Is Pre-determined Destiny Fair?

Atheist: I heard that Muslims believe in pre-determined destiny. A Muslim told me that a baby’s fate is documented by angles by God’s permission when the baby is in the womb. That Muslim also told me that documented destiny includes whether the baby will be a righteous person or an evil person in his/her earthly life. Is this true?

Muslim: Yes, you heard it right.

Atheist: Do you believe that a baby can be a righteous person even if his/her destiny documented by God says he/she would be an evil person?

Muslim: No, he/she can’t be because God can’t be wrong. God has the knowledge of future.

Atheist: But that sounds like God is controlling us like robots since God’s fortune tale has to be right.

Muslim: God knows everything before it happens and he already recorded it down. But that doesn’t mean you are controlled by God like a robot. All it means he is all knowing and he doesn’t have to wait for you to do something before he knows it.

Let’s say you have the opportunity to time travel to next week. So you time travelled to next week and you see everything that happens, so you know exactly what’s going to happen. And you come back to this week. Does that mean those people in the future are robots just because you know what they are going to do? The answer is no.

Atheist: Well, if God knows what would happen, then why God puts us on earth to test us whether we are good or bad? Isn’t it waste of time? God can send people to heaven and hell based on his knowledge of future instead of testing them, can’t he?

Muslim: Yes, God could send people to heaven and hell based on his knowledge of future and there is nothing wrong about it. But God doesn’t do that because he wants people to feel that God doesn’t give out rewards or punishments. Instead, people get what they earn or deserve. For example, according to the Quran, inhabitants of hell will curse themselves for not listening to God’s messengers in their earthly life. The memories of their earthly evil deed will make them feel that they truly deserve hell.