Answer
Salam Dear Brother,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Allah has wrote His plan and kept it in what is called the “Preserved Tablet.” He had this plan before He created anything. Then, humans, like the jinn, were created with a free will.
Understanding Free Will
We are free to choose between good and bad, between obedience to Allah and disobedience. This is one of the main distinctions between us and Allah’s angels, who do not possess this ability.
They are commanded and they obey Allah without fail; they do not ask why or why not. But Allah knew what would occur in all places and times before He wrote anything. Once His plan was written, fully knowing what would occur in His Creation, our destinies were set.
Our free will, though, is not hindered in Allah’s knowing the future. He knows what we will choose and the results of those choices. Just because He knows what we will do, and even all of the ramifications of those choices, this does not change the fact that the choice was ours alone.
According to His divine decree He allows some of what we plan to do to be fulfilled while preventing other plans. This is all in His infinite wisdom and for His own divine reasons.
On the Day of Judgement
This is why we will be held accountable for what we have done on the Day of Judgment. We will earn eternal Paradise, through His mercy of forgiving our mistakes, or we will earn eternal Hellfire because of our own selfish choices and refusal to follow guidance. No one will have forced us to choose one path or the other.
Nothing happens in this life except what Allah allows to occur, good or bad. It is not Allah’s fault if evil is allowed to spread on the earth; the fault is ours alone.
He has given us everything we need to live peaceful and prosperous lives, and the guidance of prophets to keep us on the straight path; however, we often refuse to follow His guidance. The results are that we suffer from negative choices or that we benefit from positive ones.
Having said that, Allah may change what He has written or destined in response to our sincere du`aa’ (supplication), asking Allah for guidance and mercy in this life and on the Day of Judgment. May Allah guide us all to what pleases Him.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.
(From Ask About Islam archive)