by: Dr. Ali Al-Halawani

Belief in Qadar (Predestination or the Divine Decree)[1] is one of the pillars of the monotheistic faith of Islam and whoever disbelieves in Predestination declares himself to be outside the fold of Islam.

In the well-known hadith of Archangel Gabriel when he came to the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) to inquire about the meaning of al-Islam, al-Iman (faith) and al-Ihsan (perfect performance of good deeds), the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said about al-Iman:

“That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil.” (Muslim)

Jabir Ibn `Abdullah narrated another hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said:

“A slave (of Allah) shall not believe until he believes in al-Qadar [the Divine Decree], its good and its bad, such that he knows that what struck him would not have missed him, and that what missed him would not have struck him.” (At-Tirmidhi and authenticated by Al-Albani)

The Divine Decree defined

Muslim scholars differed as regards with the definition of the Divine Decree, but Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal gave a very satisfactory and well-phrased answer when he was asked about its meaning as saying, “The Divine Decree is the Power of the Ar-Rahman [Allah, the Most Gracious].”[2]

Accordingly, the meaning of the Divine Decree is what is decided and determined by Allah the Almighty in His saying,

Say [to them]: Indeed, the whole of every affair belongs to God alone. [Quran 3:154]

Thus to Him alone every matter shall be returned [for final Judgment.] [Quran 11:123]

Then highly exalted is the One in whose mighty Hand is all dominion over all things. [Quran 36:83]

In addition, numerous other Quranic ayahs indicate the fact that nothing can take place in the whole universe without the Will and Consent of Allah, the All-Powerful.

Skewed understanding

It is worth-mentioning here that many people manipulate the concept of Divine Decree as they use it to justify their reluctance to and shunning from supporting what is right and resisting what is wrong. They do this either to hide their cowardice or hypocrisy. They claim that so long as everything is predestined, they should do nothing at all as were it not Allah’s Will, it would not have taken place in the first place!

This assumption ignores the fact that we are granted the ability to choose and act within the framework of the Divine Decree. To be liable for our actions, Allah gave humans freedom to select their paths in this life. Such choices are pre-known to Allah and recorded by Him. They are conducted by humans through the power given to them by Allah. Thus, they still remain within the realm of Allah’s dominion and control that none can escape.

So, how could belief in Divine Decree shapes the believer’s attitude?

According to Islam, belief in Predestination aims at being an incentive to supporting good and defying evil. And, when the sacrifices of those who struggle against evil increase and the time of their striving is extended, belief in Predestination turns into a source of comfort, consolation and support for them in moments of despair and when no way out of the existing state of affairs can be sought.

Just to make sure this is crystal clear. The concept of Predestination means that all incidents and events – be it good or bad – are in fact divinely predetermined. Nothing can take place in the universe except with Allah’s Will and Power. In fact, everything in the universe was preordained even before the creation of the Heavens and the Earth and that all past, present and future life events are not in any way new to Allah the Almighty. This can be attested to by the following Qudsi (Divine) hadith which relates what may mean,

Abdullah Ibn `Amr narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah decreed the measures fifty thousand years before He created the Heavens and the Earth.” (Jami` At-Tirmidhi)

And the hadith narrated by `Abdul-Wahid Ibn Sulaim who said: “I arrived in Makkah and met `Ata’ Ibn Abi Rabah. I said: ‘O Abu Muhammad! Some people with us speak about al-Qadar.’ `Ata’ said: ‘I met Al-Walid Ibn `Ubadah Ibn As-Samit and he said: “My father narrated to me, he said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “Verily the first of what Allah created was the Pen. He said to it: ‘Write.’ It asked:’What should I write, my lord?‘ He said: ‘Write what was decreed about everything till the Last hour comes’”(Abu Dawud and authenticated by Al-Alabani)

Accordingly, all life occurrences are predestined by Allah the Creator; the believer is then demanded to repel the preordained evil by means of the preordained good such as in repelling disbelief by means of belief, innovation by means of Sunnah of the Prophet, sin by means of obedience, ailment by means of medicine, ignorance by means of knowledge, aggression by means of striving, and poverty by means of labor, etc.

Therefore, it is completely wrong to regard predestined incidents in part. This partial view may make us decline to face evil when it appears and rather make us think we should surrender thereto and never try to resist it. Notwithstanding, if we have a comprehensive look at the incident, we would then realize that it is Allah Who throws good and evil before us in this present life; He puts us to the test as to see what choice we may make. Given this, when evil occurs, the believer is faced with three available choices:

First: To accept, embrace and cherish evil;

Second: To give up to evil;

Third: To repel evil by means of good.

Undoubtedly, the third choice is what is intended here as a test to the believer’s will as cited by Ibn Taimiyyah from Imam `Abdel Qadir Al-Jilani.[3]

This can be illustrated by a simple but dramatic example: if someone cheats on others, breaks the oath of allegiance to his country, kills the innocent, and takes what is not his by means of deceit, fraud and aggression, then the believers will have three choices which run as follows:

1. Either they accept, embrace and support the evil he has committed and thus become “accessories after the fact” and they may even start to justify atrocities of the perpetrator;
2. Or, they surrender to evil and submit themselves to the will of the perpetrator and dare not defy him in any way out of cowardice and fearfulness;
3. Or, they stand by the truth, do their best to support it, defy the evil with all possible legitimate means, and try to restore the truth to its owners.

It is now obvious that the last choice is what is demanded from true believers and those who claim to be faithful followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Everything has an appointed term

Imam `Abdel Qadir Al-Jilani believes that each and every incident in life – be it good or evil – has an appointed term with a beginning and an end. These timings are inevitable as they never tarry for even an hour, nor shall they go in advance of their time which is predestined by Allah Who knows everything.

Therefore, a true believer is demanded to observe necessary legitimate means in handling such life incidents while waiting for the termination of their appointed term and the change of present conditions.

This is similar to the fact that after winter comes summer and after night comes daytime and whoever seeks to have daytime between `Isha’ prayer and dawn, for example, will have nothing in return but disappointment and frustration as he demands something in other than its due time. Rather, darkness of the night will even increase till it reaches its peak and only then the dawn will come up.[4]

These senses of disappointment and frustration may lead one to have evil thoughts about Allah and to act aimlessly in handling the divinely decreed incidents; a matter which may lead one from bad to worse. As Muslims, we are ordered to think well of Allah as is clear in the following hadith which reads what may mean,

Jabir Ibn `Abdullah reported: “I heard Allah’s Apostle (Peace and blessings be upon him) as saying three days before his death: ‘None of you should court death but only hoping good from Allah.‘” (Muslim)

As for the hypocrite who hides his hypocrisy, he thinks that disbelief and its followers will prevail and become victorious over belief and its adherents – thus he has evil thoughts about Allah the Almighty. Allah blamed the hypocrites for entertaining such thoughts in the Battle of Uhud as saying what may mean,

… Yet a group of you kept worrying about themselves, having thoughts about God that are not true – like the thoughts of the days of ignorance. [Quran 3:154]

And, He also says about the hypocrites what may mean,

Yet He shall punish the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women, and the men who associate gods with God and the women who associate gods with God – those who think evil thoughts about God. Upon them shall befall a turn of great misfortune. Moreover, God shall be wrathful against them and shall curse them. Thus has He prepared for them Hell – and an evil destination it is! [Quran 48:6]

Consequently, any Muslim who holds that final victory will be the disbelievers and that the believers will be defeated and will suffer losses in all cases even if they adopt the means to victory, then he would be thinking evil thoughts about Allah and would resemble the hypocrites who have similar convictions.

Signs of thinking evil thoughts about Allah

The following are some signs of thinking evil thoughts about Allah, the Creator of everything and the One Who has Absolute Power over everything:

– To give up hope of Allah’s Mercy and give one’s self to thinking of His torture and torment alone;

– To hold that He breaks His promise that He will accept the labor of and reward the obedient;

– To believe that He treats the pious the same way He treats the evil-doers and that He is unjust;

– To believe that He does not answer those who call upon Him, return to Him, and hope for His Mercy and Favor.

All these are nothing but signs of having evil thoughts about Allah, Glory to Him!

Generally, each and every evil thought about Allah should not touch the heart of the believer who really has true faith in Him, Glory to Him!

Finally, this understanding of the Divine Decree is an attempt to rectify the wrong concepts which prevail in the present time and which do affect the activities of so many people, groups, parties and factions.

A discerning eye cannot fail to see that a number of our contemporaries have chosen to adopt and support evil; while others have chosen to surrender to evil and to not to strive against it. However, the only thing to be accepted by Allah is to verify and correct one’s understanding of the concept of Divine Decree so as to make it a driving force to change what is in the soul and to resolve to adopt good and defy evil by means of it at any rate. Allah Almighty says in the Ever-Glorious Quran what may mean,

… Indeed, God does not change a people’s condition of grace until they change what is in their souls and become disobedient. [Quran 13:11]

and

Permission to fight back is given to those who believe who are being fought because they have been wronged. And, indeed, God is All-Able to give them victory. [Quran 22:39]

and

Indeed, God has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth, for which they shall assuredly have the Garden of Paradise in return. For they fight in the path of God. Thus they kill and are killed. That is a true promise binding upon Him in the Torah, and the Evangel (Gosbel), and the Quran. And who better fulfills his covenant than God? So rejoice in the bargain that you have made with Him. For, assuredly, it is this that is the magnificent triumph. [Quran 9:111]

[1] In this article, Predestination and Divine Decree are regarded as lexical synonyms and, thus, will be used interchangeably.

[2] Yassin, Muhammad Na`im. Kitab Al-Iman (The Book of Faith). Dar `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab for Publishing, Alexandria, Egypt. Pp. 72-3.

[3] Ibn Taimiyyah. Majmu` Al-Fatawa Al-Kubra (Collection of Major Islamic Verdicts). Vol. 1, P. 30.

[4] Adapted from `Abdel Qadir Al-Jilani (1973). Futuh al-Ghaib. PP. 81-2. Al-Halabi Bookstore, Egypt. Second edition.