As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

In another thread, I mentioned that anyone going for Haj does so because he was invited there by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta�ala, meaning by Allah�s Will. One brother pointed out that Allah will not invite such people (referring to the said person�s dishonesty) to perform Haj. Anyway to cut a long story short, I want to share with you about Al Qada and Al Qadar.

Normally when we study the different aspects of Islam, we pay more attention to The Pillars of Islam for the simple reason these are acts of duties for which we will be accountable on the Day of Judgment if we neglect them. I never really looked deeply into the concept of the Articles of Faith. I only studied them briefly.

For the past 18 months I having based my studies on the Articles of Faith- What does it really mean to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, The Last Day and Al Qadar (the good and evil thereof)

What intrigued me the most, during this time, was the concept of Al-Qadaa and Al-Qadar and I am still studying this aspect. We have a free choice in matters yet everything is pre-decreed. Very confusing!

What I am sharing here is a brief summary from my notes, which I made while researching this subject online from the various websites and books which I have.

Please feel free to comment or correct me, showing references from the Glorious Qur'an and Sunnah, so we all can learn from our mistakes.

The meaning of Al-Qadaa and Al-Qadar:  when mentioned separately both mean the predestination (pre-decree) of an action or event. When used together Al-Qadar refers to the pre-decree of an action or event before it occurs and Al-Qadaa refers to the act or event after it took place.

�Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine decree)� (Surah Al-Qamar 54:49)

In the famous Hadith referred to as Hadith Jibril (Alayhi Salam) when he asked the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) what is Iman? And the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) replied, �It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers and the Last Day and to believe in predestination, both the good and evil thereof.�

The majority of the scholars agree on four principals pertaining to Al Qadaa and Al-Qadar.

1. Allah�s absolute knowledge of all affairs � what has happened, what is happening and what will happen till the Final Hour.

�It is Allah Who has created the seven heavens and of the earth the same thereof. His Command  descends between them, that you may know that Allah has power over all things. Verily Allah�s knowledge encompasses all things.� (Surah At-Talaq 65:12)

2. Allah has written all that will occur in a persevered tablet � Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz before He created the heavens and the earth.

�Know you not that Allah knows all this is in the heavens and on the earth? Verily, it is (all) in the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz). Verily that is easy of Allah.� (Surah Al-Hajj 22: 70)

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said: �Allah has written what is ordained for creation 50 thousand years before the creation of the heavens and the earth and this Arsh (throne) is over the water. (Agreed upon)

3. Nothing occurs except by the Will of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta�ala, making no difference whether to refers to His Actions or to that of the created being.

�But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise� (Surah Al-Insan 76: 30)

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said: �If the whole Ummah were to unite and try to benefit you in something, they would never benefit you except by that which Allah has written for you. If the whole Ummah were to unite and try to harm you in something, they would never harm you except by that which Allah has written for you.� (this is part of a long Hadith narrated by ibn Abbas (Radhi Allahu Anhuma) (Agreed upon)

4. Allah is the Creator of all things � from the minute atom to our own actions.

�While Allah has created you and what you do.� (Surah As-Saffat 37: 96)

According to the majority of the scholars regarding Al-Qadar, as Muslims, we believe that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta�ala knows everything that we do before it happens and has given us the free will to do as we wish. We will be held accountable for what we do, either good or bad. So it is up to us to continue doing good deeds and to refrain from doing evil deeds as we do not know what is decreed for us. We only know what was decreed for us after the event took place. This is the main reason why the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) encouraged us to pray Salatul-Istikharah before making decisions, and put our trust in Allah Subhanahu wa Ta�ala. When the polytheists told the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) �if Allah had willed we would not have committed Shirk� so Allah replied to them thus:

�Those who committed Shirk say: "If Allah had willed, we would not have committed Shirk, nor would our fathers, and we would not have forbidden anything (against His will)." Likewise belied those who were before them, till they tasted Our wrath. Say: "Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us Verily, you follow nothing but guess and you do nothing but lie." (Surah Al-An�am 6: 148)

�Messengers as bearers of good news as well as of warning in order that mankind should have no plea against Allah after the (coming of) Messengers. And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.� (Surah An-Nisa� 4: 165)

Narrated by 'Ali ibn Talib (Radhi Allahu Anhu): �While we were sitting with the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) who had a stick with which he was scraping the earth, he lowered his head and said, "There is none of you but has his place assigned either in the Fire or in Paradise." Thereupon a man from the people said, "Shall we not depend upon this, O Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet said, "No, but carry on and do your deeds, for everybody finds it easy to do such deeds (as will lead him to his place)." The Prophet then recited the Verse: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him." (92.5) (Al-Bukhari)

Now comes the tricky part. If our actions are already pre-decreed, where is the free will? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala sent Messengers to guide mankind to the truth, and we are given the choice of believing and obeying the command or rejecting the truth. Allah already knows which path we will take, as it is recorded in the Lawh Al-Mahfuz.

If Al-Qadar is already written for us, what is the benefit of making Dua? The answer to this question by the scholars is that, since we know that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is in charge of all affairs and is able to do all things, we ask Him and Him Alone when we are in need. He already knows who will ask Him and who will not and how He is going to answer our Dua. On the other hand we do not know if our Dua will be accepted, will it be answered immediately or a trial removed or differed to the Hereafter. The scholars have further explained events will take place if the appropriate steps are taken to make them happen.

Ibn Al-Qayyim (Rahimahullah) said: �The logical consequence of such reasoning leads to rejection of all efforts. It can therefore be said to such a person who denies pre-creed � �If the satisfaction of your hunger and thirst has already been destined for you, then there is no need for you to eat or drink.�

Another example the Shaikh used as an explanation is  �if a son has been destined for you, then you will be granted one, whether you have intercourse or not, if a son has not been destined for you, you will never be granted one, so there is no point in getting married.� This two examples show that this way of thinking is futile and incorrect.

To be continued Insha Allah �����..

Wa Alaikum Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Continuing������

Now to go back to the thread where the brother disagreed with my statement.

Mohammad said:

Sister I will not do agree with ur understanding,  some thing is happening is different than doing some thing deliberately, we have to differentiate between happen and do some thing with the understanding. For example if some suffer suddenly in heart attack this can be happened by Allah but if some one drink and due to the access of drink he fall in the any problem so will we consider that this was happen by the Allah will.

When we do something deliberately we are accountable for it whether it is good or bad, rewarded for the good and punished for the bad, but one�s deliberate action had been written down for him while he was in his mother�s womb. Taking the example mentioned here, the two heart attacks and the causes leading to their illness had been pre-creed by Allah He Subhanahu wa Ta'ala willed that one person will have a heart attack thru natural causes like one of the many reasons why people suffer heart attacks- depression, sudden loss of a loved one, eating fatty foods etc (there is a cause here too) and the other person�s heart attack is thru drinking. So both are by the Will of Allah but the causes or reasons, leading to it are different.

Similarly Suppose someone rape a girl should we consider that this happened by Allah Will. No sister this is not Allah will but this is due to our wrong doing.

This also happens by the Will of Allah and you are also correct by our wrong doing. Don�t you hear people say this was my Nisab (fate), it was meant to happen? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala in His Wisdom and Planning has allowed certain events and action to happen to test the faith of human beings. We may find them strange and confusing but there is a wisdom to it, which we do not know or understand.

The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) said: �No slave of Allah will truly believe until he believes in Al-Qadar, its good and its evil is from Allah, until he knows what has befallen him was not meant to pass by him and what missed him was not going to befall him. (Agreed upon)

In this Hadith the Prophet is emphasises Allah�s Will, if we don�t believe that good and evil is from Allah we don�t truly believe. If we are claiming that this does not happen by the Will of Allah, then we are saying that Allah does not have knowledge of events till after they happen. Audho Billahe minash Shaitanir-Rajim! May Allah protect us from such thoughts. Ameen! On the other hand believing in Allah�s Will and pre-creed we realize that we have no idea what will befall us in the next second until after the event happens. Death may come to me before I even complete this article.

Allah Create human superior among all of his creations. What is that superiority, this is the sense, this is the power of thinking that we can know or understand what is wrong or what is right. So Allah Almighty shown us through his commandments that this is the right & this is the wrong, but Allah not force someone to do this or that, this option granted us to choice, and we have to decide that which way we will select.

I agree with you brother we are superior and we have a choice but Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala already knows which way we will choose. If we do not have a choice then how will we be accountable for our actions?

U said that u denying the Allah decree, please can u give me the any reference where Allah said that u come to visit me no matter what is and how is your source of earning. Allah Almight tells us that u come to visit on the sacred place with your hard / proper earning not by cheating the others by sucking the blood of poor people.

Brother, let me put it to you this way? Two people intend to go for Haj. One�s earning is Halal- absolutely Halal, and the other�s Haram- absolutely Haram and for some reason the person with the Halal income could not go for Haj, maybe he did not get his visas or he got sick, and for the other person everything went smoothly and he performed Haj. What will you call it? I say that is Nisab (fate) or Allah�s Will, Allah�s invitation. Let me ask you a question, don�t you wish and make Dua to Allah to make it possible for you to perform Haj? If it was by our free will, then all we need is enough money to go there, so why the Dua? Why do we ask others to remember us in their Duas? When we enter into the state of Ihram, we start reciting:

�Labbaik, Allahumma Labbaik � I am here at your service, O Allah, I am here at your service.�

Pilgrims are referred to as the Guest of Ar-Rahman. (The Most Merciful.)

And regarding the acceptance of his Haj and punishment for cheating the others by sucking the blood of poor people, is between him and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

In conclusion I quote the following Hadith:

Narrated by 'Abdullah (Radhi Allahu Anhu) : Allah's Apostle (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) , the truthful and truly-inspired, said, "Each one of you collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of forty days) and turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of forty days) and then Allah sends an angel and orders him to write four things, i.e., his provision, his age, and whether he will be of the wretched or the blessed (in the Hereafter). Then the soul is breathed into him. And by Allah, a person among you (or a man) may do deeds of the people of the Fire till there is only a cubit or an arm-breadth distance between him and the Fire, but then that writing (which Allah has ordered the angel to write) precedes, and he does the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters it; and a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise till there is only a cubit or two between him and Paradise, and then that writing precedes and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it." (Al-Bukhari)

I want you to read the last bit very carefully. I have repeatedly said in many of my responses that those of us whom Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has guided should thank Him for His Blessing and Mercy and we should make Dua for our brothers and sisters who are going astray.

As an Ummah we are going to be facing very trying times, as an individual our biggest Jihad is with our Nafs � trying to overcome our whims and desires so we do not make the same mistakes and commit the same which we hate so much today.

O Allah! Our Rabb! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us Mercy from You. Truly You are the Bestower. Ameen!

I seek Allah�s forgiveness for any errors that I may have committed whilst presenting these notes. If what I have presented is correct it is entirely out of His Grace and Mercy  but if there are errors it is totally my fault or Shaitan�s whispers. Insha Allah someone will come forth with a correction.

Wa Alaikum Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Well stated sister.  Jazakillahu khairan .

As Salamu Alaikum

How are u sister Abeer? Welcome Back

You also disappear from time to time.

Salams

Assalamu alaiklum,

Very nice posts on Al-Qadaa and Al-Qadar Sister Alwardah!  A good topic and one which we should all spend some time considering.  This is one of the most interesting aspects of our deen.  The whole concept is so confusing and yet so simple in the end....

It reminds me of that cliche question: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

Alhamdulillah, in the end, it is all the Will of Allah.

Peace, ummziba.

Marvellious post by Sister Alwardah but i am still standing on my point. i don't want to repeat the same things again what i said before under the another thread so I will try to get some time for search on this (which is very difficult now a days) and if i found any thing reasonable i will come back under this thread otherwise i have to agree with u what u detailed said. let see what happen.

As Salaam Alaikum

thank you for wonderful post.  Allah (SWT) does not force us or compell us to take the path he has written, we are free to chose, but Allah (SWT) knows which path we will take.  that is how I view the topic.

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala make it easy for you to fulfil your intention of performing Hajj and keep you on the straight path. Ameen!

Regarding your question, you are correct when you say it is about intention?  Only Allah knows our true intentions. People do a lot of charitable work, go to the Masjid on time for every prayer etc but only to show people so that people must think good of him. That is why the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) said that amongst the minor shirks is Ar-Riya (showing off)

Aboo Sa`eed (Radhi Allahu Anhu)reported that the Messenger of Allah(Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam)  

came to us while we were discussing about Dajjal and said, "Should I not inform 

you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? 

It is the hidden Shirk; A person stands to pray, and he beautifies 

his prayer because he see the people looking at him." 

(Sunan Ibn Majah vol. 2, #3389)

Wa Alaikum Salam

As Salamu Alaikum

Insha Allah most definitely working on ones Iman will increase one�s sincerity in every action we do.

Regarding your second question, my simple answer will be to start with our religious obligations especially the 5 daily prayers and praying them on time�5 times daily and in the Masjid if you are male�..and then work your way up from there.

Alhamdulillah Ramadan is around the corner � a good month to learn self-discipline.

May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala protect us from the evils around us and from the evils within ourselves. Ameen!

Wa Alaikum Salam

As'Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Sister Alwardah, kindly correct me if i say that its sincerity { intending our act for the sake of Allah swt} that leads to strenghthening Imaan.

and regarding how to maintain it, apart from huquq- Allah , can we add on Huqqoq-ul-ibaad.

Kindly explain us in details, so that we try to gain closeness of Allah swt by been sincere

JazakAllahu khayr.

As Salamu Alaikum

This Hadith explains Ikhlas (sincerity) very well:

Zayd ibn Thabit (Radhi Allahu Anhu) relates:

The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) said:

As Salamu Alaikum

Jazakallahu Khairan for the link, will check it out.

Salams