Whatever Is Written for You Will Come to You– There is benefit in the Western mentality of “get it done,” but wisdom lies in leaving off the “at all costs.” This is the balance Islam teaches. For those of us living in the West—especially those not raised as Muslims—qadar (divine will or destiny) can be a difficult concept to grasp. The Western world insists that we make our own destiny and should pursue our goals no matter what. That attitude has indeed driven remarkable advances and discoveries, benefiting humanity greatly.
But as Muslims, should we consider that approach rash? How do we reconcile Allah’s ordained destiny with our free will? And how do we explain that, despite divine decree, we must still strive?
Whatever Is Written for You Will Come to You — What Is Qadar?
As Muslims, we know that whatever is written for us will unerringly come to us—whether fortune or calamity. Yet we also know we must exert effort to pursue our goals. Islam does not forbid the Western “go-get-’em” spirit; it tempers it with wisdom.
Some of that wisdom is the understanding that what comes to us could never have missed us, and what misses us could never have reached us. Recognizing this, we neither grieve over nor exceed the limits Allah has set for things not meant for us.
But if Allah has already ordained everything, how can we have free will? First, we must remember that Allah’s knowledge is absolute. We—created beings—experience time linearly: past, present, future. Allah, the Creator of time itself, is not bound by it. He perfectly knows the future just as He created the past and present. Although He knows and has decreed future events, we still possess free will in the present to choose intentions and actions, whether or not they yield the intended result.
Because we do not see the future, we are motivated to act—to exercise our free will. And our striving for good is precisely what earns us reward:
{Whoever works righteousness—whether male or female—while he (or she) is a true believer, verily to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment, and lawful provision), and We shall certainly reward them according to the best of what they used to do (i.e., Paradise in the Hereafter).} (Quran 16:97)
Whatever Is Written for You Will Come to You — The Futility of Exceeding Limits
While we have free will to strive for future good, we must not exceed Allah’s limits. Suppose we intend to build an orphanage. We will be rewarded for that righteous intention and effort, even though the ultimate outcome rests with Allah. But if we steal to fund the orphanage, we mix illicit means with noble ends. Allah’s will could have ensured the orphanage’s construction without our wrongdoing—so what benefit is there in corrupting our actions?
Again, the Islamic path strikes the balance between “get it done” and “at all costs.” We may strive our utmost, but never by transgressing divine boundaries, for the result is already written.
Real-Life Example: The Shrimp Story
In hindsight, we all recall times when no amount of effort yielded a desired result—proof that “what is written will come to you.” I have many such examples.
The Story of the Shrimp
Once, my husband and I invited a sister and her family for dinner. I planned to cook my favorite Creole dish—shrimp étouffée—and share it with them. As I prepared at home, I made my shopping list and went to the store. At checkout, however, the cashier could not ring up the shrimp. She tried repeatedly, but the register simply would not recognize the item. Every other purchase scanned normally, yet the shrimp refused to register.
Perplexed, I returned the shrimp to the shelf and chose an alternative. Later, when I explained what had happened, the sister revealed she was deathly allergic to shrimp—something I had never known. In that moment, Allah’s wisdom became clear: I was never meant to serve shrimp to her family, and He protected them through that strange cashier error.
Allah willing, I will still be rewarded for my intention and effort. Yet nothing I could have done—no matter how far I exceeded worldly means—would have changed His decree that I not serve that meal.
The Middle Path: Striving Wisely
What is meant for us will come; what is not meant for us will never come. There is no mistake in what we miss or what we receive. That is Allah’s will. Yet it remains our responsibility to strive with righteous intention and obedience to His limits.
Islam’s wisdom lies between fatalism and reckless ambition. It teaches us to do our best while trusting that the outcome is in Allah’s hands. That is the balanced, middle path.
By Theresa Corbin
