(Divine
Preordainment)
"No calamity
befalls on the earth or in yourselves
but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees -- (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz),
before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for
Allah"
The Noble Qur'an Al-Hadid
57:22
The Noble Qur'an - At-Tauba
9:51
Say: "Nothing shall
ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is
our Maula (Lord, Helper and Protector)." And in Allah let the
believers put their trust.
The Noble Qur'an -
At-Takwir 81:28-29
To whomsoever among you
who wills to walk straight, And you will not, unless (it be) that
Allâh wills, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that
exists).
Hadith -
Sahih Bukhari 4:621, Narrated Abu Huraira
Allah's Apostle
said, "Adam and Moses argued with each
other. Moses said to Adam, 'You are Adam whose mistake expelled
you from Paradise.' Adam said to him, 'You are Moses whom Allah
selected as His Messenger and as the one to whom He spoke
directly; yet you blame me for a thing which had already been
written in my fate before my creation?' " Allah's Apostle
said twice, "So, Adam overpowered Moses."
Hadith -
Sahih Bukhari 6:469, Narrated 'Ali
We
were in the company of the Prophet
in a funeral procession at Baqi Al-Gharqad. He
said, "There is none of you but has his
place written for him in Paradise or in the Hell- Fire."
They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend (on this fact and
give up work)?" He
said, "Carry on doing (good deeds), for
everybody will find it easy to do (what will lead him to his
destined place)." Then he recited "As
for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and
believes in the Best reward from Allah (i.e. Allah will
compensate him for what he will spend in Allah's way). So, We
will make smooth for him the path of ease. But he who is a greedy
miser...for him, the path for evil." (92.5-10)
Hadith - Bukhari,
Narrated Anas bin Malik
The Prophet
said, "Allah has
appointed an angel in the womb, and the angel says, 'O Lord! A
drop of discharge (i.e. of semen), O Lord! a clot, O Lord! a
piece of flesh.' And then, if Allah wishes to complete the
child's creation, the angel will say. 'O Lord! A male or a
female? O Lord! wretched or blessed (in religion)? What will his
livelihood be? What will his age be?' The angel writes all this
while the child is in the womb of its mother."
Hadith - Tirmidhi
and Ahmad, Narrated Matar ibn Ukamis
Allah's Messenger
said:
When Allah decrees that a
person is to die in a certain land, He creates a need for him to
go there.
Hadith - Tirmidhi
and Ahmad, Narrated AbudDarda'
Allah's Messenger
said:
Allah, the Exalted and
Glorious, has ordained for every servant amongst His creation
five things: his death, his action, his abode, the places of his
moving about and his means of sustenance.
Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi
#5758, Narrated AbuHurayrah
When Allah's Messenger
was asked when the office of Prophet had been established for
him, he replied, "When Adam had not yet had his spirit joined to
his body.
[Tirmidhi
transmitted it]
Hadith - Tirmidhi
and Ibn Majah, Narrated 'Aisha
I heard Allah's Messenger
saying: He who
discusses about the Divine Decree (al-Qadr) will be answerable
for it on the Day of Resurrection and he who observes silence
about it, will not be answerable for it.
The Noble Qur'an - Ya-Sin 36:67
And if it had been Our
Will, We could have transformed them (into animals or lifeless
objects) in their places. Then they should have been unable to go
forward (move about) nor they could have turned back. [As it
happened with the Jews - see Verse 7:166 - The Qur'an]
Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi,
Narrated Thawban
[Transmitted by Ibn Majah.]
Allah's Messenger
said: "Only
supplication averts the decree, only kindness prolongs life, and
a man is deprived of provision for a fault he commits."
Hadith - Al-Muwatta
46.4
Yahya related to me from
Malik from Ziyad ibn Sad from Amr ibn Muslim that Tawus al-Yamani
said, "I found some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying 'Everything is by
decree.' " Tawus added, "I heard Abdullah ibn Umar say that The
Messenger of Allah
said,
'Everything is by decree - even incapacity
and ability,' (or 'ability and incapacity')."
Hadith - al-Tirmidhi
# 2151. [Classed as
saheeh by al-Haakim, 1/699, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. It
was classed as hasan by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari,
11/184]
The happiness of
the son of Adam depends on his being content with what Allah has
decreed for him, and the misery of the son of Adam results from
his failure to pray istikhaarah, and the misery of the son of
Adam results from in his discontent with what Allah has decreed
for him.
A Muslim believes in Allah's predestination of
all things and events (Qadhaa), His decree (Qadar), His wisdom in
His actions, and His will. Nothing in the universe can occur,
even the voluntary actions of His slaves, except after Allah's
knowledge, and His decree of that event. A Muslim further
believes that Allah is Just in His predestination and His decree,
Wise in all of His actions. His wisdom follows His will: Whatever
He wills is, and whatever He does not will is not. There is no
power nor any movement except by Allah. This is substantiated by
the textual and logical proofs which follow:
TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
- Allah (glory and praise to Allah) informed us of this in
the Qur'an:
- Verily, We have created all things
with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their
creation, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz).
[Qur'an 54/49]
- And there is not a thing, but with
Us are the stores thereof. And We send it not down except in
a known measure.
[Qur'an 15/21]
- No calamity befalls on the earth or
in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh
Al-Mahfûz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that
is easy for Allâh.
[Qur'an 57/22]
- No calamity befalls, but with the
Leave [i.e. decision and Qadar (Divine Preordainments)] of
Allâh, and whosoever believes in Allâh, He guides his heart
[to the true Faith with certainty, i.e. what has befallen him
was already written for him by Allâh from the Qadar (Divine
Preordainments)], and Allâh is the All-Knower of everything.
[Qur'an 64/11]
- And with Him are the keys of the
Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And He
knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and in the sea;
not a leaf falls, but he knows it. There is not a grain in
the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is
written in a Clear Record.
[Qur'an 6/59]
- Evidence also in: Quran 9/51, 7/43,
21/101, 18/39, 81/27-29
- The Prophet (saws) has informed us about the reality of
Allah's predestination and decree in many hadith:
- "Verily, each one of you is formed
in his mother's womb forty days as a drop, then he is
something suspended for a similar period, then he is a piece
of flesh like a chewed piece of meat for another period of
forty days, then the angel is sent to insert the soul. This
angel is ordered to record four things: the sustenance which
he will receive during his lifetime, the length of his life,
all actions that he will do, and whether he will end up
miserable (in hell) or joyous (in paradise). I swear by the
One other than whom there is no deity, one of you may do the
works of the people of paradise right up until there is only
an arm's length between him and paradise, but his destiny
overtakes him, so he does the actions of the poeple of the
fire and enters it. And, verily, one of you may do the works
of the people of hell until there is nothing between them and
hell except for one arm's length, but his destiny overtakes
him, and so he does the works of the people of paradise, and
enters it."
[Muslim]
- "Young man, I will teach you some
words: Preserve (your obligations toward) Allah and He will
preserve you. Guard (your obligations toward) Allah, and you
will find Him on your side. When you ask, ask Allah. When you
seek aid and succour, seek it from Allah. And know, that if
the entire nation got together to benefit you in some way,
they could never benefit you at all except for that which
Allah had already decreed for you. And, if they all got
together to harm you in some way, they could do you no harm
except for that which Allah had already decreed for you. The
pens have been lifted, and the tablets have dried."
[At-Tirmidhi, and he
rated it Sahih]
- "The first thing which Allah
created was the pen. Then, He said to it: Write. It asked: My
Lord, what should I write? He said: Write the proportions of
all things up until the Hour." [Ahmad,
At-Tirmidhi, and it is hassan]
- "Adam disputed with Musa. Musa said
to Adam: "O, Adam, you are the father of the human race,
Allah created you with His hand, and blew into you of His
spirit, and made His angels prostrate to you, why did you
expel yourself and us from the garden?" Adam said to him:
"You are Musa whom Allah favored with His speech, and wrote
for you the Taurah with His hand, so (tell me) by how many
years before my creation did you find it written about me:
[... then Adam disobeyed his Lord and got lost.] (Qur'an
20:121)? Musa said: "By forty years." Then, Adam said: "So
how do you blame me for something which Allah had decreed for
me before my creation by forty years?" The Prophet said: "And
so, Adam defeated Musa in the dispute."
- "Act, for each of you will find
easy that for which he was created." (Muslim)
- "O, Abdullah ibn Qais, should I not
teach you a word which is one of the treasures of paradise?
(It is to say): There is no movement nor any power except
from Allah."
- "Someone said: That which Allah
wants and you want. To which the Prophet (saws) replied: That
which Allah alone wants."
[An-Nasaa'i, and he rated
it sahih]
EVIDENCE OF REASON
- Reason does not reject the idea of predestination and
decree and of Allah's wisdom and His will. Just the opposite,
reason demands that this is the case without doubt because of
the clear evidences of it in the universe around us.
- Belief in Allah and in his perfect might and power demands
the belief in His predestination and His decree, His wisdom and
His will.
- Fear
Allah, azza wa-jall (may Allah be hollowed and glorified) and
know that it is Allah, subhana watala, who decides your fate.
- Do not
question what is already written, for it was written by Allah
to happen.
- Example: Saying, "That shouldn't have happened!" is a
statement against the Qadar.
- Call upon
Allah, subhana watala, for your strength, support and
sustenance.