Humans also play a part in shaping their destinies

Enayet Rasul Bhuiyan

The mosques in Bangladesh on Tuesday night were seen with more people than these could accommodate on the occasion of the holy Shab-e-Barat. They prayed throughout the night in the belief and expectation that from their imploring to their Creator for forgiveness of their sins, the same would be sanctioned. It is also ardently believed that those who would pray on the occasion with complete devotion for success in their earthly activities in the following year, may have their wishes partly or wholly granted by Almighty Allah. This night of significance in the Islamic calendar -- when a person's destiny is thought to be written for the year-- is an occasion of fervent religious observance in Bangladesh where some 90 per cent of its over 150 million people adhere to the faith of Islam.

There are many things over which humans have no control. Birth of human beings, their growing up and finally transition from mortal life, are events which from time immemorial have been found to be governed by powers over which man has no control or influence. Incidents that profoundly affect the lives of individuals and nations are believed to be the works of the All Poweful ; the same is described as 'fate' or predetermined events or developments that may determine considerably the present and future of individuals and states. Thus, orthodox religious thinking stresses the significance of the powerlessness of humans in the scheme of divinity.

But the holy Koran emphasises that humans are also responsible in large measure for the shaping of their lives or whether they would be successful or not, what they would accomplish for themselves and their families and the country. A verse in the holy Koran underlines that a people cannot be assured of Allah's help notwithstanding that they are the followers of Islam. They must toil hard to change their life for the better and, in that case only, they may hope to be blessed by divine assistance in their efforts.

The scientific outlook is that nothing happens without some form of initiative. This scientific outlook is also an integral part of Islam though some traditional Islamists are prone to overemphasising the inevitability or supremacy of a predetermined destiny. But the reality is that just like the individual person, a community or nation will collectively transform their material existence for the better only if they are spirited enough and not pathetically resigned to a concept of fate over which they have seemingly no control. Clearly, such a mentality on the part of humans that they would shape their own fate and destiny by dint of their enterprising abilities, is fully consistent with the relevant Koranic verses. The same also makes pre-eminent economic sense. No wonder that holy Koran has been universally found to be fully in harmony with science and reason.

The rise of many nations in the course of history as well as their fall respectively were objectively analysed by historians to be the outcome of reliance on the work ethic and its opposite. The lessons of economic development of countries in the last century provide clear examples in this regard. Nations such as Japan and South Korea in Asia turned into fully developed or semi-developed countries respectively in this period. Many factors are involved in the spectacular successes of the Japanese people in the last century. But the greatest of their qualities appear to be their industriousness, their unceasing efforts at different levels to bring about forward moving changes for the betterment of life and living in their country.

Religious events are occasions for Bangladeshis to remind them about the inalienable duty to turn to Almighty Allah most humbly and seek His forgiveness for their lapses and His assistance for all their strivings. But the same also need to be backed up by hard work and good planning at the individual and the national level from the realisation that a better future is an outcome that depends also so much on their own endeavours.