The Relation between Destiny and Decree and the Choices that Change the Course of Our Lives
Let us go on a short trip. Imagine that we are watching the scenery from the train window, and suddenly the train changes its track and path, and with this change, a different world appears before our eyes. We see new cities, different landscapes, and new people, while all of these were different on the previous path. In fact, the relation between destiny and decree has a mechanism similar to this train, path, and track, with the difference that the choice of the path is up to us! In fact, it is our decisions, desires, and initial choices that determine what we face in the journey of life, in what conditions we live, and even how our future decisions will be.[1] So, based on this, our life is intertwined with the relation between destiny and decree.
In the meantime, several fundamental questions arise: Why are we often dissatisfied with what we have done in the past and want to change it? Where does this dissatisfaction come from? Essentially, on what basis do we set our goals and make our choices, and now that returning to the past is not possible, what can we do to not have such regrets in the next ten years?
Destiny and Decree in the System of Creation
In the system of creation, everything has its own specific measure or decree.[2] Since we always have a wide range of choices in life, if we are not aware of the value and outcome of each choice, we will regret it later. We may even cause harm to ourselves and those around us with our wrong decisions. This is because for every choice we make, we give away a part of our life, which is our unique and greatest asset. Some of our big decisions can overshadow our entire lifetime, such as choosing a spouse, a place of residence, or a field of study. Since these decisions are interconnected like dominoes, choosing one of them provides the basis for subsequent choices. Therefore, we must accurately determine the value and significance of what we choose. In religious terms, this value and measure is called decree (Qadar).
Every phenomenon that occurs in the world has a cause, and God, by His will, has created the entire system of creation based on the relation between cause and effect, or the relation between destiny and decree. God has willed to create a system in which each choice can have its own specific consequence. As a result, if we do not choose a right decree, we will be inevitably be caught up in destiny or its undesirable outcome. Of course, there are also some kinds of destiny and decree that we have no role in choosing. For example, we do not choose our family or place of birth, and therefore, we have no choice but to accept the existing conditions. However, our responsibility towards the decrees we have chosen ourselves is different. Therefore, to make the right choices, we must first know all the decrees and their place in the hierarchy of our existence, and be able to distinguish the decrees of our human dimension from those of other dimensions. In the next stage, we must try to spend our lives in pursuit and attainment of these decrees, so that we do not suffer any loss.
The Importance of Knowing Decrees and Measures
Mathematical laws govern the entire system of creation, and everything that God has created has a specific decree or value. There is no choice, whether it is an objective matter like an object or a subjective matter like a thought, which does not have its own specific decree. However, we must not overlook that the choice of any thought or action, depending on its decree, leads to its own specific destiny or consequence. Our actions operate within the framework of the relation between destiny and decree. We cannot do something and expect different results from it. For example, we cannot achieve the destiny of success with the decree of laziness and boredom. In fact, we reap whatever we sow. whatever we choose, we also choose its destiny, result, or outcome. Therefore, the least we can do for our happiness is to make our choices with the utmost care and wisdom, and this is not possible without knowledge.
The relation between destiny and decree is a universal law that governs all the affairs in the universe, including spiritual affairs and our relationship with God. So if our desired result is closeness to God, we must cultivate a decree that is in line with it. Of course, before anything else, we must know the decrees which are compatible with our human dimension so that we will not make mistakes or suffer harm. Based on the natural relation between destiny and decree, it is logical that if we do not know the best decrees, we cannot receive the best destinies. If we do not have a true knowledge of decrees and measures and we are not aware of our human value, we cannot make the right decisions. Instead of paying attention to the decrees of our human dimension, we sometimes prioritize the decrees of inanimate, vegetative, animal, or intellective dimensions and spend our lifetime seeking them. Our life is a limited asset that must be spent on the most valuable and essential things.
In this article, we discussed the relation between destiny and decree as one of the inevitable laws of creation. We stated that in the system of creation, everything has a decree and measure, and every decree has its own destiny and consequence. We are only able to choose the right decrees when we are aware of our human value and make our choices based on our human perfections. Otherwise, we will only waste our only asset, which is our lifetime, and suffer losses.
What is your opinion about the decrees you have chosen so far? Are you satisfied with your decrees and their consequences? Share your thoughts with us.
[1]. For more on this, see “What Does Divine Destiny and Decree Mean?”
[2]. Holy Quran, 54:49