What is the ruling on belief in divine decree and destiny?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. The questioner from Makkah al-Mukarramah asks: What is the ruling on belief in divine decree and destiny?
The Shaykh : Belief in divine decree and destiny is one of the six pillars of faith, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stated in his response to Jibril when he said: "Inform me about faith." He said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2610Sahih (Darussalam).
And faith in the decree is not complete unless a person believes in four matters:
The first is belief in the knowledge of Allah the Exalted, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, encompasses everything with knowledge, and nothing is hidden from Him.
The second is that Allah has written in the Preserved Tablet the measures of all things until the Day of Resurrection. The evidence for these two matters is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Hajj 22:70], and His saying, the Exalted: [Al-An'am 6:59].
The third matter is that you believe that everything in the universe exists by the will of Allah, and nothing is outside His will, even the actions of the servants, for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has willed them. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Takwir 81:28-29], and He, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: [Al-Baqarah 2:253].
The fourth matter is that you believe that Allah the Exalted is the Creator of everything in the heavens and the earth, as Allah the Exalted said:[Az-Zumar 39:62].
Even the actions of the servant are created by Allah the Exalted, as He, the Exalted, said:[As-Saffat 37:96]. The reason the action of the servant is created by Allah is that the action of the servant occurs by the will and power of the servant, and the will and power of the servant are created by Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And the Creator of the complete cause is the Creator of the effect. So if the action of a human being results from a will and power that are created by Allah, then the action of the servant becomes created by Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
So it is necessary in belief in the decree to believe in these four matters: the knowledge of Allah, the writing of everything that exists until the Day of Resurrection in the Preserved Tablet, the will of Allah, and the creation of Allah. And in this, the poet says:
The knowledge, the writing, our Lord's will... and His creation, which is bringing into existence and formation.
The Shaykh : Belief in divine decree and destiny is one of the six pillars of faith, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stated in his response to Jibril when he said: "Inform me about faith." He said:
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 الآخر والقدر خيره وشرهAnd faith in the decree is not complete unless a person believes in four matters:
The first is belief in the knowledge of Allah the Exalted, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, encompasses everything with knowledge, and nothing is hidden from Him.
The second is that Allah has written in the Preserved Tablet the measures of all things until the Day of Resurrection. The evidence for these two matters is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
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.
ألم تعلم أن الله يعلم ما في السموات والأرض إن ذلك في كتاب إن ذلك على الله يسيرAnd with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.
وعنده مفاتح الغيب لا يعلمها إلا هو ويعلم ما في البر والبحر وما تسقط من ورقة إلا يعلمها ولا حبة في ظلمات الأرض ولا رطب ولا يابس إلى في كتاب مبينThe third matter is that you believe that everything in the universe exists by the will of Allah, and nothing is outside His will, even the actions of the servants, for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has willed them. Allah the Exalted said:
(28) For whoever wills among you to take a right course. (29) And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
لمن شاء منكم أن يستقيم وما تشاؤون إلا أن يشاء الله رب العالمينIf 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.
ولو شاء الله ما اقتتل الذين من بعدهم من بعد ما جاءتهم البينات ولكن اختلفوا فمنهم من آمن ومنهم من كفر ولو شاء الله ما اقتتلوا ولكن الله يفعل ما يريدThe fourth matter is that you believe that Allah the Exalted is the Creator of everything in the heavens and the earth, as Allah the Exalted said:
Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.
الله خالق كل شيء وهو على كل شيء وكيلEven the actions of the servant are created by Allah the Exalted, as He, the Exalted, said:
While Allah created you and that which you do?"
والله خلقكم وما تعملونSo it is necessary in belief in the decree to believe in these four matters: the knowledge of Allah, the writing of everything that exists until the Day of Resurrection in the Preserved Tablet, the will of Allah, and the creation of Allah. And in this, the poet says:
The knowledge, the writing, our Lord's will... and His creation, which is bringing into existence and formation.