When is saying "if only" prohibited?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A questioner says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed that "if only" opens the door to the work of Satan, but Honorable Shaykh, it occurs frequently in the Qur'an, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-A'raf 7:96] How do we reconcile the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with its occurrence in the Qur'an? May Allah preserve you and bless you.
Answer:
The concern is not with merely saying "if only"; the concern is with the intended meaning. If it is intended as regret over divine decree and a lack of patience, that is what is blameworthy.As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 64:1059 So the one who says, in the face of calamities, "if only I had done this, if only I had done that," that is the one who is blameworthy.
This person believes in divine decree and destiny and says, "What Allah willed came to be, and what He did not will did not happen," and he does not say "if only" in this context, because "if only" opens the door to the work of Satan, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 2664 So the point is not that "if only" is never to be said. Rather, it is not to be said out of distress and dissatisfaction with divine decree and destiny. That is what is required.
A questioner says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed that "if only" opens the door to the work of Satan, but Honorable Shaykh, it occurs frequently in the Qur'an, as Allah the Exalted said:
And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَىٰ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْاAnswer:
The concern is not with merely saying "if only"; the concern is with the intended meaning. If it is intended as regret over divine decree and a lack of patience, that is what is blameworthy.
If something befalls you, do not say, "If only I had done such and such," but say, "It is the decree of Allah, and what He willed, He did."
إن أصابك شيء فلا تقل له أني فعلت كذا وكذا، ولكن قل قدر الله وما شاء فعلThis person believes in divine decree and destiny and says, "What Allah willed came to be, and what He did not will did not happen," and he does not say "if only" in this context, because "if only" opens the door to the work of Satan, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do
ولكن قل قدر الله وما شاء فعل
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [63] متى يكون قول "لو" ممنوعًا؟ - صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.