Answer
Wa Alaykom Assalam Dear Brother,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
We highly appreciate your keenness to seek the truth about the purpose of our creation and our responsibility towards our deeds.
Muslims believe that it is God (Allah) who created everything and it is He who has the control over everything. Nothing happens without God’s knowledge. Everything in this universe is subject to God’s laws.
Understanding these laws is the key to opening the secrets of this universe, paving the ways to making use of its uncountable treasures and facilitating our mission in constructing our human life on the basis of virtues and cleansing it from vices.
Muslims believe that everything is determined by Allah and that everything in this universe happens by His will. This is called belief in qadar (predestination) which is the sixth article of the Islamic faith. One’s faith is incomplete unless believing inqadar. Part of this belief is that everything is known to Allah.
When God created man, He instructed him to be His vicegerent. Therefore, the creation of human beings was not a haphazard creation. God created man and honored him over other creations; He made other creations to his servitude. When God created man, He made him testimony to be his Lord:
{[Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were not aware of this,’} (Al-A`raf 7:172)
So our creation in the first place is a purpose-oriented creation though we had no choice to exist but it is God’s wisdom.
After the creation comes the issue of guidance. We are told that God guides whom he wants:
{The foolish people will say, ‘What has turned them away from the prayer direction they used to face?’ Say, ‘East and West belong to God. He guides whoever He will to the right way.’} (Al-Baqarah 2:142)
Commentators of the Quran view that the verse means God guides ‘he’ who wants to be guided. So the choice in the case of guidance is ours. We can distinguish between what is good and what is bad. God does not make us believers or unbelievers but it is our own belief which we base on our free choice and responsibility.
With regard to being accountable and responsible for our actions, we have to understand that we are responsible because we have a free will. But this freewill doesn’t operate outside the will of Allah who gave us the ability to make our choices. Allah says:
{But you will only wish to do so by the will of God, the Lord of all people.} (At-Takweer 81:29)
It is true that we do not have the choice of certain things in our lives such as when we are born, who are our parents, when we are going to die, we will be rich or poor, etc. But we are given the will to react to these situations and how our responsibilities will be.
Human responsibility depends on our freedom of choice and moral judgment. If we had no freedom of will or choice, we would not deserve praise or blame for any action we do. On human responsibility, we read the following verses:
{Corruption has flourished on land and sea as a result of people’s actions and He will make them taste the consequences of some of their own actions so that they may turn back.} (Ar-Rum 30:41)
{Whatever misfortune befalls you [people], it is because of what your own hands have done– God forgives much.} (Ash-Shura 42:30)
Therefore we are held accountable for the things we do because we have free will to do certain things and ignore others. We are responsible because we have a role to play and a mission to accomplish.
If we didn’t have a choice to exist in the first place, Islam has made the freedom to exist one of the main objectives of the Shari`ah. Islam made it a crime to take the life of people for no reason. If someone kills one person unjustly, it is as if he has killed the entire mankind. We read in the Quran what means:
{On account of [his deed], We decreed to the Children of Israel that if anyone kills a person– unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land– it is as if he kills all mankind, while if any saves a life it is as if he saves the lives of all mankind. Our messengers came to them with clear signs, but many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.} (Al-Ma’idah 5:32)
One of the divine attributes of God is justice. God is the Most Just. Out of God’s justice, He gave us free will to decide. If we cannot choose, we should not be held accountable. In Islam every human being is held accountable for his actions except those whose freedom of intellect is limited, i.e. being too young, and those whose mind is disturbed.
Because we have the freedom to choose and we are responsible, we have the power to change our conditions. Allah says what means:
{…God does not change the condition of a people [for the worse] unless they change what is in themselves…} (Ar-Ra`d 13:11)
Our role then is to choose the correct course of action. We have to act upon the laws of God and abide by them. We have to take into account the consequences of our decisions. Not everything should be taken for granted. We have to make up our mind. We will get only what we strive for. Allah says:
{That man will only have what he has worked towards.} (An-Najm 53:39)
No one can say that I will commit a sin because God willed this sin to happen. Though God knew that the sinner will commit a certain sin at a certain time, God did not force the sinner to commit it; hence comes the idea of our responsibility for our deeds.
Brother Maan Khalife, a member of Ask About Islam staff, added:
Now that we exist we must take the proper actions to succeed in this world, and especially in the Hereafter. We don’t have a good argument against God telling Him “we didn’t choose to be here”, because He is simply the Creator and we are His creation. This makes us subjected to His will and wisdom.
Since we are created, we couldn’t have created ourselves to begin with and choose to do so when we wanted to, because it is only an attribute of God to create, when and how to create, and for what objective. This, therefore, gives Him the privilege to place us on Earth when He desires and for the purpose that He wishes.
People would understand God’s wisdom when they enter Paradise or Hellfire since accountability will seize and it is either a dwelling of reward or punishment.
For those who are destined to the gardens of bliss, they wouldn’t remember any of the hardships of this world and they will enjoy their lives forever. And for those who didn’t make it, they would wish to return back to Earth in order to make-up for what they have missed.
So from our perspective, wouldn’t we be willing to sacrifice just a little bit in order to gain God’s pleasure forever? The comparison of this life with respect to the next is just like a little drop in the ocean. Therefore, let’s grab the opportunities while we are still alive!
I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.