Examining the Law of Destiny and Decree and the Resulting Order in Affairs
What would you do if you realized today that you would only have one day left in your life? Would your overall planning for life change significantly? Or would you do everything as usual? Now imagine that you would be able to go back in time, for example, ten years to the past. What would you do? Would you change any of your behaviors, thoughts, decisions, and relationships, or not?
Most likely, you would change at least one of these parameters that has made you spend your lifetime on something with whose result you are not satisfied. This parameter can be a relationship that has suffered major and serious problems and has come to nothing. It can be the choice of a way of life and a goal that has failed or annoying thoughts that have influenced you for a while. Perhaps you make an effort to change a wrong behavior as you were not initially aware of the harmful consequences it could bring. However, whichever of these changes you choose, it is a sign that you are not satisfied with a part of what you did in the past. But where does this dissatisfaction come from? Why is there always something in the past that we want to change?
One of the reasons for this is that we do not pay careful and sufficient attention to the mathematics of the world of creation. Events in the world do not happen without a reason and plan. Rather, everything happens based on unchangeable rules and laws. This mathematics is so precise that we cannot even use the word “accident” for it; if we use this word, it shows our wrong view of events. Everything in the world happens with a certain order and specific reasons. For example, if our diet is rich in carbohydrates and fat and we have a low level of daily physical activity, we will get ill sooner or later. Our illness is not a sudden accident, but the result of what we did.
We know this precise order in the chain of events in the world as the law of destiny[1] and decree.[2] But what is the law of destiny and decree?
What Does the Law of Destiny and Decree Mean?
The word destiny is literally defined as “a predetermined course of events,” and the word decree means “an order usually having the force of law.” In religious literature, destiny means an eternal ordinance that cannot be changed, and decree is the determination of destiny at a certain amount or measure, which is left to the free will of the human being. Therefore, destiny is a result that will definitely happen, but decree is left to human discretion. That means we can choose a decree for ourselves, and we have free will in this choice, but every choice has a result that is embedded in it and cannot be chosen. For example, we can choose to consume carbohydrates and fat excessively or in moderation. However, depending on our choice, we will get a result that cannot be changed; we can never avoid the result of high consumption of carbohydrates and fat and low level of physical activity, i.e., illness.
So the law of destiny and decree, or result and measure, simply means that any measure we choose for our affairs will create a result or format that cannot be changed. Although we are free to choose different formats or measures for different affairs of our lives, as soon as we choose each of these decrees, or in other words, as soon as we choose between different decisions, we have also chosen its inevitable result. What we must remember but usually ignore when making decisions, is that the results of choosing different decrees cannot be changed. For example, when we choose the decree of not brushing our teeth, the resulting destiny will definitely be tooth decay. Or when we choose the decree of not studying, we will have the destiny of not acquiring the necessary skills.
With considering this and based on the mechanism of the law of destiny and decree, we will definitely achieve the desired results if we make the right decisions. For example, under no circumstances, it is possible that the destiny of drug addiction will happen to someone who has never used drugs. On the other hand, it is impossible for someone who chooses the decree of using drugs to avoid the destiny of addiction. So in order to change the results that are not desirable to us, we must stop choosing those decrees and change them. In the following, we will explain this issue further.
The Result Changes When the Measures Change!
Most of us follow a plan in life that defines our long-term goals and general path. For example, choosing a major for college sets us on a multi-year plan which ultimately results in choosing an occupation which matches our education or skills. But on what basis do we set these goals and make these decisions? Now that it is impossible to go back in time and change the past, what must we do if we want to avoid regrets ten years later?
Depending on its decree, any act, thought, or deed will lead to a certain destiny or result. In other words, whatever we choose, we have also chosen the destiny resulting from it. As we stated, destiny means the result, ordinance, or product; this literal meaning suggests that any desirable destiny or result is achieved after choosing a certain decree. Or everything has a measure whose price we have to pay in order to get it. For example, the decree of achieving success is hard working. Or in order to achieve a destiny or a result like gaining knowledge, we have to pay the decree or price of studying . If we do not endure the hardships of studying and hard work, we will not achieve the result of gaining knowledge and success. Or we will not achieve the destiny of success with the decree of laziness and boredom. The law of destiny and decree governs all the affairs of the world, even spiritual affairs and the relationship between the human being and God.
The World Is Infallible!
Imagine you bought a product in the market for twice its actual price. As long as you do not know its actual price, you are satisfied with your purchase, but as soon as you realize its true value, you feel a sense of loss and discontent. Now think about someone who has spent all his life acquiring some perfections. Although these perfections are valuable and precious, they have been achieved at an excessively high price. In addition, they have prevented the person from acquiring the main perfections. It is like someone who bought a counterfeit product instead of a special brand one that he intended to buy. Even though the fake product seems to work well, it is still considered a loss because it is bought at a very high price.
As we stated, the one who does not know the best decrees will not be able to receive the best destinies because the world has been created infallible and no phenomenon happens in it without a cause. In the language of philosophy, the law of destiny and decree is called cause and effect reasoning. This system indicates that the general law of cause and effect governs the world, and every phenomenon that occurs in the world has a cause. The principle of causality is an innate rule and it does not come from experience. For example, as soon as a baby hears a sound, he turns his face towards it to find its cause.
God has created the entire system of creation by His will based on the relationship between cause and effect or decree and destiny. God’s desire and will has been to create a system where every choice results in a specific outcome. In other words, the law of destiny and decree is the manifestation of the two names of God, the Judge and the Ordainer. As a result, if we do not choose the right decree, we will inevitably be caught up in its destiny or result.
Among these, there are also decrees and destinies that are beyond a person’s control or choice. For example, we do not choose our family or place of birth and we have no choice but to accept them. But we have a different duty toward the decrees that we have chosen. Primarily, we must know all the decrees and their status in our existential hierarchy, and we must be able to correctly distinguish the decrees of our human dimension from that of other dimensions and then try to achieve them.
In this article, we explained the meaning of the law of destiny and decree. We stated that the world is an infallible system which operates according to the way it has been created. As a result, if we know this systematic and mathematical structure correctly and regulate our decisions, behaviors, thoughts, and deeds based on the mathematics governing the world, we will never suffer any loss.
[1]. Qada
[2]. Qadar