"A Journey from Writing to the Written: Are We Free or Guided?"
A question that nearly shatters minds... fragments logic... and ignites hearts with wonder and awe!
We will not find its key until we first realize: What is destiny?
Destiny, at its core, is a line written in a divine, infallible book.
Penned by the hand of wisdom, not randomness.
It is not chaos, but absolute precision, foreknowledge, a choice greater than you... and beyond your comprehension.
But... does it mean we are slaves with no free will? Are we dragged to our fate as if we are nothing?
The answer shatters all perceptions: Yes... and no.
Before you were flesh, you were a soul—pure, untainted, soaring in the unseen, yearning to descend, awaiting the divine call:
"Be!"
Then begins the journey, a temporary immortality on Earth.
God placed you in a grand mission:
To heal the Earth, to worship your Lord with awareness and love, to be a turning point in a history written by humans and inscribed by souls.
Everything that happens before you understand the world, before you discern, before you choose...
is destiny.
Your birthplace? Destiny.
Your family? Destiny.
The unspoken pains of your childhood? Destiny.
But wait...
Do you think it’s injustice? No! It is absolute justice.
Had you been given the choice, you would have chosen what destroys you!
God places you where you suffer, so you may awaken.
He places you where you are tested, so you may grow stronger.
He places you in poverty? Perhaps because within you lies a treasure unearthed only by hunger!
Born into a corrupt household? Perhaps because you are the light that will burn away their darkness and revive life within them!
You were not created to live for yourself... but to be a message.
The soul was breathed into you not just to eat and sleep... but to transform, illuminate, and exist.
Yet God, in His mercy, does not leave you forever under the wing of destiny.
When your mind matures, when you grasp your essence, when you distinguish good from evil,
He gradually withdraws the divine pen...
And another pen begins:
Your own.
Here begins the battle between what was written for you and what you write with your hand.
Will you fulfill the mission?
Or flee?
Will you light your path despite the wounds?
Or curse destiny and collapse?
God intervenes only when you walk toward an abyss you cannot see,
Closing a door, shattering a dream, distancing a beloved,
Not to punish you...
But to save you.
And here arises a pivotal question: What is the difference between the pen of destiny... and the pen of accountability?
The difference is between being led... and leading!
Between a stage where you are guided and one where you are accountable for every step!
Between a spiritual childhood where God tests you and an intellectual maturity where you test yourself!
The pen of destiny is the one that inscribes events that must unfold,
Written upon you, imposed upon you, for a wisdom you may not yet grasp—but it flows in your favor.
It designs your test... even before you understand the questions!
Imagine a child sitting in an exam hall, knowing nothing...
The questions are complex, the mind still tender and young...
Destiny steps in to choose the best answers for them, to guide them without their awareness,
Because God does not surrender you to the world before arming you,
Nor tests you before preparing you!
As for the pen of accountability... it is the exam itself,
But now you know the subject, understand the questions, see the path clearly,
You possess awareness and choice,
And here, the decision is yours:
Will you walk toward the light or lose yourself in darkness?
Will you build yourself or destroy yourself?
And thus, the pen of accountability writes based on your choices, not what was imposed on you.
Therefore, to understand the essence of destiny,
You must know that destiny is not what happens to you,
But the path you choose to navigate what happens to you!
Here, we distinguish between two profound concepts: destiny and the unseen.
Do not confuse them!
The unseen is what God knows about you,
He knows what you will do, what you will choose, and how your fate will unfold,
But this knowledge is not a written line that forces you to follow it!
God knows that when you face a certain situation, you will choose a certain path,
But He does not compel you,
He does not dictate your actions,
He only knows,
For knowledge is one thing,
And forced inscription is another entirely.
As for the illness, poverty, loss, or calamity that befalls you,
It is not a destiny that reflects your weakness,
But a test that reveals your strength!
Remember:
Destiny guides you when your awareness is weak,
And accountability begins when you become capable of discernment.
From this, we understand:
Destiny is not a shackle, but preparation.
The unseen is not injustice, but knowledge.
The test is not torment, but an opportunity to discover who you are,
And to prove to God... that you are worthy.
Does this mean destiny ends when a person becomes rational?
For God, in His mercy, never abandons you... neither in your weakness nor your strength,
Neither in your ignorance nor your knowledge,
Not even when you believe you discern all things and understand all paths.
For even after your mind reaches its peak, and you think you are capable of making the right decision,
You may err...
You may think there is good in a matter, when it is evil,
Or chase an illusion you see as light, when it is fire.
Here... destiny intervenes anew.
Not to oppress you, but to mercy you.
For God, your Creator, knows you better than you know yourself,
He sees what you cannot, and knows the outcomes of matters before you take your first step.
If He sees your choice leading you to ruin,
And you walking blindly with a deceived mind...
Destiny intervenes to save you.
Even if it contradicts your desire,
Because He knows what you do not,
And sees good where you cannot,
And arranges for you when you cannot arrange for yourself.
Here arises a question echoed by people since time immemorial:
Does prayer change destiny?
The answer: Yes. It can turn it upside down.
But... not every prayer is answered,
And not every call is heard by God,
For prayer has doors that open only with keys, and a path that is walked only with purity.
If you want your prayer to touch the gates of heaven,
Purify your heart first.
No prayer ascends with an atom of arrogance, malice, or envy.
No request is granted unless it is sincere, truthful, and pure,
Emerging from a heart that loves God and loves good for others as it loves it for itself.
Then know that prayer alone is not enough,
For God does not answer those who ask while sitting motionless.
You pray for success? Then begin striving.
You pray for wealth? Then seek work, an idea, an effort.
Prayer without action is like a ship without sails.
It will not move, nor arrive, no matter how the winds blow.
But when you act and pray,
When you sow and supplicate,
When you labor and prostrate,
Then prayer becomes a supernatural force,
Multiplying your results,
Paving paths,
And revealing roads you would never see with your eyes alone.
Prayer is not a substitute for action,
But the fuel of action.
The energizer of the soul, the guide of the heart, the compass of the lost, and the aid of the seekers.
So do not say, "I prayed, and it was not answered"...
Ask yourself:
Did you truly strive?
Did you pray with a sincere heart?
Was your prayer out of love... or greed?
And here arises a question simple in appearance... profound in essence:
Is failure written destiny, or a choice stemming from us?
The answer... depends on the circumstances.
For when you strive, struggle, and exhaust all your efforts,
Yet fail in the end due to a circumstance beyond your control,
Then this failure is destiny.
Indeed, it is pure divine destiny, no doubt,
For God, in His knowledge and wisdom, withheld that success from you,
Because He knows what you do not,
And knows that the success you weep for
Would have led you to a dark path or stripped you of something greater.
But if the failure resulted from laziness, negligence, or a wrong choice,
It is not destiny... but your own choice.
So do not hang your mistakes on the peg of destiny,
Nor make God’s will a cloak to escape your responsibility.
Evil?
Evil, too, is your choice.
You choose to be kind or wicked,
To forgive or avenge,
To build or destroy.
God gave you the mind, the light, the proof,
And left you the freedom to walk.
Yes... we choose,
We choose most details of our lives,
We choose our path, our actions, our reactions,
And in the end... we are accountable for what we chose.
And here we arrive at the two strangest questions of all:
Are death and love part of destiny? Or our choice?
As for death,
Its time is written, neither advanced nor delayed a moment.
It is a fixed instant, unchanged by anything,
Except prayer...
For prayer may lengthen your life,
Or alter your appointed time, for it is among the greatest keys to mercy.
But... the manner of death?
Here, choice returns.
You will die at the appointed time,
But... how will you die?
Will you die in sin? Or in obedience?
Will you die drowned in sins? Or pure as if newly born?
Will you die great, mourned by hearts?
Or die unnoticed by anyone?
This is your choice.
God knows how you will die,
Because He knows what you choose,
But He did not force the manner.
Here lies the fundamental difference between "knowledge" and "inscription."
God knows... but He does not compel.
For you script the scenario of your end,
And you write the final chapter of your life,
With your hands, your actions, and what your soul conceals.
As for love... it is the greatest of existence’s secrets, and one of its miracles.
For it is the meeting of souls before their descent to this world.
Not a whim, nor a moment of admiration, nor a longing for attention...
But a feeling that precedes the body, dwells in the soul, and springs from the unseen, from the time of souls before bodies were created.
True love is not understood by the mind... but felt.
When you see it, you feel you’ve met before, as if you’ve encountered yourself in their eyes, and you find peace... and grant them peace.
It does not complete you, but awakens what is within you. It sees you in your weakness and pain, and loves you as you are.
It does not pretend, does not flatter, does not fear your frailty, but embraces it and strengthens you when you collapse.
In true love, there is no pride to distance, but prayer to draw near, and a fear for you as if you are the soul itself.
It does not possess you, but matures you... raises you on truth, patience, and purity.
And if it departs, you pray for it... you do not hate, but love in silence, and become stronger, purer, cleaner—so it may return and see you as it never has before.
True love is not granted to all, for it is sustenance... and sometimes a test.
If your heart is pure, and your soul sincere, God sends you one who becomes your homeland... and you become theirs.
And I conclude with a verse from the Holy Quran:
"Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves."