Explanation of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: (That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the evil of divine decree and the gloating of enemies).

The Shaykh : But this hadith contains another point, which is that the Messenger (peace be upon him), as mentioned in the hadith under this chapter, used to say: "He used to seek refuge with Allah from the evil of divine decree and the gloating of enemies." Under this chapter, regarding the gloating of enemies, he cited this authentic hadith: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the evil of divine decree and the gloating of enemies." What is the evil of divine decree? The evil of divine decree means the evil of what is decreed, meaning the evil of the created thing that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) creates with wisdom, but which contains harm and calamity for some people. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge from the evil of divine decree, meaning the evil of what is decreed. We Muslims always mention the conditions of faith, or among the conditions of faith is belief in divine decree and destiny, or destiny and divine decree. Is there a difference between destiny (qadar) and divine decree (qada'), or between divine decree and destiny? Yes, there is a difference, and it is a precise one, but both destiny and divine decree are two interconnected matters that cannot be separated from each other, even though there is a difference. Destiny is the thing that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) decreed from eternity in the Preserved Tablet. This is destiny. So if we suppose that after a hundred years, for example, we determine that something will happen that has not yet happened, as long as it has not happened, it is not called divine decree. When the decreed destiny happens, it becomes divine decree. This is the meaning I mentioned, that there is no separation between divine decree and destiny, in the sense that everything decreed must happen, and everything that happens and is decreed and judged must have been decreed previously. But destiny may be delayed. What does destiny mean? As He (the Exalted) said: "And We have measured everything with a measure." Destiny is the organization of affairs with extreme precision and placing everything in its proper place. So if our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) has decreed, for example, the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) after a thousand years, this is decreed, but it will not become divine decree until it becomes a realized fact.
Here we see that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to do this; he used to seek refuge from the evil of divine decree, or from the evil of what is decreed, meaning the thing that was created, decreed, and its matter concluded. This evil of divine decree can be interpreted for the Muslim in two meanings. Undoubtedly, the Muslim lives between good and evil, and evil is something every person is harmed by. But if we remember the true characteristic of the Muslim, the true characteristic that every Muslim must adopt, we remember that the evil decreed for the Muslim returns to him as good. If it does not return to him as good, it is evil and bad for him. I want to remind you with this statement of the authentic hadith, which is his saying (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him): , If something pleases him that satisfies him, he praises Allah, and it becomes good for him . So this evil that befell him, when he was patient with it, turned into good. So when the Muslim follows the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and seeks refuge from the evil of divine decree, what does that mean? Does it mean that this decree does not happen? It is not possible. Everything, as we mentioned earlier, is decreed and must happen, becoming a realized divine decree. But if this realized decree is something that harms the Muslim and saddens him, what is the benefit of seeking refuge from this evil? It is that he is patient with it. Seeking refuge from the evil is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) makes us satisfied with the evil of this decree, even if by saying, "I am satisfied with what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has decreed." Then this evil turns into good for him at that time. This is the benefit of seeking refuge from the evil of divine decree. It does not mean that it diverts the decreed decree from us; it must happen. But for the Muslim, when he receives this decree with a good heart and patience, then this decree, which is actually bad, turns into good for this Muslim servant.
"So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the evil of divine decree and the gloating of enemies." Look at how the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) combines in two sentences what the believer must be regarding his satisfaction with the decree of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His destiny, and his patience with it. This contains an obligation, contrary to human nature. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, it responds to human nature and permits him to seek refuge with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from the gloating of enemies, because this is a right of the self. That is, I seek refuge with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from being struck by a calamity that my enemy rejoices over. So this is a right of my self: that my enemy does not rejoice over me. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us that the Muslim has this right to seek refuge from the gloating of enemies. And this means in reality that Allah does not afflict the Muslim with a calamity over which his enemy rejoices and gloates over this Muslim. So I seek refuge with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from the gloating of enemies. This is a right of the self. But not all rights of the self are prescribed; some of them are prescribed, and this is among them: seeking refuge with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from the gloating of enemies. And some are not prescribed, and that is what we mentioned earlier: one person gets angry at another and goes to curse him, saying to him, "Disbeliever, enemy of Allah," or a word that takes its place from the vulgar terms used today. For example, for the slightest mistake, he says to him, "You... you don't understand," and so on, words known among people. So the Muslim, from this aspect, must control his words and not speak as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: . And I say, "I did not intend it, I said it like that, but I did not intend the meaning you understood." Some of the wise said, "The tongue of the wise is behind his intellect, and the tongue of the hypocrite or the open sinner is before his intellect." That is, he speaks the word and then thinks about it. It is not good for the wise, intelligent person to think before uttering this word: "Perhaps the people... perhaps he placed it in its proper place." This is among the meanings of his saying (peace be upon him): . And as he said in another hadith: . Beware of what you will have to apologize for. This short phrase is more eloquent than the previous one, especially in speech . As for his saying (peace be upon him) in another hadith: ; that is: Beware of speaking, doing, or writing anything that forces you to apologize. Beware of what you will have to apologize for, whether it is speech, writing, action, or the like. From this chapter, do not say to a Muslim, "O disbeliever," for one of them will be branded with it. And from the proper conduct, which has become rare among Muslims due to their ignorance of the Sunnah, is seeking refuge from the evil of divine decree and the gloating of enemies.