Is there a difference between will and decree?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
May Allah preserve you, O honorable father, is there a difference between will and decree?
The Shaykh : There is no difference in that; they are two terms that convey a single attribute. The will of Allah and His decree are one in meaning, unlike the pleasure of Allah and the love of Allah. The pleasure of Allah and His love are also one in meaning, but they differ from the will and the decree in that the decree and will of Allah encompass everything that occurs in this universe, whether good or evil. As you read in His Book—Blessed and Exalted is He:[Ya-Sin 36:82]. His saying—Exalted is He—encompasses everything that occurs in this universe, every matter, whether it is prescribed or not. Therefore, one of the scholars said:
"He wills good and ugly evil, *** But He is not pleased with the impossible."
The decree of Allah and the will of Allah are two different terms that are synonymous in meaning. Likewise, the pleasure of Allah and the love of Allah are also two different terms that are synonymous in meaning. These two terms differ in both wording and meaning from the first two terms. The love of Allah for a thing and the pleasure of Allah for a thing fall within the generality of His will, as does what He dislikes, as we mentioned earlier. However, what our Lord—Blessed and Exalted is He—dislikes does not fall within what He loves or what He is not pleased with. As He said—Exalted is He:. From this, one of the scholars said: "He wills good and ugly evil": he combined good and evil under the will, as we mentioned. "But He is not pleased with the impossible": which is the evil. So Allah—Mighty and Majestic—loves good, loves faith, and dislikes disbelief and tyranny. Both faith and disbelief are by the will of Allah—Mighty and Majestic—His decree and His will.
Yes.
The Shaykh : There is no difference in that; they are two terms that convey a single attribute. The will of Allah and His decree are one in meaning, unlike the pleasure of Allah and the love of Allah. The pleasure of Allah and His love are also one in meaning, but they differ from the will and the decree in that the decree and will of Allah encompass everything that occurs in this universe, whether good or evil. As you read in His Book—Blessed and Exalted is He:
His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is.
إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ"He wills good and ugly evil, *** But He is not pleased with the impossible."
The decree of Allah and the will of Allah are two different terms that are synonymous in meaning. Likewise, the pleasure of Allah and the love of Allah are also two different terms that are synonymous in meaning. These two terms differ in both wording and meaning from the first two terms. The love of Allah for a thing and the pleasure of Allah for a thing fall within the generality of His will, as does what He dislikes, as we mentioned earlier. However, what our Lord—Blessed and Exalted is He—dislikes does not fall within what He loves or what He is not pleased with. As He said—Exalted is He:
And He is not pleased for His servants with disbelief.
وَلا يَرْضَى لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَYes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.