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The_Foundations_of_the_Islamic_Belief, page : 150
child
says, "O my Lord! Why have You exalted his rank above mine?" And Allah answers, "Because he has
attained maturity and has labored in acts of worship." Thereupon the child rejoins, "But Lord, it
is You
who caused me to die a child. So it is obligatory upon You to have prolonged my life until I
attained
maturity; then I would have labored in Your worship. But You, O Lord, have deviated from justice by
favoring him with long life. Lord! Why have You favored him?" Allah - the High - would then reply,
"Because I knew that if you had lived to attain maturity, you would have committed the sins of
polytheism and disobedience. Hence it was better for you to die a child." Such will the
apology of the
Mu'tazilite (or anyone who follows this way of thought) be for Allah - the Mighty, the Glorified.
But then the unbelievers will cry up from the midst of Hell-fire saying: "O Lord! Had You not known
that
if we had lived to attain maturity we should have committed the sin of polytheism, why then didn't
You
cause us to die in childhood before we could sin? We should have been content to enjoy in Paradise
in a
says, "O my Lord! Why have You exalted his rank above mine?" And Allah answers, "Because he has
attained maturity and has labored in acts of worship." Thereupon the child rejoins, "But Lord, it
is You
who caused me to die a child. So it is obligatory upon You to have prolonged my life until I
attained
maturity; then I would have labored in Your worship. But You, O Lord, have deviated from justice by
favoring him with long life. Lord! Why have You favored him?" Allah - the High - would then reply,
"Because I knew that if you had lived to attain maturity, you would have committed the sins of
polytheism and disobedience. Hence it was better for you to die a child." Such will the
apology of the
Mu'tazilite (or anyone who follows this way of thought) be for Allah - the Mighty, the Glorified.
But then the unbelievers will cry up from the midst of Hell-fire saying: "O Lord! Had You not known
that
if we had lived to attain maturity we should have committed the sin of polytheism, why then didn't
You
cause us to die in childhood before we could sin? We should have been content to enjoy in Paradise
in a