Refuting Those Who Cite Divine Decree as an Excuse for Sins

The Shaykh : Now, the sinner, the wicked, the rebellious one comes along, committing zina in the morning, drinking intoxicants in the evening, and killing people in the middle of the day. When we say something to him, he says, "By Allah, this is by the will of Allah; what Allah willed happened, and what He did not will did not happen. Can you blame me for something Allah willed for me?" We would be left in a dilemma. We would be left in a dilemma. Every criminal would say, "How can you blame me for something Allah willed? I have no power over this; it is by the will of Allah." How quickly you are affected! At first, you were happy to affirm that things are by the will of Allah, but now confusion is evident on your faces. Yes, what do we say? We say what 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said, as is reported from him: Do you know the thief? What is it, or who is it? Here. Am I stealing from you now? How do you describe the one who takes what is not his? No, I am... here. What? Know the thief. Wrong. No, rest. Who knows the thief? The left hand is not accepted unless the right hand is paralyzed. Is your right hand paralyzed? Yes, first, then rest. "He is the one who takes money from its place of security in a manner of concealment" He takes money from its place of security, meaning from a secured place, in a manner of concealment. A thief was brought to the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He was brought to him, and he ordered his hand to be cut off because Allah said: He said: What does he intend by this? That the hadd punishment be lifted from him and his hand not be cut off. He said: . Is this not an argument? Even though 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) knew that we cut it off by the will of Allah and by the Shari'ah. The thief steals by the will, not by the Shari'ah, because theft is forbidden.
So we say to this one who argued with us using divine decree or will: Do you feel, when you committed this sin, that someone forced you to do it, or that you did it by your own choice? What will he say? By his choice, or was he forced? By his choice. Therefore, if one is forced to commit a sin, and if one is forced to commit a sin, no ruling applies to him, even if a person is forced to say a word of disbelief or do an act of disbelief while being forced, he is not a disbeliever. But regarding the voluntary act of a person, does he feel that someone forced him? The answer is: No. Everyone knows that he moves by his will, and he is silent and still by his will. No one forces him. But when something happens, we know that it happened by what? By the will of Allah. As for before it happens, we do not know what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) wills. So there is no argument, no argument for the person using the divine decree of Allah. And listen to the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): . Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in response to them: . And if there had been an argument in the divine decree for these people, Allah would not have made them taste His wrath. And you now feel from yourself that you go to the house by your choice, and you come to the mosque by your choice, and you eat by your choice, and you drink by your choice, and you refrain from eating and drinking by your choice; no one forces you. But we know that if you will something and it happens, then Allah has willed it without doubt.