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Paradoxical Sajid
Paradoxical Sajid
Paradoxical Sajid Arif Azad
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Paradoxical Sajid
Paradoxical Sajid Arif Azad
Published By Guardian Publication 34, North Broock Hall Road, Madrasha Market (1st Floor), Banglabazar, Dhaka-1100  01710-197558, 01998-584958 guardianpubs@gmail.com
Online Partner www.rokomari.com
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Publisher's Note The fight between good and evil has been going on since the dawn of civilization. Islam, the solution for humanity, has been facing obstacles from the patrons of evil and ignorance since time immemorial. In addition, this fight between good and evil is still raging on relentlessly. The antiIslamic force is now using the ever-enlarging platform of social media to sow the seeds of confusion, mistrust and apathy about Islam in young minds. In this way, a generation of confused and non-believer young people is developing through keyboard. Terrorist groups are misleading some young minds. The Muslim world is becoming turbulent and being infected with violence and bloodshed. Muslims are struggling to face the challenges thrown by the non-believers. Wherever there is challenge, there is rational battle of the faithful mind. Arif Azad is the name of one such faithful mind. He has already garnered respect and love of numerous people for his unique, brilliant and rational responses to the challenges thrown by the non-believers. His capacity, knowledge and rationality inspires me to believe that the future is full of possibilities. In this book entitled ‘Paradoxical Sajid’, the author has provided answers to many questions often raised by the non-believers. His unique way of explanation and intrinsic sense of literature have rendered this book a pleasant read me. In 2017, we published the book entitled Paradoxical Sajid in Bangla. We have received responses more than our expectations from the readers. This book has recognized as the Best Selling book of www.rokomari.com in the year 2017 and 2018. So many readers claimed to publish its English translation to convey the message of this book to the larger people in different countries. Through the one and a half year efforts, we were able to bring the outcome to our readers, Alhamdulillah. I have personally felt that the invaluable thoughts and arguments of the author need to be preserved in the practical arena of English literature besides its popular presence in the internet. Many authors have already responded to the challenges thrown by the atheists and non-believers.
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This book will reinforce and strengthen those earlier efforts. I hope that this book will help the non-believers to shed their prejudices about Islam and think about it neutrally. Guardian Publication is glad to publish this book. The task of transforming social media based write-ups into a printable manuscript and then finally reaching it to the readers was quite challenging. We tried our best to make this book as flawless as possible. I would like to request to the honorable readers to pardon us for any unintentional mistakes in this book considering our limited capacity. We welcome any comments and suggestions from our readers and we will try our best to make this book more accurate and perfect in the next edition by means of accommodating their feedback inshallah. I convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to our honorable writer, translator, to our readers and all those who have helped us and are still helping us in publishing this book. May this book strengthen the foundation of our faith. May the words of faith touch every human mind and every soul.
Noor Mohammad Abu Taher Banglabazar, Dhaka
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Translator’s Note I have to admit, when Paradoxical Sajid first came out, I was a bit skeptical. ‘How can there be so much hype around a single book?’, I thought. Curiousity eventually got the better of me, and I went over to my nearest bookstore to grab a copy for myself. The book turned out to be an absolute joy to read. I finished reading it in less than 24 hours, and from then on, I started to gift this book to my friends and associates whenever the opportunity presented itself. So imagine my surprise when, in February of 2018, I was tasked with translating this exact same text. For me, being told to work on ‘Paradoxical Sajid’ was like a dream come true. I felt like I was the luckiest person within a million miles, because I knew that if Allah guided even a single person through my efforts, than I would be getting a portion of whatever good deeds that person earned from then on. I would like to thank Allah for giving me the means to carry out this challenging task. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Brother Noor Mohammad, who trusted me to correctly translate this work of art, and who gave me paid employment at a difficult stage of my life. I would also like to congratulate Brother Arif Azad for penning down this absolute gem of a book. ‘Paradoxical Sajid’ truly deserves to be in the ‘Hall of Fame’ of Bengali literature, right next to the timeless classics of Rabindranath and Humayun Ahmed. As such, it is only fair that book lovers all over the world get to enjoy this literary masterpiece in a language they understand. This translation is a small step towards making that goal a reality. May the author continue to produce works of this caliber for many years to come. And may the reader – You – find in this book the answers to some of life’s most important puzzles. May reading this humble stack of papers be the starting point of a great journey for you, a journey that will begin here; and will end when you find yourself in everlasting happiness. Arif Abdal Chowdhury Dhaka
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Author's Note Time has changed. With time, our taste and demands have changed radically. Our desire to learn and acquire knowledge has increased manifolds. Now we are highly concerned about society, environment, religion, and politics and about anything that influence us. With the changing time, we are also moving forward. We are being exposed to diverse ideologies, thoughts and faiths. Due to these diversified interactions, some people are changing their belief and for some people their belief is being strengthened. Now, internet is informing us about many things, which we will not be able to know by any other means. This new knowledge make some of us more confident and some of us skeptic. We are now living in a world full of questions. In our head, we are nurturing thousands of unanswered questions. While I was studying comparative theology, I have also faced such questions. I devote myself in searching for answers to these questions. Moreover, this is how I stepped into the world of limitless knowledge with the desire to learn more and more. At one point of my journey, I felt that these questions are not mine only. Therefore, it is my duty to inform others about what I learned and what I realized. I do not claim that I know much. In fact, I know nothing at all about many things. However, I took my pen to inform people about what I learned about the truth. In addition, to make this communication process easier, I introduced Sajid to my audiences. Sajid tries his best to solve the unanswered questions. Sajid is conscious about his limitations but he does not lose hope. He tries to make full use of his capacity to break the wall of disbelief and skepticism. I have never thought of materializing my thoughts into a full-fledged book. I must thank Nasir bhai from the core of my heart for without his relentless encouragement and support; it would not be possible for us to publish this book. I am extremely grateful to The Guardian Publications for encouraging young writers like me by taking the initiative of publishing this book. I also thank the readers who are the main inspiration behind this book. Arif Azad Chittagong
Paradoxical Sajid
Contents 1.
The Faith of an Atheist
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Taqdeer (Fate) vs Free Will: Is God Controversial Here
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Why Doesn't God Take Liability for Sins
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From Nothingness to Creator
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‘Allah has Set a Seal upon their Hearts.’ Is this Really the Case
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Kill them (Polytheists) wherever You Find them…
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Who Created the Creator
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A Sectarian Verse and….
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Does The Quran Say that the Sun Sink into Water
10. Qurbaani of the Muslims and the unwanted Meddling of a Matubbor 11. Was Al-Quran Written by Man 12. The Story of Relativity 13. A Letter to David: Jesus was not a Myth, He Existed 14. Al Quran, Sky, Roof and Falsehood of an Individuals 15. The Marriage of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) With Aisha (RA) And The Rumors Spared By Atheists 16. Is the Quran Muhammad’s Own Words 17. If God Really is Compassionate, Then Why Does Hell Exist 18. Is the Earth Flat or Round? 19. What the Quran says 20. The Testimony of a DNA 21. Science in The holy Quran: Coincidence, or Reality 22. Can God Create Something, which He Himself Cannot Lift 23. Tales of Deception
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The Faith of an Atheist The moment I entered my room, I saw Sajid huddled over his computer. He was typing something, clattering away rapidly on the keyboard. I started to pour water from a jug; it felt like I was dying from thirst. Sajid looked away from the computer screen to face me. ‘Hey dude-’ He asked. ‘Any news?’ ‘Nah!’ I replied with utter disappointment. ‘That means, you are going to having repeat a year?’ Sajid asked. ‘What else can I do?’ I said. ‘What Allah The Most High does is for the best.’ Sajid gave me a strange look. He then said: ‘See? This is what is wrong with you people. You were just held back a year for poor attendance and still you are saying that what Allah does is for the best. Bro, could you tell me what good You have found in this year loss thing?’ Let me first introduce Sajid to you. Sajid and I are roommates. He studies Microbiology at Dhaka University. Once he used to be quite a religious pious person. He even used to pray regularly and everything. Somehow, after starting to attend university he became an agnostic. As time went on, he completely lost his faith in God; and now he is a full-on atheist. He now thinks of religion to be absolute garbage. In his opinion, religion is a manmade thing, and a gang of opportunists cooked up the very concept of ‘God’. I was not willing to engage in a theological debate with Sajid at that very moment. However, I could not just ignore his remarks either. Therefore, I said: ‘Something much worse could happen to me, could not it? ‘Dude, nothing could be worse than this.’ -was Sajed's comeback. ‘Maybe there is.’ ‘For example…?’
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‘What if things turned out like this- I do not study at all the entire year- and then I fail. If I had failed, I would have been forced to drop an academic year. Maybe the humiliation of failing would have been too much for me to bear. Maybe I would have committed suicide.’ Sajid burst out in laughter. Between his chuckles, he managed to say‘What peculiar beliefs you carry around with you pal!’ He said this and went on laughing. It was a laugh of mockery. That night, there was yet another round of debate between Sajid and me. Sajid opened the conversation. ‘Okay.’ He said. ‘You know how you have faith in God? What is the basis of that?’ ‘Faith can be of two types.’ I replied. ‘One is faith based on evidence, which is like conditional faith. The other is faith without any evidence. Sajid chuckled again and said: ‘That other kind of faith is what is called blind faith you dummy! I did not pay heed to his insult and continued to explain- ‘Faith that is based on evidence, can hardly be called faith at all. At best, it can be called a temporary kind of faith. This type of faith is so weak in fact that it changes every now and then.’ At this, Sajid stirred uncomfortably in his seat. ‘Really? How come?’ He asked. ‘Take for example- the Sun and the Earth. Humans have been curious about these heavenly bodies since the ancient times. We have been trying to learn about them from the earliest days of civilization. Right? ‘Yeah. True.’ ‘Science has been desperately trying to satisfy our curiosity on these matters and is still trying. Right?’ ‘Yeah’ ‘We were adamant. We wanted to discover the innermost mysteries of the Earth and the Sun. To that end, various scientists put forward different theories before us from time to time. The first of these theories came from the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.’
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‘Yeah. He said that the Sun moves round the earth.’ Sajid contributed. ‘Exactly. But does science still believe in Ptolemy’s theory? No, it does not. But did you know- Ptolemy’s theory was the dominant view in the scientific community for an entire two hundred and fifty years. Can you imagine? For two hundred and fifty years people including big-shot scientists, doctors and engineers believed that the Sun moved round the Earth. Those who died within these two hundred and fifty years, died believing that the Sun moved round the earth.’ Sajid lit a cigarette. He was frowning. ‘So what?’ He said while blowing out smoke. ‘The telescope still was not invented back then; that is how they made an error that is all. Did not Nicholas Copernicus come along and prove Ptolemy’s theory wrong?’ ‘Yeah, sure. But Copernicus himself made a huge error.’ ‘What kind of error?’ ‘How weird, you of all people should know about this Sajid. Copernicus came up with the counter-theory and proved that the Sun did not move round the Earth, rather the Earth moves round the Sun. But he also erred in one point. And the scientific community proudly believed his wrong conclusion to be true for yet another fifty years.’ ‘Fifty years? What error did he make?’ ‘He said: The Earth moves round the Sun, but the Sun does not move. The Sun sits motionless. But today’s science tells us- ‘Nope, the Sun is not stationary. Rather, the Sun is also continuously moving along its own orbit.’’ ‘You got that right.’ Sajid said. ‘But that is just the rule with science. Science constantly changes. Nothing is final when it comes to science.’ ‘Sure, I also know that there is no such thing as finality in science. Some scientific theories do not even last two seconds, yet others stick around for two hundred years. This is why, something that is believed with proofs and evidences cannot really be called faith. This relationship that we have with science- at best we can call it a form of contract. The contract goes like this‘I am prepared to believe you, until something more authentic comes up.’’
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Once again, Sajid stirred with apparent unease. It now seemed as if he was agreeing with me to some degree. I explained- ‘The concept of religion or a Creator or His existence is just the total opposite of this. Look, this intrinsic difference between belief and disbelief is why our religious scripture speaks of belief at its very beginning. The 2nd verse of surah Baqara of the Holy Quran, says- ‘This (Quran) is for those who believe in the unseen.’ If there was anything final or constant about science, then the opening of this holy book might have talked about science instead of faith. It might have said: ‘this book is for those who are scientific minded.’ But the science which is ever-changing, the science which does not even properly believe in itself, how can others place their faith in something so fickle? ‘But how can we believe in someone who cannot be seen, whose existence cannot be proven at all? How can we believe in such an entity?’ ‘Do we then judge God by science? Does not science have limitations? Or is it impossible for science to have shortcomings?’ I said. ‘What limitations can science possibly have? Sure, the science of today might not be able to inform us of something, but that does not mean it will never be able to do it in the future.’ I broke out in loud laughter. Sajid said to me with an irritated look- ‘Why are you laughing like this?’ ‘Because of what you said.’ ‘Did I say anything funny?’ ‘You certainly did.’ Sajid looked angry at the moment. I said: ‘I am surprised that you are unaware of science’s limits and shortfalls.’ ‘Is that what you think?’ ‘Not at all. These are not my sayings. This is what science says.’
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‘Which science?’ ‘Quantum Mechanics.’ This time Sajid took a pause. ‘Explain.’ He said. I cleared my throat. Should I refer to what Jafar Iqbal sir said?’ Both of us were huge fans of Jafar Iqbal sir. Sajid said ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Listen, the fact that science has limits, the fact that science does not or rather cannot go outside certain boundaries- is something even modern science and scientists admit. Have you read ‘Quantum Mechanics’ by Jafar Iqbal sir?’ ‘Nope.’ I had the book in my bag. I opened my bag and brought it out. I read some lines from page number 10 to Sajid. What the book said was‘Therefore, those who practice science have made the assumption that, when we have understood all of nature with science, we will always be able to explain everything that happens. If we fail at explaining something correctly, then that will mean we have not learned the science behind it. Once that has been learned, then that thing will be explained beautifully. In other words, the capacity of science to explain and to predict is flawless and absolutely certain. Quantum mechanics has completely changed this idea. Scientists have discovered with great astonishment that nature will never allow them to learn everything. It conceals certain things from humans. Mankind will never be able to find out about these. The most fascinating thing is, this is not a weakness or limitation of science. Rather, this is just what science is. There comes a point when no scientist will confidently say ‘Definitely’, they will just shake their heads and say ‘Maybe.’’ ‘Look’ I said. ‘It is now accepted within the scientific community that science will not be able to uncover all of nature’s mysteries. Then how can the science, which is inadequate at uncovering the secrets of nature, be used to measure God who created nature? Wouldn’t this be foolish?’
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Sajid did not say anything. I said again, ‘If you want, I can make a whole list of things which science cannot prove.’ ‘Are you kidding me?’ Sajid said crossly. ‘Okay dude, relax.’ I said to him while laughing. ‘Let me finish. Your girlfriend’s name is Mitu, right? ‘Why are you bringing my girlfriend into this?’ ‘Oh come on, just tell me.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Now do not take this the wrong way, I am only saying this to illustrate a point. Imagine that I raped Mitu. She is lying on her bed in a pool of blood. And imagine that You have found out about this incident.’ ‘Okay.’ ‘Now can you scientifically explain why I should be punished for raping Mitu?’ ‘It is a critical question.’ came Sajid's reply. ‘How am I supposed to explain this with science?’ ‘Ha ha, ha; I told earlier that there are plenty of things for which science does not have an answer. Sajid said, ‘But wouldn’t this fall under crime science?’ ‘Crime science, political science, these are all similar in the sense that they all have ‘science’ in their names. But at the end of the day, none of them are actually science. Ha ha ha. ‘But how is any of this related to having faith in God?’ ‘These are related. Belief in God is something that we, humans, simply cannot prove in a way that is detectable with our five senses. God cannot be seen with a telescope, nor can he be found with a microscope. He just needs to be believed. This last bit seemed to flip a switch in Sajid. ‘Yeah right.’ He scoffed. ‘What a load of rubbish. Why would I believe in someone who cannot even be seen?’
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‘Well.’ I said. ‘There is no one in this world who does not believe blindly at least to some extent. Everybody is a believer in something. Everyone believes in some thing or another that they have not seen, or something that cannot even be seen. But they never raise questions about these issues. They just carry on believing without a hint of worry or doubt. I am dead certain that even you are like that. ‘Me?’ Sajid said. ‘Are you alright in the head? I never believe anything without seeing it first, and I never will either.’ ‘Buddy, there is a whole plethora of things that you have believed without seeing them first-hand, and to this day you have never even questioned those issues. If we were not having this discussion right now then you would probably have gone on believing in them unconditionally.’ Sajid gave me a curious look. I said, ‘Do you want to know?’ ‘Hmm’ was Sajid's response. ‘I will say this again- do not get offended. I am only saying this to prove a point.’ ‘All right. Go on.’ ‘Okay then. Are you sure that you are the product of intercourse between your mother and your father? Were you there when it happened? Or, do you have any proof concerning this? It might be that your mother had an affair with another man. Perhaps that man is your real, biological father. You were not there to see any of this. But have you ever asked your mother about this thing, for which you were never shown any proof? Of course, you have not. You have been calling father, that same person who you were told is your father. You have been calling brother, that same person who you were told is your brother. You call your sister, who you were told is your sister. Do you not believe these things without seeing any proof for them beforehand? Did you ever try to find out, if you really are the biological offspring of the man, you are calling your father? The one who you think is your brother, did you try to find out if he really is your brother or not, or if your beloved sister really is your sister or not?
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You did not question. You just believed. You still believe. This is what believing in God is like my friend. You cannot question it. You cannot suspect it. You just have to hold it in your heart. This is called faith.’ Sajid got up and left. I wondered if some of the things I had said had hurt him. The next day, when I was about to make wudu (ablution) for the Fajr prayer, I saw Sajid lining up next to me. I looked at his face. He understood what was going through my mind. ‘I got up to pray’ he said.
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Taqdeer (Fate) vs Free Will Is God Controversial Here Sajid always carries a huge diary in his bag. The diary looks like an ancient artefact of some sort. It was torn in some places. Some of the damaged areas had been repaired at one point with stitches, some other areas were held together with glue. Yet other sections of it were held in place with tape. Sajid uses this diary to record all the noteworthy incidents that happen to him. Let me just clarify this right now- I have Sajid's permission to access this personal diary. Somewhere around the middle of this diary, Sajid has even jotted down the story of how he and I met for the first time. The first time I ever saw him was at TSC. Here is what he has written about me‘Met a dorky looking guy today. The dude did not look like he understood how the world worked. He turned out to be quite the intelligent fellow once I talked to him; it is just that he looks like an idiot. His name is Arif. March 05, 2009.’ This diary also contains quotes from a number of famous personalities. Sajid had once visited Toronto, Canada with his father on an official tour. Bill Gates was among the celebrities invited there. Bill Gates had given a speech there for ten minutes. The diary even makes mention of this. Once, Sajid had met Dr. Jafar Iqbal, proffessor at Sylhet Shahjalal University's computer science department at the annual book fair. That year, Jafar sir’s book A Little Science's sequel, ‘A Little More Science’ had come out. Sajid had bumped into Jafar sir just as he was leaving the fair after buying this book. Once he’d gotten sir’s autograph, Sajid had said to sir with a smile- ‘Sir, we received ‘A Little Science’. Then we got ‘A Little More Science’. Sir when are we going to get ‘More Than a Little Science’?’
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That day, Jafar sir had smiled sweetly and said: ‘You will get it, you will get it.’ Many of such personal experiences have found their way into Sajid's diary. I had read that diary from cover to cover. But I had not opened it in recent days because of the upcoming semester finals. The other day I entered my room after finishing the last exam of the third semester. Sajid was not there. His diary was lying open on his table. My whole body was drenched in sweat; I had just walked home from campus through the scorching heat. I did not have the energy or the mentality to sift through the diary right then. But the title of one of the entries caught my eye just as I was about to close it. I sat down at Sajid's table. The title said: ‘Fate versus free will. Is God controversial here?’’ It was a juicy title. I forgot about my weariness and started to read from the beginning of the entry. I am narrating the story exactly as it appeared in the diary‘A few days ago, Mofizur Rahman sir made me stand up in the third period. He said to me- ‘Do you believe in fate, I mean; taqdeer?’ I was caught off guard. These are religious topics. It is natural to feel awkward when a teacher of microbiology brings up such discussions. Sir was looking at me expecting an answer. So I said: ‘Yes sir. As a Muslim, I do believe in taqdeer. It is one of the seven main tenets of Faith.’ Sir said: ‘Do you believe that every little thing that a person is going to do in his lifetime has already been written in his taqdeer many years prior to his birth?’ - ‘Yes sir.’ I replied. - ‘It is said that not even a leaf on a tree stirs without the will of God, right?’ - ‘Yes sir.’ - ‘Imagine, I murdered someone this morning. Was not that predestined for me in my taqdeer?’ - ‘Yes, it was.’
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- ‘When my taqdeer was being written down, was I alive at that time?’ - ‘No sir, you were not.’ - ‘Who wrote down my fate? By whose command was it written? - ‘By God’s command.’ - ‘In that case, simple and easy logic dictates that the murder that took place this morning was not really done by me. I am just a puppet here. God has installed a program inside of me. That program said that I would kill a person this morning. So, I did exactly as God had preordained for me. I have no control over this. Do you agree, Sajid?’ - ‘Partially sir.’ I answered. Mofizur sir laughed at this. He said while still laughing- ‘I knew you would only partially agree with me, not fully. Surely, You are now going to argue with me saying- ‘Sir, God has given us free will. We can discern right from wrong by using that.’ Right?’ - ‘Yes sir.’ - ‘But Sajid, this is very lame logic, did you know? Say for instance, I gave you a list for grocery shopping. Everything you need to buy is written in that list. Now you came back from shopping. And you bought exactly those items which I had named in the list, and you were obligated to do this.’ After saying this much, sir asked me- ‘Do you understand?’ I said: ‘Yes sir.’ ‘Very Good! Now imagine, after your return from shopping, someone asks you, Sajid, what things did you buy? And I replied, he has bought the things he wanted to eat. Tell me, have I told the truth?’ I said: ‘No, you have lied.’ ‘EXACTLY!’ Sir yelled. You have got the point my dear. I have lied. I’ve already told you what things to buy. All these items are according to my preference. Now, if I were to say- ‘he has bought the things he wanted', then it would be a blatant lie, is not that so?’
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- ‘Yes, sir.’ - ‘God has also lied in this manner. He has double-crossed us. He has written our taqdeer eons ago in the past, and then he has hung that around our necks. Now we only do those things, which God had written for us there. At the end of the day, some are going to Heaven for these actions, and some are going to Hell. But why? Humans had no say in this. God created the manual. We are just the performers. God is the scriptwriter. God cannot admit someone to Heaven and someone to Hell for this. This is what logic can say, right?’ I remained quiet. There was pin-drop silence in the whole class. Sir said: ‘Have you any proper logic on that typical question, dear?’ I stayed silent for a while. Sir smiled. He probably thought that he had me thoroughly defeated. His smile was that of a conqueror. Everyone who is familiar with me knows that I never pause before answering a question. Since today was different, all my friends were staring at me with big, round eyes. Their looks made it seem as if this Sajid was a complete stranger to them, that they have never even met him. The faces of those in the class who were against my views, immediately lit up. Perhaps, they thought: ‘This mullah does not know anything outside of the mosque.’ I looked up at sir’s face. That thin smile was still hanging from his mouth. I said: ‘Sir, what is your opinion of the individual students of this class?’ Sir was stunned. This was not the response he had expected. - ‘I do not understand.’ Sir said. - ‘I mean, how well do you know us, in terms of our academic ability?’ - ‘I know you quite well. It is only fitting that a teacher would thoroughly know his students.’
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‘Then tell me sir’, I said, ‘which students of this class are going to get first class and which ones will be in second class?’ Sir was surprised. He said: ‘I asked you about something else. Your counter-question was out of context, Sajid.’ - ‘No sir, I am still within the context. Please answer.’ Sir said: ‘Rayhan, Momtaz, Farhana, Shojib, Waress, Ifti, Shumon, Jabed and you will get first class. And the rest will get second class.’ The people sir named, were all brilliant students from this class. So sir’s guess was not wrong at all. I said: ‘Sir can you give this to me in writing?’ - ‘Why not.’ Sir said. Having said this, he swiftly scrawled the names of all the students who will obtain first class on one side of a sheet of paper. On the other side, he jotted down the names of those who are to obtain second class. He then handed over the sheet to me. - ‘Sir.’ I said. ‘Let us assume that your prediction came true down to the letter. That is to say, all of those who you said will get the first class, obtained first class. And all of those who you said will obtain the second class, got second class.’ - ‘Yeah. So?’ - ‘Now can you please tell me, for those who obtained first class, did they obtain the first class only because you had written their names on this paper?’ - ‘Nope.’ - ‘Those who obtained the second class, did they obtain the second class only because you had written their names on this paper?’ - ‘Of course not.’ Sir said. - ‘Then what is really going on here sir?
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Sir said: ‘The main thing is, I am your teacher. I am well acquainted with each one of your academic ability. That is why I can easily predict what each one of your results will be.’ I smiled, and then said: ‘Sir, what if those who got the second class blame you? What if they claim that they only obtained the second class because you had written their names under the ‘second class’ category?’ The lines on sir’s forehead grew longer. ‘That would be totally wrong’, he said. ‘Why should I take responsibility for this? This is entirely their fault. I've only been able to predict their results because I'm well acquainted with their merit and their capability.’ Now, I started laughing aloud. The whole class was staring at me with their mouths open. I stopped, and then said: ‘Sir, taqdeer or fate, is also exactly like this. Just like how you are well informed about our merit, skills and abilities, God also knows about his creation. You might be wrong from time to time; But God’s knowledge is flawless. God is the knower of the unseen. He knows the past, the present and the future. He knows everything. All of it.’ ‘From your preconceived notion of us, you wrote down which of us will obtain the first class and which of us obtain get second class. That does not mean that some of us are obtaining first class and some are getting secondclass only because you had said so. The results we are obtaining are the ultimate outcomes of our intellect, capability and hard work.’ ‘Since God knows everything about his creation, He has written our taqdeer accordingly. It details what actions we are going to do during our stay in this world. But that does not mean we do these deeds because he has written them. Rather, this means that he knows we are going to do these deeds. This is why he has written this down in advance as our taqdeer.’ ‘Just as how you are not the slightest bit responsible for some of us obtaining first class and some of us getting second class, likewise; God is not responsible for some people doing good deeds and entering paradise while others doing evil deeds and entering Hell. God knows that you are going to murder someone this morning. This is why he has pre-written that
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event in your taqdeer. This does not mean that you committed murder because God had written so. What this means is, God knows that today morning you are going to commit this murder, and that is why he has written this as your taqdeer in advance. Sir, is it clear now?’ Sir’s face went a little pale. He said: ‘Hmm.’ After that sir remained silent for a while. Then he said: ‘I heard that you were an atheist until recently. When did you turn into a believer again?’ I laughed aloud, then said: ‘Sir, this question was out of context.’ Hearing this, the whole class burst out in loud laughter. Sir now started the class’s academic lecture. When the class was almost nearing its end, sir made me stand up again. He said: ‘Okay, I get it. God already knows, that is why he has written it. Since He has foreknowledge of who is going to do well and who is going to do evil, then what is the point of taking any test? Why not just send those who are meant for Heaven into Heaven and those who are meant for hell, into Hell? Wouldn’t that have been fairer?’ I laughed again. I was still holding the piece of paper on which sir had written was still held in my hand. I showed it to sir and said: ‘Sir, the names of those who will get first class, and those who will get second class are written here. So, go ahead and announce the results according to this paper. Why go into the hassle of holding exams?’ Sir said: ‘If we do not hold exams then someone might object that ‘Sir has given me second class unfairly. Maybe I also could have obtained first class if I could just appear at the exam.’ - ‘Exactly, sir’ I said. ‘God is also testing us for this very same reason, so that no one can say, ‘If there was a way to be tested in the worldly life then I would definitely be in Heaven today. God has sent me to Hell unfairly.’’ Everyone in the class started clapping. Sir said: ‘Sajid, I have a last question.’ - ‘Definitely sir, I said.
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- ‘So, what about the person who does evil all his life? Surely, even he should have some good deeds, right?’ - ‘Yes sir’ - ‘Then, shouldn’t he go to Heaven on account of these good deeds at least?’ - ‘Sir, how is water made?’ Sir looked surprised. Perhaps he wanted to say that this question was also out of context, but something stopped him; and he seemed to shrink. He said: ‘By mixing two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen.’ I said: ‘Can you make water out of one part of hydrogen and two parts of oxygen?’ ‘Never’ - ‘Similarly, one part of good deed and two parts of evil deeds cannot make someone worthy of entering Heaven. To enter Heaven, you either need good deeds as all three parts, or two parts good deeds and one part evil deed. In other words, good deeds need to outweigh evil deeds.’ That day sir did not ask me anything else. I finished reading Sajid's diary entry in almost a single breath. I never paused, not even for a bit. Just as I had finished my reading and was about to close the diary, Sajid appeared from behind and grabbed me held my ear. ‘Dude, you are quite the thief, reading my diary without permission like that.’ He said. I said while grinning- ‘Ha ha ha. Did you forget? You said I could have access to this diary!’ Sajid bit his tongue- ‘But that was only when I was present!’ I changed the subject, ‘You really showed sir that day bro.’ He did not seem to hear me. Sajid does not take any compliment about himself seriously. Still wiping his face with a towel, he laid down on his bed.
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I put my hand on his shoulder and said: Sajid... ‘Yeah?’ ‘Can I say something?’ ‘Go on’. ‘You know, there was a time when the youths of this country wanted to be like ‘Himu’. They used to dream about putting on yellow panjabis, digging holes in deserts and gazing up at the moon. But you will see, a day will come when our youth will want to become Sajid. Just like you.’ I looked at Sajid once I was done talking, but he was already asleep by then. The deepest sleep. I could not look away from the tranquil face lying before me.
Paradoxical Sajid
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