The Ruling on Citing Divine Decree as an Excuse for Sin and for Calamity
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the ruling on a person saying after a calamity befalls him, "Why did I do that?" and then saying, "It was written"?
Answer:
It is not permissible to use divine decree and destiny as an excuse for sin. Iblis used it as an excuse:[Al-A'raf 7:16]. Therefore, one does not use divine decree and destiny as an excuse for sin; rather, it is obligatory to repent. As for using divine decree and destiny as an excuse for a calamity, that is correct. What befalls you was not going to miss you, and what misses you was not going to befall you. So if a calamity befalls you, it is the decree and destiny of Allah. [Al-Baqarah 2:156]
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the ruling on a person saying after a calamity befalls him, "Why did I do that?" and then saying, "It was written"?
Answer:
It is not permissible to use divine decree and destiny as an excuse for sin. Iblis used it as an excuse:
[Satan] said, "Because You have put me in error,
قَالَ فَبِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِيdisaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return."
مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب ما جاء في منكري القدر — islamhouse.com (55:57)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.