The Obligation of Believing in Divine Decree, Its Good and Its Evil, and the Human Being Between Choice and Being Directed
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Fatwa No. ( 5382 ):
Q: What is the meaning of the verses[At-Takwir 81:28-29][Al-Muddaththir 74:55-56]? I have heard some scholars say that the meaning of these aforementioned verses is that Allah, the Exalted, gave the human being a will and then left him to choose for himself what he wishes, and that there was no grace or success from Allah specifically for those who believed, nor any abandonment specifically for those who disbelieved. Is this statement in accordance with the statement of the people of the Sunnah and the community ? What is the meaning of: [Al-Kahf 18:49], and other verses that clarify that Allah does not wrong His servants in any way? I have also heard some scholars interpret these verses to mean that Allah, the Exalted, is just, so He cannot make a person a disbeliever and then punish him for his disbelief; rather, it is the human being who begins in disbelief, and Allah increases him in his disbelief, and Allah cannot initiate anyone in misguidance. Is this meaning and interpretation of the injustice negated from Allah correct? I have read what Ibn Hazm the Zahiri wrote on divine decree in his book [Al-Millal wa al-Nihal]. Is what he established the school of the people of the Sunnah and the community or the school of the Jabriyyah ?
A: First: It is obligatory for the Muslim to believe in divine decree, its good and its evil,
and we have previously issued a fatwa on the meaning of divine decree, No. 4088. Its text is: What is the meaning of divine decree with a comprehensive detail? (Its meaning is that Allah, the Exalted, knew all things before their existence and wrote them with Him, willed what of them came into being, and created what He willed to create. These are the four levels of divine decree in which one must believe, and a servant is not a believer in divine decree in perfection until he believes in them. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when Jibril asked him about faith, he answered:Sahih Muslim 8a narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. It is also established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit that he said to him: the hadith. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) clarified this meaning in [Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah]; we advise you to review and memorize it. Another fatwa on the meaning of being directed and having choice, No. 4513, has this text: (The human being is one who has choice and one who is directed. As for his having choice, it is because Allah, the Exalted, gave him intellect, hearing, sight, and will, so he knows thereby good from evil and benefit from harm, and he chooses what suits him. By this, the obligations of command and prohibition are attached to him, and he deserves reward for obeying Allah and His Messenger and punishment for disobeying Allah and His Messenger. As for his being directed, it is because he does not go beyond the decree and will of Allah in his actions and words,
as He, the Exalted, said:[Al-Hadid 57:22], and He, the Exalted, said: [At-Takwir 81:28-29], and He, the Exalted, said: [Yunus 10:22] the verse. There are many verses and authentic hadiths in this chapter, all of which indicate what we have mentioned for whoever reflects on the Book and the Sunnah. Second: The verses mentioned in the question and what has come regarding their meaning indicate that everything proceeds by the decree and will of Allah, and His will is effective; there is no will for the servants except what He willed for them to be, and what He did not will did not happen. This was explained previously in the aforementioned fatwa. What we have mentioned is the statement of the people of the Sunnah and the community , and what was mentioned in the question regarding the denial of divine decree is contrary to what they are upon. Third: What the evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah indicates regarding the exalting of Allah from the injustice of the servants necessitates a middle position between the statements of the Qadariyyah and the Jabriyyah . It is not the case that what is injustice and ugliness from the sons of Adam is injustice and ugliness from Him, as the Jabriyyah and the Qadariyyah who deny it say, for that is likening Allah to His creation and analogizing Him to them. Exalted is Allah above that by a great exaltation. He, the Exalted, said: [An-Nahl 16:74], and He said:
[Ash-Shuraa 42:11]. Fourth: From what has preceded, the school of the people of the Sunnah and the community in this chapter becomes clear to you, and everything else is false. We advise you to review [Shifa' al-'Alil fi Mas'al al-Qada' wa al-Qadar wa al-Hikmah wa al-Ta'lil] by the scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), for it is very beneficial. And success is from Allah. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: What is the meaning of the verses
(28) For whoever wills among you to take a right course. (29) And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ (28) وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ(55) Then whoever wills will remember it. (56) And they will not remember except that Allah wills. He is worthy of fear and adequate for [granting] forgiveness.
فَمَنْ شَاءَ ذَكَرَهُ (55) وَمَا يَذْكُرُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ هُوَ أَهْلُ التَّقْوَى وَأَهْلُ الْمَغْفِرَةِAnd your Lord does injustice to no one.
وَلاَ يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًاA: First: It is obligatory for the Muslim to believe in divine decree, its good and its evil,
and we have previously issued a fatwa on the meaning of divine decree, No. 4088. Its text is: What is the meaning of divine decree with a comprehensive detail? (Its meaning is that Allah, the Exalted, knew all things before their existence and wrote them with Him, willed what of them came into being, and created what He willed to create. These are the four levels of divine decree in which one must believe, and a servant is not a believer in divine decree in perfection until he believes in them. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when Jibril asked him about faith, he answered:
That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil.
أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشرهYou will not find the taste of faith until you believe in divine decree and know that what has befallen you could not have missed you, and what has missed you could not have befallen you
إنك لن تجد طعم الإِيمان حتى تؤمن بالقدر وتعلم أن ما أصابك لم يكن ليخطئك وما أخطأك لم يكن ليصيبكas He, the Exalted, said:
No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy -
مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ(28) For whoever wills among you to take a right course. (29) And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ (28) وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَIt is He who enables you to travel on land and sea
هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِSo do not assert similarities to Allah
فَلا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الأَمْثَالَThere is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.