WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE IN CONTROL?

I have been following the currently airing kdrama ‘Extraordinary You’ and it’s making me ask myself some tough questions. The drama is about a girl Eun Dan-oh that discovers that she lives in the world of a comic book and that she is just an extra in the comic. In the story, there’s the stage and the shadow. In the stage, everything goes according to the design of the writer of the comic, including the character’s feelings, actions and dialogue. In the shadow, things are a bit more ‘flexible’ so to say, but only characters who have gained awareness can remember events that occurred in the shadow. Not only is Eun Dan-oh an extra, she’s also engaged to a jerk who doesn’t like her and she has a heart disease, making her days numbered. In summary, things are a mess for Dan-oh. She however does try to change her fate and possibly find love. She finds that it’s not easy and that there are serious consequences for every change to the storyline.

I have been following this drama with keen interest because it forces me to consider my own life. The decisions I make, are they all mine? Am I in full control of my life? In Islam there is the concept of predestination and it is part of the six articles of faith. I have to believe that everything has been predestined by the Almighty and at the same time work my butt off to make sure I attain Jannah and avoid ending up a dweller of Jahannam. I naturally like other humans occasionally engage in sinful deeds. After engaging in sin, who made me? The logical answer would be that I made myself commit sin by being weak and succumbing to the overtures of shaitan. It’s complicated but it’s also simple at the same time. All our lives have been predestined by the Almighty long before the world was created. However, the Almighty gave us the ability to make choices for ourselves. He has full knowledge of what our choices would be but we were given the choice and for that, we would need to take responsibility.

This is what scares me. I am responsible for my careless living and I know I cannot just blame shaitan for my choices. After all the choices were deliberate. I just find it difficult to resist falling into some of the temptations of this world. In the end, we are in control of our lives because we control our choices and there’s always a choice, it’s just that most times we make the wrong choice.

I understand that circumstances in life are not always within our control. That shouldn’t stop us. We may not control what happens to us but we can most certainly control and dictate how we react to the obstacles and challenges life throws at us. Therefore, in my understanding, we are in control. Allah gave us a choice to either believe or disobey. And we also get to decide how to react to challenges and circumstances beyond our control. All these ramblings were brought about by a kdrama that touches something distantly related.

I will end by praying that Allah strengthens our resolve and keep us firmly on the right track. Alhamdulillah for the light of Islam.