🚪 The Doors of Destiny and the Urgency of Action
“And they have faith in destiny be it good or bad.” This Prophetic hadith, concerning the articles of faith, enshrines a fundamental belief in the concept of Qadar (Divine Decree or destiny). To the faithful, it means everything that occurs—joy or sorrow, success or setback—is part of a larger, divinely ordered plan.
However, this deep-seated belief is often misunderstood as a passive resignation, a call to simply wait for the hand of fate to move us. It is the spiritual equivalent of sitting before a locked door, patiently hoping it will swing open on its own. While one must indeed have faith that the path intended for them will unfold, true faith in destiny is not about waiting for doors to open, but about knocking and preparing for the moment they do.
🏃 The Impetus of Faith: The Story of the Hijra
If destiny sets the stage, it is righteous action that builds the play. When theological destiny meets human persecution and necessity, the result is a strategic, determined movement—an exodus.
The Hijra (Migration) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE stands as a definitive historical example of how an inevitable destiny requires extraordinary human problem-solving.
The Problem-Solving of Destiny (622 CE)
The early Muslim community faced escalating, existential persecution in Mecca. They had reached an impasse: their destiny was to establish a faith and a community, but the environment of Mecca made this physically and spiritually impossible. The Prophet ultimately received the divine command to migrate. This was the destiny (Qadar) decided from above.
Yet, this destiny was not fulfilled through a passive miracle. It required immense, calculated risk and strategy—the Action Point of change:
- The Evasion Plan: The Prophet did not simply walk out. He entrusted his cousin, Ali, to sleep in his bed to deceive the assassins who waited outside. He left secretly with his companion, Abu Bakr, not heading directly toward Medina, but first traveling in the opposite direction to hide in the Cave of Thawr for three nights, shaking off his Meccan pursuers.
- The Network of Support: The success of the journey depended entirely on a network of coordinated, human actions: a guide who knew the untrodden paths, a youth who risked his life to sleep in the leader’s place, and a sister who secretly delivered food.
The Hijra teaches a profound lesson: the door to establishing the new life (Medina) was opened by a divine decree (destiny), but the physical act of moving through it required detailed planning, courage, and execution by the migrants (human will). The event was so pivotal that it became the starting point of the entire Islamic calendar (Anno Hegirae).
Geopolitical Destiny: The Return of Hong Kong (1997)
Similarly, in geopolitical history, the return of Hong Kong in 1997 illustrates an inevitable destiny that was carved into a document a century earlier. The 99-year lease on the New Territories created an unyielding deadline—the ultimate, irreversible destiny. Yet, the peaceful transition and the establishment of the “One Country, Two Systems” framework were products of years of tireless human negotiation, compromise, and strategy.
In both cases, human agency was the engine that brought the decreed outcome into physical reality.
⚖️ Judgment Day: The Ultimate Action Point
The lesson from the Hijra and the Handover is that destiny is not a place to wait; it is a direction to move. This principle brings us back to the urgency of our individual lives and the ultimate reckoning.
The certainty of a final, irreversible judgment (Yawm al-Qiyamah) makes today the essential moment for change.
The spiritual weight of Judgment Day reframes this historical concept of Qadar into a personal one. If great geopolitical events unfold according to a long-term decree, our own lives are likewise moving toward a pre-set deadline—the end of our appointed time. The certainty of this accountability (Hisab) injects a fierce urgency into the present moment.
- Inaction is a Choice: If every choice is recorded and will be weighed, then inaction itself is a choice with consequences. Just as the Prophet and his companions acted decisively in the face of their decree, we must face our final reckoning with a life of positive deeds actively pursued.
| Misconception (Passive Waiting) | Action Point (Active Faith) |
| “If it is meant to be, it will happen.” (Resignation) | “I must work to make it happen, as my effort is part of my destiny.” (Responsibility) |
| Patience as Inaction (Sitting idle, fearing failure) | Patience as Perseverance (Continuing righteous efforts despite obstacles and fear) |
| Focus on the Past (Regret and ‘if only…’) | Focus on the Present (Repentance and immediate course correction) |
✨ The Synergy of Will and Willpower
The highest form of faith in destiny lies in harmonizing the Divine Will (destiny, Qadar) with Human Willpower (free choice, Ikhtiyar).
Faith in destiny provides peace—the quiet acceptance that not everything is within our control, allowing us to bear inevitable hardships without despair. But the core tenet of the faith also calls us to exert maximum effort, to strive in improving the self and the world—an active struggle known as Jihad al-Nafs.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was once asked: “Should we not depend upon our destiny and give up doing anything?” He replied: “No, but rather do good deeds, for everyone is facilitated to do what he has been created for.”
You are not merely an observer of fate; you are an active participant in its unfolding. The door to destiny opens not to those who merely wait for an inevitable date, but to those whose strategic, brave, and sustained effort proves their readiness and sincerity for the opportunities that moment brings.
🌟 Active Faith: Embracing Destiny Through Action
The profound teaching that one must have “faith in destiny be it good or bad” is not a prescription for spiritual paralysis, but a mandate for Active Faith. True belief in Qadar (Divine Decree) transforms us from passive spectators into dedicated agents. It means understanding that the path to our destined outcome—whether the establishment of a new community like the Hijra or the peaceful resolution of a century-old geopolitical question like the Hong Kong Handover—is paved not with wishful thinking, but with deliberate, strategic, and often courageous human effort. Destiny sets the goalpost and the deadline; our actions are the means by which we run the race. This active engagement relieves us of crippling anxiety over what we cannot control, allowing us to focus our entire will on the moment-to-moment choices that we can.
Embracing destiny through action is the ultimate form of spiritual maturity. By recognizing that the certainty of an ultimate judgment is the most powerful action point of our lives, we are compelled to cease waiting for the metaphorical door to open and to start knocking with diligence. Every morning becomes a new opportunity for Jihad al-Nafs—the struggle to better the self, to act justly, and to pursue goodness with urgency. This proactive approach ensures that when the appointed time comes, whether in a historical treaty or on the ultimate Day of Reckoning, we are found not in a state of resignation, but in a position of readiness, having fully exhausted our free will in the pursuit of righteous deeds.
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