Misconception: Islam is fatalistic
Most Muslims find it rather odd
that their religion, which strikes a beautiful balance between faith and
action, could be accused of being "fatalistic". Perhaps this
misconception came about because Muslims are taught to say "Praise be to
God!" whenever anything good or bad happens. This is because Muslims know
that everything comes from Almighty God, who is the All-Knowing Sustainer of
the Universe, and that since a Muslim should rely completely on God, whatever
happened must have been for the better. However, this does not mean that
Muslims are not taught to take action in life --- just the opposite is true.
Islam requires not only faith, but action --- such as regular prayer, fasting
and charity. To be more precise, in Islam actions are part of one's faith.
Islam total rejects the extreme beliefs of some religions that teach that you
shouldn't go to a doctor when sick, but only pray for God to heal you. Islam's
outlook is very positive, since it teaches that human beings can take positive
action in this life. This was certainly what was taught by Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, to his followers --- since they obviously took the action of
spreading Islam from Spain to Morocco in a very short period of time. Even
though Islam teaches that God knows what human beings will do before they do
it, human beings still have free will. Certainly God, who is All-Knowing and
All-Wise, knows what is going to happen to everyone before it happens -- to
deny this would be a denial of God Himself. However, if human-beings did not
have free will, it would be ridiculous and un-just for God to demand that they
do certain things and believe certain things. Far from being
"fatalistic", Islam teaches that a human-being's main purpose in life
is to be God-conscious. Due to this, Muslims worry less about material matters
and view their earthly life in a proper perspective. This is due to the fact
that Islam clearly teaches that if people worship and depend on Almighty God
alone, then they have nothing to worry about - since God wants what is best for
them. True freedom, from the Islamic perspective, does not mean aimlessly
following all of your human desires for food, drink, wealth and sex. On the
contrary, freedom means being able to control one's base desires and fulfilling
them in a proper and legal way. This brings one's desires in tune with what God
wants for us - only then is a person truly free!
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق