CHAPTER: A REFUTATION OF THE QADARIYYAH

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Allah is sufficient for me—and sufficient is He—and He is the best Disposer of affairs. All praise belongs to Allah, who is worthy of praise and extolment, might and everlastingness, greatness and majesty. I praise Him for His unceasing blessings, His timeless beneficence, and His apportionment—the praise of one who knows that his Generous Master loves praise. To Him belongs all praise in every circumstance.

May His blessings be upon the bearer of glad tidings and warning, the illuminating lamp, the master of the first and the last: Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds; and upon his virtuous family, his chosen Companions, and his wives, the Mothers of the Believers.

To proceed: A questioner has asked about our position concerning divine decree. Before informing him of our position, our answer is that we counsel the questioner and teach him that it does not befit Muslims to probe and investigate divine decree, for divine decree is one of Allah’s secrets, exalted and majestic. Rather, servants are obliged to believe in all that the decrees bring to pass, whether good or evil. A servant who investigates divine decree cannot be certain that he will not end up denying the decrees of Allah that take effect upon His servants and thus stray from the path of truth.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“No nation has ever perished except through associating partners with Allah, exalted and majestic; and no nation ever associated partners with Him until the beginning of its path to such association was the denial of divine decree.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Were it not that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, when they learned of misguided people who had strayed from the path of truth and denied divine decree, refuted their doctrine, reviled them, and declared them unbelievers; and that those who followed the Companions in excellence likewise reviled those who spoke about divine decree and denied it, cursed them, and forbade sitting with them; and that the leading scholars of the Muslims likewise forbade sitting with the Qadariyyah and debating them, and made the repugnance of their doctrines clear to the Muslims—had all these authorities not refuted the Qadariyyah, those who came after them would not have been permitted to speak about divine decree.

Rather, belief in divine decree—both its good and its evil—is obligatory. Everything occurs by judgment and decree: what has been decreed will be, and what has not been decreed will not be. When a servant performs an act of obedience to Allah, exalted and majestic, he knows that it was through Allah’s enabling grace and therefore thanks Him for it. If he commits an act of disobedience, he regrets it and knows that it occurred according to a decree that took effect upon him; he therefore blames himself and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, exalted and majestic.

This is the position of the Muslims. No one has any argument against Allah, exalted and majestic; rather, Allah has the conclusive argument against His creation. Allah, exalted and majestic, says:

“Say: With Allah is the conclusive argument. Had He willed, He would have guided you all.” [al-An‘ām: 149]

Then know—may Allah have mercy on us and you—that our position concerning divine decree is as follows: Allah, exalted and majestic, created Paradise and created Hell, appointing inhabitants for each. I swear by His might that He will fill Hell with jinn and humankind all together. He then created Adam, peace be upon him, and brought forth from his back every one of his descendants whom He would create until the Day of Resurrection. He then divided them into two groups: one group in Paradise and another in the Blaze.

He created Iblīs and commanded him to prostrate before Adam, peace be upon him, while knowing that he would not prostrate because of the wretchedness decreed for him, which had already preceded in Allah’s knowledge, exalted and majestic. None can oppose Allah the Generous in His judgment. He does whatever He wills among His creation. The judgment and decree of our Lord are entirely just.

He created Adam and Eve, peace be upon them both; He created them for the earth, settled them in Paradise, and commanded them to eat freely from it wherever they wished. He forbade them from approaching a single tree, although His decree had already gone forth that they would disobey Him by eating from it. Thus, outwardly He was prohibiting them, while within His knowledge He had decreed that they would eat from it. “He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.” [al-Anbiyā’: 23]

There was no avoiding their eating from it, which became the cause of their disobedience and of their departure from Paradise, for they had been created for the earth. He would then forgive them after their disobedience. All of this had already preceded in His knowledge. Nothing can occur anywhere in His creation unless His decree concerning it has already gone forth and His knowledge encompassed it before its existence, knowing that it would occur.

He created His creatures as and when He willed. He made some wretched and others blessed before bringing them into this world, while they were still in their mothers’ wombs. He recorded their lifespans, their provisions, and their deeds. He then brought them into this world, and every person strives toward what has been written for him and against him.

He then sent His messengers, revealed His revelation to them, and commanded them to convey it to His creation. They conveyed the messages of their Lord and sincerely counseled their peoples. Whoever was decreed by Allah, exalted and majestic, to believe, believed; and whoever was decreed to disbelieve, disbelieved. Allah, exalted and majestic, says:

“He is the One who created you: some of you are disbelievers and some are believers. Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.” [al-Taghābun: 2]

He loved whomever He willed among His servants and opened his breast to Islam and faith. He abhorred others and sealed their hearts, their hearing, and their sight, so thereafter they will never be guided. He leads astray whomever He wills and guides whomever He wills. “He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.” [al-Anbiyā’: 23]

All creation belongs to Him. He does whatever He wills among His creation without wronging them. Exalted is His remembrance; far above is our Lord from being ascribed injustice. Only one who takes what is not his property commits injustice. As for our Lord Most High, to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens, whatever is on earth, whatever lies between them, and whatever lies beneath the soil. To Him belong this world and the Hereafter. Exalted is His remembrance, and holy are His names.

He loves obedience from His servants and has commanded it. Those who obey Him do so through His enabling grace. He has forbidden acts of disobedience, yet He willed their occurrence without loving or commanding them. Exalted and majestic is He, far above commanding or loving indecency. Our Lord is too majestic and mighty for anything to occur in His dominion that He did not will to occur, or for anything to exist that His knowledge did not encompass before its existence.

He knew what His creatures would do before creating them and, after creating them, before they acted. It was all by judgment and decree. By His command, the Pen had already inscribed upon the Preserved Tablet all the righteousness and wickedness that would occur.

He praises those of His servants who obey Him, attributes their deeds to them, and promises them an immense reward for those deeds. Were it not for His enabling grace, they would not have performed the deeds by which they merited reward from Him:

“That is Allah’s bounty, which He grants to whomever He wills. Allah is the Possessor of immense bounty.” [al-Hadīd: 21]

Likewise, He censured people who acted in disobedience to Him, threatened them for doing so, and attributed their deeds to them because of what they had done, although this occurred according to a decree that took effect upon them. He leads astray whomever He wills and guides whomever He wills.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

This is our position concerning the divine decree about which the questioner asked. If someone asks, “What is the proof for what you have said?” he is told: “The Book of Allah, exalted and majestic; the sunnah of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; the way of his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them; the way of those who followed them in excellence; and the statements of the leading scholars of the Muslims.”

If he says, “Then mention some of that by which we may increase in knowledge and certainty,” he is told: “Yes, Allah Most High willing. Allah is the One who grants success in every course of right guidance and, by His grace, gives assistance in following it.”