Why does God guide some people and not others?
How can this be fair?
One of the repeated verses in the Quran, which is the cornerstone of this article, tells us that God guides whom He wills and misguides whom He wills:
God then sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. 14:4
On first reading, it may seem that guidance is something that lies outside our control, that we have no say in the matter and that ultimately, no one can choose to be guided if that does not coincide with the will of God.
The Quran provides the explanation of this subject, confirming that what may be construed from such a first reading is not in fact what actually takes place.
1- God will always guide those who deserve to be guided (details below). In contrast, those with sickness in their hearts will not be guided, rather, God will increase their sickness:
In their hearts there is sickness. Consequently, God increased their sickness and they shall have a painful punishment because they used to lie. 2:10
It may seem unfair for God to increase the sickness in the hearts of some people rather than allow them more time to purify themselves. However, God being Omniscient, knows that however long and no matter how many chances some people are given, they will never believe:
Had God known of any good in them, He would have made them hear. But even if He had made them hear, they would still turn away in aversion. 8:23
2- Ultimately, the decider in whether a person is guided or not is none other than the person himself. It is the sickness within the hearts of some people that prevents them from accepting God's truth and attaining the guidance and not that God does not wish them to be guided. In actual fact, if it were a matter left purely to God's preference, God would have guided all people on the planet and made them believers:
Rather, if God willed, He could have gathered them all to guidance. 6:35
Had your Lord willed, all the people in the earth, in their entirety, would have believed, so are you to force the people in order to become believers? 10:99
However, every person must willingly choose God's truth and denounce all falsehood in order to rightly deserve the guidance:
This is a Reminder, so whoever wills shall pursue a path to his Lord. 76:29
God decreed that guidance is something that must be earned. God granted the human being free will. The human being must himself seek God. Then as the saying goes: He who seeks God has already found Him.
3- Since guidance is something that must be earned by every individual, it follows that no matter how much we would like to, we cannot gift the guidance to those we love:
You cannot guide the ones you love, but it is God who guides whom He wills. He knows best who are the guided ones. 28:56
For the same reason, all prayers in which we implore God to guide those whom we love are utterly useless. They have to earn the guidance themselves.
The Quran lists various reasons why some people are guided while others are not guided. The following are by way of examples:
Those whom God guides:
1- God guides those who believe and do good deeds:
As for those who believe and do good deeds, their Lord guides them by virtue of their faith. 10:9
2- God guides those who strive in the cause of God:
As for those who strive in Our cause, We will guide them to Our paths, and indeed, God is with the good-doers. 29:69
3- God guides those who seek God's approval and His consent:
With it, God guides those who seek His consent to the paths of peace, and takes them out of the darkness into the light with His permission, and guides them to a straight path. 5:16
4- God guides those who turn to Him:
........... God sends astray whom He wills, and guides to Himself those who turn to Him." 13:27
5- God guides those who follow the Book of God:
who listen to what is being said then follow the best of it. Those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones who possess intelligence. 39:18
The words "best of it" in this verse refers to the Quran which God calls the "Best Hadith":
God has brought down the Best Hadith: a Book (Quran) containing similarities and pairs. 39:23
Those whom God does not guide:
1- God does not guide those who chose to disbelieve:
God does not guide the disbelieving people. 2:264
2- God does not guide the transgressors:
God does not guide the transgressing people. 2:258
3- God does not guide the wicked:
God does not guide the wicked people. 5:108
4- God does not guide the excessive liars:
God does not guide the one who is excessive and a liar. 40:28
God does not guide the one who is a liar, a disbeliever. 39:3
5- God does not guide those who disbelieve after having believed:
How can God guide a people who disbelieved after their belief. 3:86
Commentary on 76:29-30:
This is a reminder, so whoever wills shall pursue a path to his Lord. 76:29
And you will not will unless God wills. God is Knowledgeable, Wise. 76:30
On first impression, it may seem that there is a contradiction between the free choice granted in verse 29 and the statement in verse 30 which states that we can never will anything unless it is also God's will.
Do these words mean that God would stop some people, who seek the guidance, from pursuing a path to Him if it does not coincide with His will? The answer is no.
The words in 76:30 state that no one can will anything, unless God wills.
This is in line with the fact that nothing happens in the heavens and earth without God's permission.
Perhaps the following example can shed more light:
Since God invited all people to believe in Him, then it can never be against God's will if a person chooses to believe in Him. It would in fact be in line with God's instructions.
If the human being seeks a path to God, it will always coincide with God's will, thus God would have no reason to stop it from happening.
Ultimately, we should trust in God's justice; God will always guide those who deserve to be guided. They deserve to be guided because they seek God and they believe in Him. As a result, God makes the path to guidance easy for them. As for those whom God knows will never believe, no matter how much time and chances they are given, God does not guide them.
No comments:
Post a Comment