Q138 :Can we say that those who died in netmunal
riots met their death as predetermined by Allah? If not, why?
A138 : Of course these deaths have been
predetermined by Allah. Indeed, every death is so predetermined. How
else can you describe a man’s death in car accident, or by drowning, or
in a fire? I feel that the word “predetermined” does not seem to carry
its proper sense to you. When we say that a death is predetermined, it
does not mean that Allah has caused the events leading to it. Allah
does not cause the car accident which kills a driver. Indeed, one of
the two drivers causes the accident by making a serious mistake. The
death of anyone who is killed, as a result, is predetermined by Allah
in the sense that He has willed that those people die at the particular
moment. Every person’s life-span is determined by Allah, when he is
still a fetus in his mother’s belly. Allah also knows how every person
is to meet his or her death. He does not, however, intervene to cause
an accident, fire or a disturbance. It is people who do that and their
actions lead to their natural results. Allah has set natural phenomena
in operation. He has made fire burn almost all types of objects. He has
enabled water to drown a person who swallows it and does not swim. When
a person is burned, Allah does not cause his burning, except in the
sense that He has given the fire the quality of burning. He does not
pick a person up and throw him in the fire to cause his death. When
that person happens to be in the midst of fire, he is burnt. Allah has
determined his life-span and has known the cause of his death.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )