What does divine decree and destiny mean in detail?
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The questioner : The questioner, Umm Muhammad from Cairo, says: “May Allah guide you, O Shaykh, what does divine decree and destiny mean in detail?”
The Shaykh : Qada' is qadar when mentioned alone, and qadar is qada' when mentioned alone. When they are mentioned together as “qada' and qadar,” qada' is what Allah Mighty and Majestic does, and qadar is what He wrote in eternity. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that faith in divine decree has levels. The first level is faith in the knowledge of Allah Mighty and Majestic, meaning the servant must believe that Allah the Exalted is All-Aware of everything, that nothing is hidden from Him on earth or in the heavens, and that He knows what has been and what will be, and that nothing happens except by His knowledge.
The second level is faith in the writing, meaning that Allah wrote in the Preserved Tablet what is to happen until the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, the first thing Allah created was the Pen, and He said to it, “Write.” It said, “My Lord, what should I write?” He said, “Write what is to happen.” So it wrote in that moment what is to happen until the Day of Resurrection.
The evidence for these two levels is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Hajj 22:70].
The third level is faith in the general will of Allah, and that everything that happens is by His will, Blessed and Exalted is He. There is no difference in this between what happens by His action, Exalted and Majestic is He, and what happens by the actions of His creation.
As for the evidence for the first, which is what happens by His action, it is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Ibrahim 14:27].
As for the second, which is what happened by the actions of His creation, its evidence is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Baqarah 2:253]. So everything that happens in the heavens or on earth happens by His will, Blessed and Exalted is He.
As for the fourth level, it is faith in the creation of Allah, and that every existent thing is created by Allah Mighty and Majestic, with no creator other than Him and no Lord besides Him. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Az-Zumar 39:62].
These four levels are the levels of faith in divine decree and destiny, and faith in divine decree is not complete except by establishing these four levels. It is well known that faith in divine decree is one of the six pillars of faith, which the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) answered with when Jibril asked him about faith, saying:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2610Sahih (Darussalam). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This questioner, Muhammad Uthman from Libya, says: “May Allah guide you, O Shaykh, is it permissible for me to meet and talk to my fiancée, knowing that the marriage contract has not yet been concluded? Please advise us, may you be rewarded.”
The Shaykh : The fiancée, meaning the one proposed to, is a stranger to the suitor. There is no difference between her and one who has not been proposed to until the marriage contract is concluded with her. Therefore, it is not permissible for the suitor to talk to the fiancée or to contact her except to the extent that the Shari'ah has permitted. What the Shari'ah has permitted is that if he intends to propose to a woman, he looks at her face, hands, feet, and head, but without talking to her, except to the extent of necessity. For example, if he looks at her in the presence of her guardian, he may talk to her to the extent of necessity, such as saying, “Do you stipulate such and such, or do you stipulate such and such,” or the like.
As for talking to her on the telephone, even if some people talk to her for an hour or two, this is forbidden and not permissible.
Some suitors say, “I talk to her in order to understand her situation and let her understand my situation.” It is said: Since you have proceeded with the proposal, you have not done so without knowing a great deal about her situation, and she has not accepted without knowing a great deal about your situation, so there is no need for a telephone call.
Generally, a telephone call with a fiancée is not free from desire or enjoyment. Desire means sexual desire, and enjoyment means taking pleasure in talking to her and calling her. It is not permissible for him at this stage to take pleasure in talking to her or to enjoy it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Qada' is qadar when mentioned alone, and qadar is qada' when mentioned alone. When they are mentioned together as “qada' and qadar,” qada' is what Allah Mighty and Majestic does, and qadar is what He wrote in eternity. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that faith in divine decree has levels. The first level is faith in the knowledge of Allah Mighty and Majestic, meaning the servant must believe that Allah the Exalted is All-Aware of everything, that nothing is hidden from Him on earth or in the heavens, and that He knows what has been and what will be, and that nothing happens except by His knowledge.
The second level is faith in the writing, meaning that Allah wrote in the Preserved Tablet what is to happen until the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, the first thing Allah created was the Pen, and He said to it, “Write.” It said, “My Lord, what should I write?” He said, “Write what is to happen.” So it wrote in that moment what is to happen until the Day of Resurrection.
The evidence for these two levels is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy.
أَلَم تَعلَم أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعلَمُ ما فِي السَّماءِ وَالأَرضِ إِنَّ ذلِكَ في كِتابٍ إِنَّ ذلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسيرٌThe third level is faith in the general will of Allah, and that everything that happens is by His will, Blessed and Exalted is He. There is no difference in this between what happens by His action, Exalted and Majestic is He, and what happens by the actions of His creation.
As for the evidence for the first, which is what happens by His action, it is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And Allah does what He wills.
ويفعل الله ما يشاءAs for the second, which is what happened by the actions of His creation, its evidence is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:
If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He intends.
وَلَو شاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقتَتَلَ الَّذينَ مِن بَعدِهِم مِن بَعدِ ما جاءَتهُمُ البَيِّناتُ وَلكِنِ اختَلَفوا فَمِنهُم مَن ءامَنَ وَمِنهُم مَن كَفَرَ وَلَو شاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقتَتَلوا وَلكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفعَلُ ما يُريدُAs for the fourth level, it is faith in the creation of Allah, and that every existent thing is created by Allah Mighty and Majestic, with no creator other than Him and no Lord besides Him. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.
اللَّهُ خالِقُ كُلِّ شَيءٍ وَهُوَ عَلى كُلِّ شَيءٍ وَكيلٌThese four levels are the levels of faith in divine decree and destiny, and faith in divine decree is not complete except by establishing these four levels. It is well known that faith in divine decree is one of the six pillars of faith, which the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) answered with when Jibril asked him about faith, saying:
To believe in Allah, His Angels, His, Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgement, and Al-Qadar, the good of it and the bad of it.
أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الأخر والقدر خيره وشرهThe questioner : May Allah bless you. This questioner, Muhammad Uthman from Libya, says: “May Allah guide you, O Shaykh, is it permissible for me to meet and talk to my fiancée, knowing that the marriage contract has not yet been concluded? Please advise us, may you be rewarded.”
The Shaykh : The fiancée, meaning the one proposed to, is a stranger to the suitor. There is no difference between her and one who has not been proposed to until the marriage contract is concluded with her. Therefore, it is not permissible for the suitor to talk to the fiancée or to contact her except to the extent that the Shari'ah has permitted. What the Shari'ah has permitted is that if he intends to propose to a woman, he looks at her face, hands, feet, and head, but without talking to her, except to the extent of necessity. For example, if he looks at her in the presence of her guardian, he may talk to her to the extent of necessity, such as saying, “Do you stipulate such and such, or do you stipulate such and such,” or the like.
As for talking to her on the telephone, even if some people talk to her for an hour or two, this is forbidden and not permissible.
Some suitors say, “I talk to her in order to understand her situation and let her understand my situation.” It is said: Since you have proceeded with the proposal, you have not done so without knowing a great deal about her situation, and she has not accepted without knowing a great deal about your situation, so there is no need for a telephone call.
Generally, a telephone call with a fiancée is not free from desire or enjoyment. Desire means sexual desire, and enjoyment means taking pleasure in talking to her and calling her. It is not permissible for him at this stage to take pleasure in talking to her or to enjoy it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.