Explaining that divine decree does not contradict the Shari'ah, and refuting those who cite divine decree as an excuse for sins

The Shaykh : If you ask, "Does belief in divine decree contradict what is known by necessity that a person does things by his own choice?" the answer is no, because what a person does by his own choice is part of Allah's decree. As the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), said when he headed toward Sham and they told him, "There is a plague in Sham that is killing people", he halted the march, gathered the Companions, and consulted them. Then he consulted the Ansar, then the Muhajirun. The majority said, "Let us return." He resolved to return, but Abu 'Ubaydah, the Trustee of this Ummah, 'Amir ibn al-Jarrah, came to him and said, "O Commander of the Faithful, how will you return fleeing from the decree of Allah?" 'Umar answered him, saying, "We flee from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah". We proceeded on the journey by the decree of Allah, and our return is by the decree of Allah. We have not gone beyond the decree of Allah. We flee from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah. Then he gave him an example, saying, "Suppose you had a flock of sheep and a valley with two branches, one fertile and the other barren. Which one would you graze them in?" What did he say? "The fertile one", naturally. He said, "If you graze them in the fertile one, it is by the decree of Allah, and if you go to the barren one, it is by the decree of Allah. It is all by the decree of Allah. So even though you are doing it, you are only doing it by the decree of Allah."
If you ask, "If you establish that, does it follow that the sinner is excused for his sin because he says, 'I am sinning by the decree of Allah'? What is the answer?" The answer is no. The sinner's citing of divine decree as an excuse is invalid by the Shari'ah and by reason. As for its invalidity by the Shari'ah, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said, Is that beautiful and correct, or not? If Allah had willed, they would not have associated partners with Him, but they did not say that on the basis of belief in divine decree, but on the basis of citing divine decree as an excuse for disobeying Allah. So what did Allah say about them? Allah the Exalted said, And if their argument had been valid, Allah would not have let them taste His punishment. This is clear evidence of the invalidity of the sinner's citing of divine decree as an excuse for his sin.
There is another evidence, which is His saying, the Exalted, Here, Allah invalidated the argument of the people by sending the messengers. If divine decree were a valid argument, it would not be negated by the sending of the messengers, because divine decree remains even with the sending of the messengers, is that not so? This is also evidence of the invalidity of the sinner's citing of divine decree as an excuse for his sin. As for reason, we say this argument is invalid, invalid. O brother of divine decree, how is it invalid? We say now, it is published in the official newspaper that there is a job with a salary of ten thousand riyals, and a job with a salary of five thousand riyals, and a job with a salary of three thousand riyals. Yes, do you go to compete, or not? Where to? To the one with ten thousand riyals. If you don't get it, you drop to the five thousand. If you don't get it, you drop to the three thousand. If you don't get it, you say, "I am the one who was negligent." Yes, I am the one who was negligent. Why didn't you apply with the first people? We have religious jobs: the five daily prayers are expiation for what is between them. The five daily prayers are like a river at the door of one of us, in which he bathes every day. How much is the reward for praying in congregation? Where are you regarding this? Why don't you go to these jobs? Why do you leave these jobs, citing divine decree as an excuse, and go panting to the capital from the farthest part of the country for the sake of a salary of ten thousand riyals, then five thousand, then three thousand?! And this is very clear. And it is amazing: for whose benefit is it? For the person, whether in this world or the Hereafter. That is, whether in worldly deeds, the ranks and jobs we mentioned, or in the deeds of the Hereafter, the benefit is for you. So how do you cite divine decree as an excuse for matters related to the Hereafter, and not cite divine decree for matters related to this world?
Another man said, "By Allah, perhaps Allah will provide me with a righteous son, a student of knowledge, a worshipper, wealthy and generous." Yes, we said, "Fine, every individual asks Allah this question. We say, 'Marry so that a son may come to you.' He says, 'Allah will provide me with a righteous son.' Every time he comes to you, he says, 'Allah will provide me with a righteous son.' Will the son come or not? But if he marries, by the will of Allah the Exalted, he may be provided with this son. This one who says, 'I ask Allah for Paradise and safety from the Fire,' but does not do his work, can he be saved from the Fire and enter Paradise? No, he cannot. So the citing of divine decree as an excuse for sins against Allah is invalid by the report, by reason, and by the command, and praise be to Allah, it is clear."
For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave a comprehensive, effective, and beneficial word when he said, If the greatest of authors who write such a comprehensive, effective, and beneficial phrase tried, they would not be able to. You find these good people who are called philosophers or those who philosophize writing pages on such a simple sentence: "If it is said, the answer is; if it is said, the answer is; if it is said, the answer is." And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us one word. What did he say? "Work." The word "Work" is a command verb. If we followed this, would these objections that such people raise be refuted? No, by Allah, they would not be refuted, they would not be refuted. So the result is that belief in divine decree is not an argument for the sinner, it is not an argument for the sinner regarding his sin.