10 Rules for Writing Muslim Fiction and Characters Part 4 Asslamu Alaikum, Hello and Welcome back to Fantasy and Faith, where we explore the magical, the mythical and the mystical. I am your host, Noor A Jahangir, author of The Changeling King and The Adventures of Some Kid, and also the forthcoming Arabian Dreams series which launches in October 2026. Today is the last episode of Season 3 and we are looking at the final part to my 10 Rules for Writing Muslim Fiction and Characters. The aim of this series of podcasts has been to provide viewers and listeners with an insight into the themes and drivers that should form the foundation of plots and character development in Muslim Fiction. The rules covered so far are: Rule 1: Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil Rule 2: Do No Harm Rule 3: Actions are According to Intentions Rule 4: Ends to not justify the means Rule 5: Actions are according to their endings Rule 6: Patience is a Part of Faith Rule 7: Muslims should live a Halal Life and Avoid Haraam Rule 8: Struggle is a Test of Faith, But This Too Will Pass We are going to end the series and the season with the last two rules Rule 9: Ultimately, a Muslim should submit to the Will of God Rule 10: Every soul must taste death So lets get into it: Rule 9: A Muslim Should Submit to the Will of God “O you who believe, enter Islam completely, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Surely, he is an open enemy for you;” (Qur’an 2:208) The word ‘Islam’ has two meanings to it. The literal meaning of Islam is peace, but in terms of a religious reading of the word, is complete submission to God. This is what is referred to in the aforementioned verse. To submit oneself completely to Islam means to fully accept all the Islamic injunctions with sincerity, irrespective of which part of one’s life an action may belong to, whether it is in regards to the mind, the heart, the body or the souls. To unpack this further, it is not enough to complete acts of worship and to pay lip service to the five pillars of Islam: Belief in the Oneness of God, 5 prayers a day, Fasting during Ramadan, the giving of Compulsory Alms annually, and the performance of the Hajj pilgrimage once in your life. Complete submission means that one must fulfil all the social rights too. Meaning they must fulfil the rights of the parents, the rights of their children, the rights of family, of neighbourliness and of humanity. They must also conduct themselves in their personal, social and professional lives with the utmost care not to inconvenience someone else, or to cause them distress or suffering. Complete submission goes even further than actions and rights. Complete submission is also complete acceptance of God’s Will. That’s not to say that Muslim’s don’t believe in Free Will. The famous philosopher and scholar, Imam Ghazali writes: “The ink asked the paper, ‘Why have you become black?’ The paper replied, ‘Because of you.’ The ink responded, ‘But I am black because of the pen.’ The pen then said, ‘I am under the control of the hand.’ The hand explained, ‘The intellect directs me.’ Finally, the intellect stated, ‘I am guided by the will of God.’” Al Ghazali In this parable, Imam Ghazali helps us understand the concept of Free Will that is contingent upon God’s Will. Meaning that an individual is accountable for their intentions and choices, but ultimately the outcome is governed by Divine Causation. Imam Ghazali writes in his celebrated book The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya Ulum al-Din): “God has given you power and ability, and you are held accountable for how you use them. Do not say, ‘My fate is preordained’, for that is an excuse for the negligent. You must strive as if everything depends on you, while trusting in God as if everything depends on Him.” Imam Ghazali rejects fatalistic ideas. He write that “If He (God) had forced you to act, He would not have commanded you, and if He had created your deeds without your choice, He would not have blamed you.” He challenges fatalism further by calling out determinism as selective. People only claim compulsion to justify sinful behaviour, but rarely do so in service of virtuous actions, therefore exposing the hypocrisy of fatalism. Imam Ghazali highlights conscious choice in moral and spiritual life, citing the hadith that is at the core of my third rule: Actions are according to intentions. Why would inner choice be put under the spotlight unless it had a significant bearing on the outcome? In Islam we believe a genuine intent to do good, even without an outcome is rewarded by God, though an evil intention without an action is overlooked through the Mercy of God. Furthermore, Divine Justice depends on accountability, as Imam Ghazali writes in The Deliverer from Error (Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal): “God does not punish a soul for what it cannot do. Punishment presupposes capability and choice. How could justice exist without free will?” Everything in the universe is contingent on something else, making God a necessary being, a singular origin from where all action and causation occurs. In the same way, our free will is contingent on our ability to act, but we can only act within the framework set by the All-Mighty. Therefore, the ultimate form of submission is to accept that everything flows from God and despite our best and worst intentions, we are beholden to God for our every breath, every beat of our hearts, every pulse of blood in our veins and the very reality we exist in. Therefore, a Muslim character should strive to improve themselves and to better their lives, but should remain patient and trusting in the Will of God when things don’t go to plan, or something terrible happens. There are lots of examples of this in fantasy fiction where the hero or the villain is bound by destiny or prophecy to either save the kingdom or to destroy it. The existence of a Prophecy doesn’t stop the hero or the villain from taking action or even from trying to prevent the outcome from coming about. One of those examples is found in the Star Wars saga. Anakin is prophesied to be ‘The one who will bring balance to the force”. He is burdened with this prophecy from a young age and the viewer is burdened with the knowledge that his actions are actually taking him towards the Dark Side. Spoiler alert: Anakin becomes Darth Vader. His closest friend and mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, even goes as far as to say: “You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!” Even the wise Master Yoda did not foresee this possibility. However, the Prophecy comes true in the sixth episode, Return of the Jedi, when Darth Vader kills the Emperor and dies himself from the injuries he sustains from doing it, thereby returning balance to the force. There is a French proverb that captures this sentiment nicely, ‘One meets his destiny often in the road he takes to avoid it.’ This brings me to the final rule. Rule 10: Every Soul Must Taste Death This rule comes from a Qur’anic verse: “Every soul has to taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your rewards in full. So, whoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but an illusionary enjoyment.” (Quran, 3:185) Every story has to come to an end. Is there a greater form of submission than to accept one’s mortality and face one’s end with a smile on your face instead of a cry of horror? For a Muslim there is comfort in this. The suffering and horrors of the world will come to an end. Evil and machinations of evil men and women will come to an end. It also makes every fleeting moment of happiness and joy more worthwhile, because we know that these too are passing things and therefore should be enjoyed when they are received, and we should give thanks and gratitude to God for them, as God says, “So, undoubtedly, along with the hardship there is ease.” Surely, with ‘that’ hardship comes ‘more’ ease.” (Quran, 94:5-6) Combine this knowledge with the Hadith: Narrated Mujahid: `Abdullah bin `Umar said, “Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller.” The sub-narrator added: Ibn `Umar used to say, “If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:76, Hadith 6416) This should give you an insight into the mind of a Muslim. We love life and celebrate it like the gift that it is. The preservation of life is one of the highest causes there is. God states in the Qur’an: Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors. (Qur’an, 5:32) But we also see this life as just one stage of existence amongst a number of stages. And whilst our earthly life is a crucial stage in our soul’s journey, it is not the final destination. There are several stages of existence according to Muslims. Stage 1: Life before conception – our souls were created by God and exist in a place beyond this current reality And remember when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them testify regarding themselves. Allah asked, “Am I not your Lord?” They replied, “Yes, You are! We testify.” He cautioned, “Now you have no right to say on Judgment Day, ‘We were not awa
