The Ruling on Saying "If I Had Done So-and-So"
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, I have a friend who constantly repeats the phrase, "If I had done so-and-so, then such-and-such would have happened." What is the Muslim's position on this phrase, O Shaykh?
Answer:
If the intention is to express regret over good deeds and doing good that he missed, then there is nothing wrong with that.Sahih al-Bukhari 1651 If I had not exited the state of ihram with you, I would have made it an 'Umrah, and I did not exit the state of ihram with you. He said this to his Companions. If his saying "if I had done so-and-so" is in the category of regretting the loss of good, then there is nothing wrong with it. However, if he says "if" to express regret over the divine decree and to blame the divine decree, then this is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 2664 Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, I have a friend who constantly repeats the phrase, "If I had done so-and-so, then such-and-such would have happened." What is the Muslim's position on this phrase, O Shaykh?
Answer:
If the intention is to express regret over good deeds and doing good that he missed, then there is nothing wrong with that.
the Prophet (ﷺ) he said, "If I had formerly known
النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ لَوِ اسْتَقْبَلْتُ مِنْ أَمْرِي مَا اسْتَدْبَرْتُcherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan.
احرص على ما ينفعك واستعن بالله ولا تعجزن، وإن فاتك شيء فلا تقل له أني فعلت كذا وكذا، ولكن قل قدر الله وما شاء فعل. نعم. فإن لو تفتح عمل الشيطان.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/090 — archive.org (3:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.