Who are the Qadariyyah and what are their characteristics?
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The questioner : The Shaykh (may Allah preserve him), you mentioned faith in the divine decree. There is a sect called the Qadariyyah, and we hope to know what their doctrine is.
The Shaykh : The Qadariyyah are those who deny the divine decree. This is a negative attribution, because the custom is that one described by a thing possesses it, but these people are the opposite. They are attributed to the divine decree, yet they do not believe in it.
A Qadari believes that man is independent in his actions and that Allah has no intervention in them. Some of them go so far as to say that Allah does not know of a servant's actions except what has already occurred. Do you understand?
These people are called by the people of the Sunnah and the community: "the Majusi Qadariyyah". They are called Majusi, and they say: "The Qadariyyah are the Majus of this Ummah." Do you understand? How is that?
The Majus say that this universe has two creators: light and darkness. The evil in it was created by darkness, and the good in it was created by light. Thus, they assigned two creators to the created things and events. The Qadariyyah are similar in this regard: the actions of the servants and what comes from them are independent for the servant, and what Allah does is for Allah. Thus, they resembled the Majus in this aspect and were called the Majus of this Ummah. There is a hadith about this, but it is weak, yet the people of the Sunnah and the community adopted this title. Do you understand?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The Qadariyyah are those who deny the divine decree. This is a negative attribution, because the custom is that one described by a thing possesses it, but these people are the opposite. They are attributed to the divine decree, yet they do not believe in it.
A Qadari believes that man is independent in his actions and that Allah has no intervention in them. Some of them go so far as to say that Allah does not know of a servant's actions except what has already occurred. Do you understand?
These people are called by the people of the Sunnah and the community: "the Majusi Qadariyyah". They are called Majusi, and they say: "The Qadariyyah are the Majus of this Ummah." Do you understand? How is that?
The Majus say that this universe has two creators: light and darkness. The evil in it was created by darkness, and the good in it was created by light. Thus, they assigned two creators to the created things and events. The Qadariyyah are similar in this regard: the actions of the servants and what comes from them are independent for the servant, and what Allah does is for Allah. Thus, they resembled the Majus in this aspect and were called the Majus of this Ummah. There is a hadith about this, but it is weak, yet the people of the Sunnah and the community adopted this title. Do you understand?
The questioner : Yes.