We all know that Allah has a plan for us. However, we have a big responsibility in helping to fulfil this plan. The choices we make, our faith, determination and persistence are all factors that could change or impact this plan. There are many aspects of life that give us the opportunity to choose between right and wrong or good and bad. We can choose what we want to do today, the career we wish to go into etc. However, there are also some aspects of life that we have little to no control over. Our destinies could be impacted by outside forces such as nature, altering the destinies of all the people of that certain location. For example, if a hurricane strikes a certain city, then that city as a whole experiences an outside force impacting all those people's destinies. Also, the circumstances of a wider population of people can impact the destiny of an individual in this population. We can see this happening in the world today, people who are higher in rank (government officials) and have authority over the citizens of that location, are affecting the destinies of the population by making the wrong decisions.

WHY DOES ALLAH TEST US IF HE KNOWS THE OUTCOME?
Many times we wonder, why does Allah test us if He knows the outcome? Just remember that He may know the outcome, but we don't. We must remember that merely knowing, and actually testing are two different things. A great example that Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (ra), (the fourth successor of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community), gave when asked this question was:
Let's say we know that putting wheat into a mill will make flour, is that enough? Will merely knowing, actually make the flour and allow it to be fed to people? No. You would test the mill by putting the wheat in it, to see how it makes the flour and if it actually does make flour the way it's supposed to. So, everything in Allah's Universe, isn't just for the knowledge but for creative testing.

CAN OUR DESTINY/FATE BE CHANGE BY PRAYER?
There are two aspects of fate, the unalterable fate and the alterable fate. We can generally change little things if we pray for them. Allah can do anything He pleases, so if we pray hard enough he can change something in our lives (get rid of a trial etc.). However, if changing our fate would impact the fate of things that Allah doesn't want to change, then our prayers won't change our fate. For example, it was Allah's promise that His prophets would succeed and their enemies would be destroyed. If someone prayed that Allah changed their fate, and it impacted the fate of His prophets, then He would not change the fate of the one who prayed. Things that are higher in rank can't replace that which is lower. Similarly, many question how praying for a longer lifespan can increase our lifespan when it's already predetermined in our destinies. We must remember that the creator of anything knows the lifespan of what he/she creates. Allah also knows the lifespan of his creations. However, no creator says that their creation will stop working on this day at this hour. It gives a rough span of the maximum and minimum number of years it will work for. If the creation is used roughly, then the lifespan decreases, if it is used with care, then the lifespan increases. Similarly, Allah doesn't fix our lifespan in that on this day at this hour we will pass away, our lifespan is subject to our way of life.

DO WE FOLLOW OR CREATE OUR DESTINY?
There are many aspects of our destinies that cannot be changed and are up to Allah completely. For example, we didn't have a choice in the matter of where we were born, who our parent's were, if we were healthy or unhealthy, our religion or race (of many). But if we move to a new country, if we convert to a new religion, or if we make a decision, we are changing our destiny. For example, if someone is born in a country where there is little to no freedom of religion, there's mass poverty and the conditions are unsafe, then all the people of that country have a similar destiny in terms of what their lives will be like. However, let's say someone from this population has the financial support to move out to a much safer and developed country, is their destiny still the same? What i'm trying to say is that human effort and decisions combined with fate can decide ones life on Earth.

The reason I'm writing about this is because many times we take for granted our predetermined destinies. The majority of us should be thankful to have been born in Ahmadi families, having been Ahmadi from birth, and having grown up in developed countries. This wasn't something we chose or had any say in, it was entirely Allah's decision. Alhmadulillah!

• An Elementary Study of Islam by Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, 1996, Islam International Publications Ltd.