas). A person who attains full consciousness of this fact will be benefited with being pleased with every moment of his life; good times and those that seem to be bad. The reason being that His truthful servants succeed in recognizing that it is Allah who created their destiny without a flaw. They will be aware that it is ignorant to regard something as misfortune when there must necessarily be a purpose for it in Allah's sight. Such a profound comprehension of this fact enables them to discern the blessings in things that happen.

The way that people imagine that the difficulties they encounter are not created by Allah but have some other cause stems from a failure to properly understand destiny. Because every event that may seem to be a difficult is in fact a "lesson in destiny." They all need to be seen through the lens of wisdom and goodness. All events, whether they appear great or small, important or trivial, have all been created in destiny with wisdom and auspiciousness. People describe events they frequently encounter and that develop contrary to their wishes as adversities. The fact is, however, that there is wisdom and goodness in adversity, too. People imagine otherwise, but the truth is that the event takes the form it does inside destiny.

If Allah had shown the good and purpose of the apparently adverse incidents, or of the difficulties that distress and irritate people, they would understand how senseless is their disappointment. Recognizing the blessing in things, a person of faith instead feels joy, not distress. This being the case, what is incumbent on a man is that he seeks to identify the good and benefits in destiny, that is, in events that are, in reality, part of the purpose of Allah's creation, and feel appreciative of the benefit of such insight.

Fighting is prescribed for you even if it is hateful to you. It may be that you hate something when it is good for you and it may be that you love something when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.( Surat Al-Baqara,2)

From the moment a person opens his eyes to the world, it is Allah Who ordains every event that takes place in his life. Allah is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise and the All-Just. All is created by Allah in compliance with a plan, and for a divine purpose just as He says in a verse of the Qur'an, "Indeed, all things We created with predestination." (Surat al-Qamar: 49) In light of Allah's infinite might and superiority, man is merely a feeble being. Without Allah's blessings he cannot survive. Through his ability to understand and reason, man can grasp realities only to the extent that his Creator allows him. This being the case, submission to Allah's infinite wisdom and the divine purpose He had ordained in all things, is a fundamental requirement upon each and every one of us. No matter what we may experience in life, we must remain aware that Allah is the Sovereign Lord of the entire universe, that He knows, sees and hears what we cannot, that He is knowledgeable even of that which might take place or occur of which we are unaware, and thus, we are to realize that it is Allah who causes every occurrence to happen, and according to a divine purpose: for our own good.

Putting faith in this truth should inspire us with a better outlook, by which we feel grateful for everything that befalls us. In other words, a person will try to recognize the "good" in everything he hears, in every sight he sees, in every incident he experiences, in brief, in every moment of his life, and thereby, achieve a proper understanding of the meaning of this life.

Seeing the good in all events, whatever the circumstance, whether favourable or unfavourable, is an important moral quality resulting from sincere faith in Allah, and the approach to life that is brought about by such a faith. Ultimately, a grasp of this truth is important in guiding one to not only the blessings of this world, but in the hereafter, where one will find never-ending peace and bliss.

Not feeling disappointment for any thing that happens throughout the course of this life is a mark of a true understanding of the meaning of faith. Failure to see good in things that happen, being fraught with constant fear, anxiety, despair, sorrow, sentimentalism, on the other hand, indicate a lack of pure faith. This confusion must be removed promptly, and the joy emanating from unswerving faith must be accepted as a necessary part of life. A believer knows that events that might at first sight appear unfavourable, including those which he caused to happen by committing an error, will ultimately turn out beneficially for him. When he uses the words "adversity", "misfortune" or "if only...", it is only to draw a lesson from an experience. In other words, the faithful knows that there is good in whatever happens; he learns from his mistakes and seeks to correct them. However, if he were to fall into the same error again, he keeps in mind that it is all for a specific purpose, and simply resolves to "conduct himself more correctly the next time." Moreover, even if the same thing were to occur dozens of times over, a Muslim must keep in mind that ultimately it is for some good; such is the immutable law of Allah.

Only in the recognition that Allah creates everything for a certain good and a specific purpose can one's heart find peace. To have a grasp of this fact is a great blessing for a believer. A person who is distant from Islam suffers from continuous torment; he lives in constant apprehension, turning out to be an ever-present source of anxiety. A believer, on the other hand, recognizes and reveres the fact that there is a divine purpose behind Allah's creation.

Being indecisive; that is, suffering from the continuous apprehension of constantly expecting both good and evil, may become an embarrassment for a believer in the hereafter. Pleading ignorance of such a plain and obvious truth, because of carelessness or laziness, may only cause torment both in this world and beyond. We must keep in mind that destiny predetermined by Allah is entirely flawless. For a person willing to recognise the good in all things, he finds only blessings and a divine purpose, hidden within an entire complex of inter-connected events. Though he may have many other things to concern him throughout his day, a person of strong faith, who is guided by his wisdom and conscience, never allows himself to be tempted by Satan's wiles. No matter how, when, or where an event takes place, he never forgets that there is always some good behind it. Although he may not be able to recognise this good immediately, what really matters is for him to be aware that there is an ultimate purpose.

Some people, who are aware of the existence of Allah, and comprehend that it is He Who has created the entire universe. They admit the fact that it is Allah Who makes the rain fall or sun to rise. They recognize that for there to be any other cause is impossible. Yet, when it comes to incidents in the course of their lives, the minor details that form part of the usual rush of the day, they cannot help thinking that they are somehow independent of Allah. Nevertheless, it is Allah Who destines a burglar to enter one's home at night, an obstacle that caused one to fall, a plot of arable land to yield crops or to become arid, a deal to be profitable, or a saucepan to be forgotten on the stove. Every occurrence falls within the infinite wisdom of Allah, and in compliance with a sublime plan. A drop of mud that stains our trousers, a puncture in the tire, acne appearing on one's face, a disease, or some other undesirable thing to occur, are all incorporated into a person's life in accordance to a specific plan.

Nothing a person experiences in this world, from the moment he opens his eyes, is independent and apart from Allah. All existence, as a whole, is created by Allah, the only One to hold control over the universe. Allah's creation is perfect, flawless and replete with purpose. This is part of the destiny created by Allah; one must not discriminate between the incidents by attributing good to one and evil to the other. What is incumbent on a person is to recognize and appreciate the perfection in all events, and to believe with all certainty that some good lies in it, remaining conscious of the fact that, within Allah's infinite wisdom, all is designed to lead ultimately to the most perfect results. Indeed, for those who believe and recognize the goodness in all that befalls them, both this world and the beyond are part of an eternal good.

Destiny is an entirely flawless agenda developed to prepare a person for Paradise. It is replete with blessings and for a divine purpose. Each difficulty a believer faces in this world, will be the source of infinite bliss, joy and peace in the next. The verse, "For truly with hardship comes ease" (Surat ash-Sharh: 5) draws our attention to this fact; within one's destiny, the patience and courage a believer exhibits are pre-ordained together with their respective rewards in the Hereafter.

It may happen during the course of the day, that a believer would become irritated or concerned about certain things that had happened. The primary reason of the irritation he feels is his failure to remember that that very event is part of his destiny, and that it has been especially created by Allah. Though, he will be comforted and calmed when he is reminded of the purpose of Allah's creation.

This is why a believer must learn to continually keep in mind that everything is predestined, as well as remind others of this fact. He must show patience in the face of those occurrences that Allah had predestined for him, in the infinite recesses of time, put his trust in Him, and strive to recognize the reasons behind them. He who attempts to understand these reasons will, by Allah's Will, be ultimately successful. Even though he might not always be able to detect their actual purposes, he must remain assured that, when something happens, it is certainly for some good and for a purpose.

Man's only salvation is found in remembering that Allah creates every event for a divine purpose and a certain good. A believer is putting his faith in Allah in the truest sense only if he remains cognisant of this fact. He comports himself in the manner of a true servant only if he does not merely endure these situations, but is patient through them. Keeping always near to Allah, by praying and putting one's faith in Him, and expecting that everything comes from Him, is a quality particular to believers.

We cannot perceive Allah's existence with our eyes, but Allah has thoroughly encompassed our inside, outside, looks and thoughts. We cannot utter any word but with His knowledge, nor can we even take a breath.

While we watch these sensory perceptions in the course of our lives, the closest being to us is not any one of these sensations, but Allah Himself. The secret of the following verse in the Qur'an is concealed in this reality: "It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein." (Surah Qaf: 16)� When a person thinks that his body is made up of "matter", he cannot comprehend this important fact. If he takes his brain to be "himself", then the place he accepts to be the outside will be 20-30 cms away from him. However, when he conceives that there is nothing such as matter, and that everything is imagination, notions such as outside, inside, or near lose meaning. Allah has encompassed him and He is "infinitely close" to him.
Allah informs men that He is "infinitely close" to them with the verse "When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them) " (Surat al-Baqara, 186) . Another verse relates the same fact: "We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about." (Surat al-Isra, 60) .

Man is misled by thinking that the being that is closest to him is himself. Allah, in truth, is closer to us even more than ourselves. He has called our attention to this point in the verse "Why is it not then that when it (soul) comes up to the throat, and you at that time look on, We are nearer to him than you, but you see not. (Surat al-Waqia, 83-85) . As informed in the verse, people live unaware of this phenomenal fact because they do not see it with their eyes.

The verse "But Allah has created you and your handwork!" (Surat as-Saaffat, 96)� shows that everything we experience takes place under Allah's control. In the Qur'an, this reality is stated in the verse "When thou threwest, it was not thy act, but Allah's." (Surat al-Anfal, 17)� whereby it is emphasised that no act is independent of Allah. Since a human being is a shadow being, it cannot be itself which performs the act of throwing. However, Allah gives this shadow being the feeling of the self. In reality, it is Allah Who performs all acts. So, if one takes the acts he does as his own, he evidently means to deceive himself.

Everything we see around us, mountains, fields, flowers, human beings, oceans, everything, are things Allah tells us in the Qur'an that He has brought into existence from nothingness, they have been created and now exist. However, human beings cannot see, feel or touch the originals of these through their sense organs. What they see and feel are copies of these entities in their brains. That is a scientific fact, something taught today in all faculties of medicine.

Destiny is Allah's perfect knowledge of all events past or future. A majority of people question how Allah can already know events that have not yet been experienced and this leads them to fail in understanding the authenticity of destiny. However, "events not yet experienced" are not yet experienced only for us.

Because we live within the boundaries of time that Allah has created, and cannot know anything unless it is introduced to our memory.
Since, as a requirement of the climate of test in this world Allah has given us no memory of those things we refer to as the "future" and we cannot know what will happen in it.

Allah is not bound by time or space for He Himself has created them. For this reason, the past, the future, and the present are all the same to Allah; for Him, everything has already taken place and finished.

Allah does not wait to see the end result of any event. Every event has already taken place from beginning to end in His sight. For example, Allah knew the end awaiting Pharaoh before He sent the Prophet Musa (as) to him, before the Prophet Musa (as) was born, and even before the state of Egypt had even been founded, and all these things, including Pharaoh's end, took place in a single moment in the sight of Allah. Past and present constantly co-exist in the eternal memory of Allah, and all exist at the same moment.

If we think of a person's life as a strip of film, we watch that film in the same way we do a tape on a video recorder, and we have no way of fast-forwarding it. Allah, on the other hand, knows the entire reel at one and the same moment. Indeed, it is Allah Who has created all the details of the film. In the same way that we can see the beginning, middle and end of a satchel, so Allah pervades and enfolds time, by which we are bound, from beginning to end as a single moment. When the time comes, people witness these events and the destiny Allah creates for them. This applies to everyone in the world, as everyone is subordinated to destiny. The lives in this world and in the Hereafter of everyone who has ever lived and who will ever be created in the future, their every moment, have already taken place in the sight of Allah. In addition to billions of human beings, the planets, plants, and all other objects exist in the infinite "memory" of Allah, losing nothing and with nothing being taken away from them. The fact of destiny is one of the manifestations of Allah's title of Hafidh (the Preserver, He Who Maintains) and of the scale and greatness of His might.

Because of the impressions we are given, we imagine that we experience segments of time divided into the past, present and future. The fact is, however, that the only reason we have such a concept as "the past" is because certain things have been given to our memories. For example, our first day at school is information recorded in our memories, for which reason we perceive it as the past. Events related to the future are not to be found in our memories. That is why we regard events of which we are as yet unaware as taking place "in the future." The fact is, though, that in the same way that for us the past is events that have already taken place and been lived and experienced, so the future has actually already come and gone. But since these events have not been given to our memories, we can have no knowledge of them.

If Allah had placed events related to the future in our memories, then the future would also already have happened for us. For example, someone who is 30 years old remembers 30 years' worth of events, and he therefore assumes that his past stretches back 30 years. If that person were also given memories of between 30 and 70 years in the future, then both the 30 years and also those between 30 and 70 years of the "future" would become past. Because under those circumstances both past and future would exist in his memory, and both would consist of events he had already lived and experienced.