The Difference Between Divine Decree and Destiny, and Between Contentment and Patience
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah guide you. What is the difference between divine decree and destiny? And what is the position regarding Allah’s decrees, contentment, and patience?
The Shaykh:
Divine decree and destiny mean the same thing; there is no difference between them. Contentment with Allah’s decree and destiny means not being distressed and not complaining. This is obligatory. It is obligatory to be content with Allah’s decree and destiny, and nothing else suffices for this. This is obligatory. As for contentment in the sense of taking pleasure in the decree and destiny, taking pleasure in hunger and illness, this is not obligatory, it is not obligatory, yes. Just as the Sufis say, that one should take pleasure in these states, hunger and illness. This is not required of you, this is not required of you, yes.
May Allah guide you. What is the difference between divine decree and destiny? And what is the position regarding Allah’s decrees, contentment, and patience?
The Shaykh:
Divine decree and destiny mean the same thing; there is no difference between them. Contentment with Allah’s decree and destiny means not being distressed and not complaining. This is obligatory. It is obligatory to be content with Allah’s decree and destiny, and nothing else suffices for this. This is obligatory. As for contentment in the sense of taking pleasure in the decree and destiny, taking pleasure in hunger and illness, this is not obligatory, it is not obligatory, yes. Just as the Sufis say, that one should take pleasure in these states, hunger and illness. This is not required of you, this is not required of you, yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 33 من 64 / شرح القصيدة النونية / هو القوي له القوى جمعا / صالح الفوزان / العقيدة / كبار العلماء — youtube.com (52:07)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.