Faith in divine decree, its good and its evil
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The questioner: Your Eminence! On the occasion of discussing Surat al-Qadr, we ask that you give us a brief overview of the sixth pillar of faith, which is faith in divine decree, its good and its evil, and clarify the word "its evil" regarding what the wording might imply?
The Shaykh: Speaking about divine decree is not easy; rather, it is one of the greatest issues, but in any case, we will answer the last point, which is the evil in the phrase: (faith in divine decree, its good and its evil).
The decree is all from Allah, Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Qamar: 49] So, is there evil in the decree of Allah?Answer: We say: If by decree we mean Allah’s determination of a thing, then it is not evil; for Allah does not determine anything except that it is good, even sickness, death, fear, fighting, and earthquakes, are good with respect to Allah’s determination of them, as He the Exalted said: [Ar-Rum 30:41] The result? [Ar-Rum: 41] But with respect to the determined thing: that is what contains good and evil.The determined thing: The acted-upon created thing, that is what contains good and evil, as in the phrase regarding decree (its good and its evil) the intended meaning is: the evil of the determined thing, not the evil of the decree. As for the decree, which is Allah’s determination, it is all good.
The Shaykh: The determined thing, as you see, is the wolf among Allah’s determined things evil or good? Evil. The sheep among Allah’s determined things good or evil? Good. So the evil and the good are in the determined things, but not in the determination.Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Good is in Your hands, and evil is not from You).
The Shaykh: We ask Allah the Exalted to determine for us, for you, and for all Muslims, what is in it good and rectitude.
The Shaykh: And we ask Allah the Exalted in this station, in the arrival of this blessed time of an obligatory duty from the duties of Allah, to support our brothers in Chechnya and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to destroy the state of the Russians and tear it apart completely and scatter it completely, and we ask Allah the Exalted to make it a lesson for the two worlds in humiliation, separation, and dispersion, and we ask Allah who scattered the Soviet Union to scatter the states of the Russians until they are torn into pieces! Soon, not delayed! And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his companions.
The Shaykh: Speaking about divine decree is not easy; rather, it is one of the greatest issues, but in any case, we will answer the last point, which is the evil in the phrase: (faith in divine decree, its good and its evil).
The decree is all from Allah, Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, all things We created with predestination.
إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍCorruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done
ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُواPerhaps they will return
لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَThe Shaykh: The determined thing, as you see, is the wolf among Allah’s determined things evil or good? Evil. The sheep among Allah’s determined things good or evil? Good. So the evil and the good are in the determined things, but not in the determination.Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Good is in Your hands, and evil is not from You).
The Shaykh: We ask Allah the Exalted to determine for us, for you, and for all Muslims, what is in it good and rectitude.
The Shaykh: And we ask Allah the Exalted in this station, in the arrival of this blessed time of an obligatory duty from the duties of Allah, to support our brothers in Chechnya and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to destroy the state of the Russians and tear it apart completely and scatter it completely, and we ask Allah the Exalted to make it a lesson for the two worlds in humiliation, separation, and dispersion, and we ask Allah who scattered the Soviet Union to scatter the states of the Russians until they are torn into pieces! Soon, not delayed! And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his companions.