Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 207
! ! 207 Thus , all rewards are tied with this ability to choose. M an kind has been given the capacity to choose, so that people may be rewarded. O nly t he one wh o is entitled to reward is held liable for punishment. Sometimes , a child falls and he punch es the ground , or some mothers will say, “L et us smack the ground. Why did it t r ip you over?" However, this is no more than a gesture to soothe the child. God says that man has been given the power of choice so that if he wishes , he can attain the best reward , or he will be deserving of H is punishment. Many Muslim men and women declare that ‘ We are as God Almighty made us, therefore there is no need for us to struggle. ’ If this were true, then what right does God have to punish or reward any one of us? God created fire t o burn and water to drown, and even an illiterate person would say it is an act of stupidity for someone to strike the fire for burning and the water for drowning. However, ther e are many women among you, who say that if it is their fate to go to hell , then they shall go to hell and if it is their fate to go to heaven , then they shall go to heaven. T herefore , why make any effort at all? W ater and fire acted according to their nature, so a woman who smacks them would be labelled insane. I f God were to compel a person to do somethi n g, and then punish him for that action , would God not be labelled insane (God forbid) ? After all , the person was only f ulfillin g his destiny. In this way, all robbers , thieves and gamblers are deserving of reward , for they only acted according to the destiny to which they were born. But God refutes this and declares that if He had exercised compulsion , there wo uld have been no disbelievers. I s there anyone among you who would repeatedly beat someone [ so that they would ] curse you or strike your child? If none of you would act in this way, then why should the tongue and ears God has provided you with be used to abuse Him and His Messengers? When no one in this world would compel others to harm him, th en why would God compel people to perform evil deeds? If God wer e to compel His people to do anything , He would compel them to act virtuously. Thus, this is an erroneous notion and God rejects it.