The Four Ranks of Divine Decree and Belief in Them
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O Shaykh! It is known that the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding divine decree is: belief in the four ranks of divine decree. However, in response to convincing a person who might argue with divine decree, or who might conceive in his mind the argument of divine decree regarding sin,We say to him, for example: is it correct to say to him: All that is in the matter is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knew this matter before it occurred due to the completeness of His knowledge, or must we enumerate the ranks,So we say: that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knew it, willed it, created it, and brought it into existence, so perhaps it may occur to his heart that he is compelled to commit this sin?
This is easy,We say: this is what Allah decreed for you, but when you are about to commit it, do you know that Allah decreed it for you? —we ask— do you know before you steal that Allah decreed that you would steal? So why do you proceed to steal? You do not know that Allah has written theft for you unless you steal, so your action is by your choice, but after you do it, you know that Allah decreed this for you. And why do you not consider that Allah has decreed chastity and wealth for you and leave the theft? Why do you not consider this? You are in a state of choice now. If something happens to him, there is no harm in his arguing with divine decree,If the thing happened to him and he regretted and said: By Allah, unfortunately! But this is something decreed,Meaning: a man drank intoxicants and was rebuked for it,He said: By Allah! I hate what happens when I have intoxicants, but this is something decreed, and Allah decreed it, and what He willed happened, and I am repentant to Allah. This is permissible; because with his repentance, the blame was averted from him and the blame was lifted from him, and his argument with divine decree is due to the generality of the will of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And of that is (that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) at night,So he found them sleeping and said to them: Will you not pray?Meaning: rebuking them for not having stood up for prayer,So 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) argued with divine decree and said: Our souls are in the hand of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and if Allah had willed to wake us, He would have woken us. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left while saying: [Al-Kahf: 54] ) and he did not rebuke him for arguing with divine decree.
And of that also is the saying of Adam when Moses argued with him (You drove us and yourself out of Paradise,He said: do you blame me for something that Allah wrote for me.
) So he distinguished between a person who argues with divine decree to justify his position regarding the commission of sin and continues in it, and a person who argued with divine decree along with his repentance to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and his return.
The second is permissible,And this is indicated by a hadith, which is: (Strive for what benefits you and seek help from Allah and do not be weak,And if something befalls you, do not say: if I had done such and such, it would have been such and such, for "if" opens the work of Satan,But say: what Allah decreed and what He willed happened) For this reason, Allah rebuked those who associated partners with Allah and said: [Al-An'am: 148] even though He said to His Prophet: [Al-An'am: 107] because those people argued with divine decree to ward off blame from themselves, and as an excuse for their persistence in associating partners with Allah,And as for His saying (the Exalted): [Al-An'am: 107] The intended meaning is to console the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he does not suffer severe regret over their association of partners with Allah; to make clear that it is Allah, the Exalted, who willed that they associate partners with Him.
Question: Which of the two expressions is more complete, so we say: All that is in the matter is that Allah knew this matter?The Shaykh: No.
No.
Because if you said this, you would deny that it is from the will of Allah.
The questioner: You have done well, may Allah bless you!
This is easy,We say: this is what Allah decreed for you, but when you are about to commit it, do you know that Allah decreed it for you? —we ask— do you know before you steal that Allah decreed that you would steal? So why do you proceed to steal? You do not know that Allah has written theft for you unless you steal, so your action is by your choice, but after you do it, you know that Allah decreed this for you. And why do you not consider that Allah has decreed chastity and wealth for you and leave the theft? Why do you not consider this? You are in a state of choice now. If something happens to him, there is no harm in his arguing with divine decree,If the thing happened to him and he regretted and said: By Allah, unfortunately! But this is something decreed,Meaning: a man drank intoxicants and was rebuked for it,He said: By Allah! I hate what happens when I have intoxicants, but this is something decreed, and Allah decreed it, and what He willed happened, and I am repentant to Allah. This is permissible; because with his repentance, the blame was averted from him and the blame was lifted from him, and his argument with divine decree is due to the generality of the will of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And of that is (that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) at night,So he found them sleeping and said to them: Will you not pray?Meaning: rebuking them for not having stood up for prayer,So 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) argued with divine decree and said: Our souls are in the hand of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and if Allah had willed to wake us, He would have woken us. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left while saying:
but man has ever been, most of anything, [prone to] dispute.
وَكَانَ الْأِنْسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلاًAnd of that also is the saying of Adam when Moses argued with him (You drove us and yourself out of Paradise,He said: do you blame me for something that Allah wrote for me.
) So he distinguished between a person who argues with divine decree to justify his position regarding the commission of sin and continues in it, and a person who argued with divine decree along with his repentance to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and his return.
The second is permissible,And this is indicated by a hadith, which is: (Strive for what benefits you and seek help from Allah and do not be weak,And if something befalls you, do not say: if I had done such and such, it would have been such and such, for "if" opens the work of Satan,But say: what Allah decreed and what He willed happened) For this reason, Allah rebuked those who associated partners with Allah and said:
If Allah had willed, we would not have associated
لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكْنَاBut if Allah had willed, they would not have associated
وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكُواBut if Allah had willed, they would not have associated
وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكُواQuestion: Which of the two expressions is more complete, so we say: All that is in the matter is that Allah knew this matter?The Shaykh: No.
No.
Because if you said this, you would deny that it is from the will of Allah.
The questioner: You have done well, may Allah bless you!