Lesson video

Hello, welcome students.

It's Mr. Latif, once again and today in our learning, we'll be looking at the following, To believe in predestination, which is the final of the six articles of faith that we have been looking at.

So today's lesson is really interesting and it has a lot of philosophy in it as well.

So today we will be exploring, what is predestination and how does it impact the life of a Muslim.

Now as always, you know, there's five things that you need.

If you don't have them, please ensure that you do have the now, which is your exercise books or some line paper, a black or blue pen, a different coloured pen for any corrections, those attentive ears, and that curious brain.

Now, once you have them, let's get into our learning for today.

So welcome to our learning today.

Once again, your title is predestination.

And today, once again, we'll be exploring what predestination is and how it impacts the life of a Muslim.

So it's a really interesting lesson.

And I would say, it's actually not that easy.

So those attentive ears will be really important.

And if you leave today's lesson, hopefully with a good understanding, I could say that I'd be really, really proud of you.

This is actually something that I teach at a A level standard.

So if you can get it at your age, you know, you'll be fantastic being able to do a subject like religious studies or philosophy and ethics at A level.

Now, as always those things, please ensure that you do have the following five things.

If you do not have them, this is a great opportunity for you now, just to pause the video and to ensure that you have them on you.

If not, let's continue on.

So, before we go into our learning today, of what predestination is an Islam and how it impacts the life of a Muslim, let's look at what does it mean.

So what does predestined mean? Well, what it means is the following, all events have been willed by God in advance.

And at this point you could be thinking, what does that really mean? So a key thing here is that all events that occurred only occur 'cause God has willed it to do so or to be.

So, for example, if I was to walk out in a moment and I was going for a cycle and let's say I fell over that event was predestined, okay.

So it was predestined that I was meant to fall over 'cause God willed and God allowed for it to occur.

There's the idea that God is all powerful, omnipotent, and God is the cause of all actions as well.

So what I'd like for you to think about here, is the following, are you responsible for your actions if your life is predestined? So all the actions that you do in your life, good actions, bad actions, the choices that you make, if your life is predestined, are you responsible for them? So for this task, I'd like you to write down that question in red.

And I'd like for you to spend five minutes on this task, this is a thinking task.

So there's no right or wrong answer, it's entirely what you think.

But the really important thing, as always, in a thinking task is I would like for you to justify your reasons.

So give me some reasons, and I'll see you in five minutes.

So if you could pause the video now and see you in five.

So welcome back.

How's that question? Did it make you think a lot for your curious brain? If so, fantastic.

So you could have had arguments for, or arguments against.

So if you said, yes, you are still responsible.

You may have said actually it's because we still make our own choices and own decisions.

For example, the one example that I gave you just a moment ago of me going outside for a cycle, it was still a choice that I made and maybe actually me falling over, maybe cause it's one of my actions or decisions.

Maybe I was going too fast and that's why I fell over.

Or maybe I was, you know, being a bit irresponsible, and that's why I fell over.

So really important then in terms of choices and decisions, mean actually that we are responsible for our actions.

Now on the counter, you may have had the following, actually Mr. Latif, if everything has already been willed, and everything has already been decided, then actually, I can't be held responsible for my actions.

So this is a really interesting part of religion, the idea of predestination and how it impacts a Muslim.

So let's look at what predestination is in Islam.

So predestination in Islam is known as Qadr.

And Qadr in Arabic has many meanings, but the key meaning that we're looking at from this roots is to the decree of Allah or predestination.

So things only occur by the decree of Allah.

Allah allows it to occur.

Allah wills for it to occur.

So therefore it's happens.

Now, Qadr is one of the six articles of faith.

And we've been looking at the five different articles during the course of this learning.

And the key thing where Qadr or predestination is divine decree is that, Allah had decided everything that would happen in the world.

So it's His idea.

God has planned out everything.

So what's really interesting and very important within Islam is how God creates, and what does God say about himself and the creation? So before God creates the universe, the first thing God creates is the pen, and he tells the pen to write, and the pen writes down everything that will occur from the start to the end.

And this is in the preserved tablets.

So this is an idea or key belief within Islam, that the first thing that other creating was the pen and the pen wrote down everything that was going to occur.

Even this right now, according to Muslims, you watching this video right now, or me recording this video for you right now.

So that's really interesting, isn't it? This idea that God has planned out everything.

Now also, what does Qadr tell us about God? Well, what it tells us is the following.

If God has decreed it for it to occur, it will.

If God has not decreed it, it will not occur.

The things only occur by the decree of God, by his power.

And God has measured out parts of our life.

So in Islam, it is believed that certain things are predestined.

For example, when you are born and when you have died, how long your lifespan is.

Also your gender and also your wealth.

So this is quite interesting, isn't it? That these things have already been decreed for you.

But does that mean that you don't have responsibility to your actions.

No, you do.

Now, as I mentioned just before, there is a preserved tablet.

Yes, so remember what I said, there is a pen and had written down everything, but there's also the erasing and stating tablet according to some Muslims. So the majority of Muslims, the Sunni and also within the Shiah tradition, believe in the erasing and stating tablet.

So what is this tablet? Well, maybe there's something that was written in a preserved tablet, but by the actions that you do, something may be erased or something may be added on in that tablet.

So does that mean that things change? No, not necessarily.

So this is really important, even when you use your own choices on your own responsibilities and your own free-will, God still wills for it to occur.

And in some cases, God may not will for it to occur.

So this is really important when we look at later on with this term known as insha'Allah, which is a really important term that many Muslims use, which refers back to predestination.

Now, continuing on, God's knowledge unlimited, He is the knower of all.

So God is a knower of all actions.

And also God is a knower of all of our intentions as well.

And actions and deeds only occur if God allows it to do so.

And this is to do with the power of God.

So Qadr really tells us much about God.

It really tells us about the nature of God and his power, according to Muslims. So how does Qadr also linked to the qualities of God.

Now we've already looked at the 99 names and attributes of Allah, previously in a lesson.

So let's look at some of these key terms. Where am I going here? There're just over here.

So Al Qadir, the all powerful.

Al Kaliq, the creator.

Al Alim, the all knower.

Al Haseeb, the bringer of judgement.

What interesting characteristics and attributes of God.

God being all powerful, from his power, the divine decree occurs.

Al Kaliq, God being the creator, the creator of these actions.

He is the possessor of the ability to perform these actions.

Al Alim, the knower.

God knows everything that will occur.

We don't, which is really interesting when we look at faith and suffering.

And this really helps the Muslims to kind of comprehend that they may not have knowledge of certain things, but to put their trust in God.

Al Haseeb, the bringer of judgement.

So the judgement that will occur on the day of judgement , which links back to our previous learning as well.

So some really interesting attributes of God there and how they link to the concept of Qadr, known as divine decree or predestination.

Now at this point of the video, I like for you to do the following.

Can I please ask that you pause the video in just the moment and answer this question.

What is predestination, known as Qadr and what do Muslims believe about it? So for this task, I'd like to give you 10 minutes.

Let's see how much you can recap from this attentive ears and that curious brain, and I'll see you in 10 minutes.

Welcome back.

How did you do? Let's look at our answers together.

So there's any corrections that you need to make, please ensure you too.

And what's in bold and in a different colours, where there is red, green, or blue, these are some key things that you may have included in terms of key words.

So Qadr for Muslims, is the belief in the decree of Allah, also known as predestination.

Hopefully you've got that down.

Muslims believe that everything happens as a result of Allah's will.

And that Allah is in charge of everything in our lives.

Muslims believe that God has planned out everything, yet Muslims still have free-will.

Now this links to the 99 names and attributes of God known as Al Kaliq, the meaning creator and Al Qadir meaning the all powerful.

And it's also, as mentioned previously, one of the six articles of faith.

So at this point of the video, I'd like for you to do the following.

Could you read back your answer to yourself and then pause the video and see if there's any corrections that you need to make.

And if so, just take three minutes to add anything on to your paragraph.

So welcome back.

And an opportunity for you now to do another thing can task.

So here's three questions I'd like for you to answer.

If God knows in advance what you're going to do, does he cause your actions? Are you free? If your actions are already known to God and is it fair for a person to be sent to hell if their life and their actions are already predestined.

So some really big questions there for you to answer.

Now, in order for you to ask these questions, I'd like to give you 15 minutes.

So you should be spending about five minutes on average for each question.

I would like for you to write down these questions.

And then in a moment we're come back together.

So question one, once again, if God knows in advance what you're going to do, does he cause your actions? Number two, are you free if you're actions already known to God.

God already knows what you're going to do.

Are you still free? And question three, is it fair for a person to be sent to hell if their life and actions are already predestined? So I'll see you in 15 minutes and then we'll get some feedback.

So, welcome back.

I hope those questions really puzzled your brain for a moment and made you think really hard.

So here's some feedback or answers you could have had for this first question.

If God knows in advance, what you're going to do, does it cause it actions? Well number one, you could have said the following.

Well, God is a creator all actions, which is really important.

Or you could have said the following, God does cause it, but actually we have our free-will.

Therefore, actually, we still make the choice.

So although God causes it, we still have the choice to perform certain actions.

So that example I gave with a bike, I still have a choice whether to be clumsy or to be maybe, you know, breaking the law and being on my phone whilst I'm on my bicycle, which is, you know, a crime that you shouldn't be committing.

If I'm doing something like that, the choice that I made means I'm going to fall over.

Or if I was being a bit irresponsible and being clumsy and go around a corner too quick, I've still made that choice.

Yeah, I still made that choice.

The idea in predestination, maybe that God has caused that 'cause God is all powerful.

So really interesting question.

Now, the second question that we have, are you free, if your actions are already known to God? You could have said yes, even if God knows I am still free to do what I want.

And this is the gift of free-will and choice.

So God can know that what I'm doing, 'cause he's all knowing, but I still have the choice to do so.

Or you could have said, actually, you know what, Mr. Latif, I'm a bit unsure.

If God already knows, did I even have a choice in the first place? Which is a really interesting part of philosophy.

So this is something that we look at in A level.

Now you're very far away from A level, but you know, if you ever get an opportunity to do so, we look at predestination, the idea of hard determinism, soft determinism, and free-will.

Now the third question that you had there.

Is it fair for a person to be sent to hell if their life and actions are already predestined? You may have said the following, but actually it is fair 'cause God, in his qualities, God is just and God is fair.

And actually we're all held accountable for our own sins.

But you may have said the following, if someone was predestined to do bad actions, are they really responsible for it in the first place? If they're predestined and they lived in an environment where all they know is bad, are they actually responsible for the bad that they're too? 'Cause they may not know what good is.

So this is a really interesting part of the ideas and the question behind predestination.

Moving on, and now looking at Qadr and human freedom.

So let's look at what predestination is and what the Muslims believe about human freedom.

So according to Islam and according to Muslim belief, God has created humankind with the ability of free-will.

And we find this with prophet Adam.

Remember prophet Adam, the first of humanity, according to Muslims, he has free-will.

And he uses his free-will to do something bad, which is he is tempted by Iblis Shaitan, who's known as the devil, to eat from the tree of eternity.

so we can understand free-will can be used for good or for bad.

And there's also do with the human freedom, there's intentions and deeds.

And I've mentioned this before.

You may have an attention to do something and it may be that you can't physically do that action.

You still get the reward of intention and that deed is the action itself.

So there's good deeds and there's bad deeds.

Now the Qur'an says the following, enjoying what is right and forbidding what is wrong and those will be successful.

So the Qur'an clearly states that the ones who followed the Sharia, the divine law of Allah, the ones that follow the Sunnah, which is the way of the prophet and the one that follows, you know, the way of the many prophets, the religious teachers, the scholars, et cetera, they should enjoy what is right and forbid what is wrong.

And they will be successful.

So this is to do morality.

Knowing what is right to know and what is wrong.

And the Qur'an also says the following, "And surely you will be questioned about "what you used to do." So this is really interesting, isn't it? About what you used to do? So this is the idea that you have freedom and you have responsibility.

So those choices that you make, as we may remember from last week's learning, on the day of judgement , that I linked to this idea that you will be questioned about the actions that you did, and then there'll be weighed on the scales and then the crossing of As Sirat bridge.

So here's an example that I'm going to give you about human freedom and Qadr.

So there is a father and there was a son.

Now the father knows his son very well and in advance, what he's going to do.

So he knows the son very well, and he can probably work out, by patterns and by behaviour, what he's going to do.

So he gives his son two choices, lemon sherbets.

Yeah, my favourite sweet.

You can never go wrong with some lemon sherbets.

So he gives his son the choice of lemon sherbets or an Apple.

Lemon sherbet or an apple.

So he's going to give his son these two choices.

Now the father is very son.

Sorry, the father is very sure that the son will choose the lemon sherbet.

But that's not to say the sun will be forced.

It would still be the son's own choice.

When he's being given two things, the son still has a choice whether he picks lemon sherbets which looks like my tie today, or the green apple.

Now, just because the father knows that the son would pick lemons sherbets, it doesn't mean that the son would not be given some real choice.

The son still has the choice of picking one of the two.

So this is a good way to understand what predestination is, and human freedom.

That God still has an understanding of the choices that you make, but you are still given the real choice to either enjoying in the good or to forbid the evil.

to do right or to do wrong.

So you still have that free-will.

Now there was my example.

What I would like for you to do now is the following.

So you've looked at my example there with the lemon sherbet and the father and son and the apple.

Now I would like for you to spend 10 minutes to either writes up what to do in your own storyboard, your own example.

So can you come up with your own example now for the next 10 minutes, which explores predestination, freewill, and choice.

You can use my type of format that you can have a father and a son or a mother and a daughter, and the two choices.

And I would like to give you 10 minutes and then we'll back in 10.

Welcome back.

And to check your work, I'd love to see at the end of the lesson, when you're sharing your work, after getting permission from a trusted adult, with the #LearnwithOak or @OaknationalAcademy.

It's an opportunity for me to see your work on the storyboard.

Now I'm just going to disappear for a moment, just as I explained the next task.

For your task now is to do the following.

We have these verses from the Qur'an on Qadr, and you just have two simple verses from the Qur'an.

What I'd like for you to do is to copy this table.

Now to a copy this table is the first thing that you will do.

And then I'd like for you to do the following task on the right hand side.

Investigate into explore what the first means.

So read the verse and then on the right hand side, what does this tell us about Qadr and how would it impact the life of a Muslim.

So two verses there and for this task I'd like to give you 15 minutes and then we'll get feedback in 15.

So could I please ask you to pause the video now and I'll see you in 15 minutes.

Welcome back.

Hopefully that was a task that you found interesting.

There's nothing like looking at some scripture within lessons, such as Ari.

So the first verse here, "Never will you be struck except by "what Allah has decreed for us.

"He is our protector and upon Allah let the believers rely." So this tells us that nothing would happen except for the power and the will of Allah.

And the will of Allah refers to Qadr, the decree of Allah, predestination.

And Muslims believe and put their trust in Allah in whatever has been predestined for them.

And the second verse, "Whoever does righteousness, "it is for his own soul.

"And whoever does evil does so against it.

"And your Lord is not ever unjust to His servants." So this tells us that humans are still accountable and responsible for their actions, both have good deeds and bad deeds.

Although things are predestined, we still have free-will and choice.

So at this part of the video, if there's anything left for you to add, please feel free to do so now by pausing the video.

Welcome back.

So now let's look at how belief in Qadr impacts the life of a Muslim.

So number one, they're definitely going to put their trust in Allah 'cause they believe, as Muslims, that the following, if God has predestined everything for it to occur, that God is to knower of all actions and some things we may not be able to understand ourselves.

So they put their trust in God.

And also reminds them to exercise their free-will and to follow the Qur'an, the divine law of Allah and the Sunnah, the way of the prophet.

Qadr also helps Muslims to deal with calamities are worries.

There maybe that something tragic occurs in their life, for example, the death of someone, or maybe that they lose their job, reminds them that was predestined.

It was already written and willed by God.

So if God willed it, it kind of gives him a bit of hope that God is a planner and there's a really famous verse in the Qur'an.

"They plan and He plans, "and Allah is best of planners." So this is really important when a calamity or a worry or sadness occurs, that is part of God's plan.

And we may not be able to understand God's plan.

So maybe that God has decreed something for us to occur.

For example, let's say losing a job and maybe that God decreed for someone to lose their job, that's going to be really sad.

That's going to be really, really difficult for that person, but maybe God's done it for a reason, for example, and maybe because actually the company was going to go bursts in three months.

So actually by losing your job a bit earlier, you're able to get another job or maybe actually there was no progress for you in that job.

All of these things that I'm saying may not be known to us as humans, but God is the planner there.

So really important part of where we find that within the Qur'an, is the story of Khidr, which is a really fascinating story.

If you get a chance to read it.

Now, I mentioned this just before the start of the learning, That remember, everything occurs because of Allah's decree and many Muslims will say insha'Allah.

So for example, they may say, the mother or father may say, "You know what? "It's your exam today, good luck.

"Hope it goes well." And they may say, "Yeah, insha'Allah, I do well" If Allah wills it.

It may be that they're revising for a certain topic or a quiz.

And they may say, "Insha'Allah, I do well." So this idea that they can trust in God, if God wills it, it will occur, if God doesn't will it, you know, that's part of God's predestination, God's decree.

So things only 'cause God wills and things only occurs 'cause God doesn't will out at the same time.

And then also impact them to strive to do good and to forbid evil.

Because they don't know what God's plan is, they really want to do really well.

And may be for example, that they don't know that they're going to go to heaven or hell, so they'll really, really use that free-will to strive to do good and forbid evil.

And also there'll be reminded that God is all knowing, and God is all wise.

So some key things there in terms of how Qadr impacts the life of a Muslim.

So for this task, I'd like to give you seven minutes.

And what I've done in his box is just here, is to remind you of some of the key things of how, Qadr impacts the life of a Muslim.

But at this point, rather than having bullet points, I'd like for you to write a paragraph.

So could I ask you to do the following just now, could you please pause the video and to spend seven minutes using the boxes on this side, just here, to help you write a paragraph on the following question, how does Qadr impact on a Muslim's life? And I'll see you in seven minutes.

Welcome back.

Just up here.

So let's look at our feedback and if there's anything that you need to add onto your answer, feel free to do so.

So Qadr impacts on a Muslim's life as they're reminded that everything happens as a result of Allah's will and that nothing is ever random.

It reminds them that Allah has a divine destiny and decree already written that is all-knowing and all powerful.

And it also impacts on a Muslim to do good and forbid evil.

But it also helps them with their worries and sadness because they know everything happens for a reason.

And it impacts them to put their trust in God and to worship Him more.

So you should have had an answer that explores some of those sentences that I've just read.

And if there's anything that you need to add, this is a great opportunity for you to pause the video now, before we get onto our learning.

Moving on, it's your opportunity now for you to do true or false.

As always, you can either just write T or F or if you'd like to write true or false, that's absolutely fine.

You don't have to write the questions.

So true or false, Qadr means free-will? You have five seconds.

And it is false.

Qadr does not mean free-will.

Remember what it means.

Yeah, divine decree or predestination.

Question two, Qadr means the decree of Allah.

True or false? And it is true.

It is decree of Allah, as mentioned just before, the divine decree of Allah.

And it also means predestination.

Next question, question three, everything happens because Allah wills it.

True or false? And it is true.

Muslims believe everything occurs 'cause Allah wills it, and that is the only reason things occur.

Number four, there is no free-will in Islam.

True or false? And it is false.

Remember Muslims believe free-will occurs.

And an example of this is in the story of the Qur'an of prophet Adam.

Question five, Qadr is one of the five articles of faith.

True or false? And it is false.

I tricked you out here.

It's one of the six articles of faith, not five articles of faith.

Next question, question six.

The Qur'an mentions Qadr.

True or false? Three, two, one, and it is true.

The Qur'an does mention Qadr many times.

Question seven, Muslims put their trust in Allah.

True or false? And it is true.

Remember Muslims put their trust in Allah and they accept everything occurs 'cause Allah wills it to be so.

Next question, question eight, You are not responsible for your actions.

True or false? According to Muslims. It is false.

Of course you're responsible for your actions 'cause Muslims believe that you have free-will, so you can make your own choices.

Next question, everyone will go to heaven.

True or false? It is false.

Not everyone will go to heaven.

Only those who are righteous and did good actions.

Next question, Qadr links to the nature of God, his attributes and his characteristics.

Ooh, that's a long question but true or false? And it is true.

Can you remember any of those key attributes of God? If you can, it's a great opportunity for you to write them down now.

So in summary, what have we learned today? Qadr is a divine decree of Allah, which means predestination.

And this has believed, according to Muslims, that everything happens for a reason, as Allah wills it.

And muslims still believe in the concept of free-will.

Human freedom and predestination are compatible and it helps them listen to put their trust in God, to exercise their free-will in a good way.

To enjoy the good and to forbid the evil and to strive to do good.

And also remember, it's not one of the five articles of faith, it is the six articles of faith.

So I really hope you enjoyed our lesson today.

And just as always one small thing left for you to do.

So, just as a reminder, as always, you can share your work with Oak National and it gives me an opportunity to see your own story about predestination and free-will with the choices.

So remember my one, my own story lemon sherbet, or the apple with a father and the son, but I'd really like to see your work.

So please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, tagging @oaksNational or learn with Oak.

And as always, one more thing, that quiz at the end.

So there's five questions for you to answer at the end.

And on that note, I will see you next week.

Take care best wishes and really well done for your fantastic work today.