570 — Al-Firyābī informed us, saying: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishāq narrated to me, saying: Asbagh ibn al-Faraj informed us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed me, saying: Yūnus ibn Yazīd informed me, from Ibn Shihāb, from Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Rahmān, from Abu Hurayra, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, “I am a young man, and I fear falling into sexual sin, but I cannot afford to marry, so permit me to have myself castrated.” He remained silent. I then said the same thing ⦗973⦘, but he remained silent. I said the same thing again, but he remained silent. Then I said the same thing once more, whereupon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “O Abu Hurayra, the Pen has dried concerning what you shall encounter; so, on that basis, castrate yourself—or refrain.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Know—may Allah have mercy on us and you—that Allah, exalted is His remembrance, commanded His servants to follow His straight path and not deviate from it to the right or the left. He, exalted is His remembrance, said:

“And indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other ways, lest they separate you from His way. This is what He has enjoined upon you, so that you may become mindful of Him.” [al-Anām: 153]

He Most High then said:

“For whoever among you wills to take a straight course.” [al-Takwīr: 28]

Thus, according to the apparent wording, He—exalted ⦗974⦘ is His remembrance—commanded them to remain steadfast and follow His way, and attributed willing to them. He then informed them afterward: “You can never will unless I will for you that which brings you guidance. Your will is subject to My will.” He Most High said:

“But you do not will unless Allah, Lord of the worlds, wills.”

He thereby informed them that their will is subject to His will, Glorified and Exalted is He. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, also said:

“Say, ‘To Allah belong the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path.’” [al-Baqara: 142]

He, Glorified and Exalted is He, also said:

“Mankind was once one community; then Allah sent the prophets as bearers of glad tidings and warners, and sent down with them the Book in truth to judge between people concerning that over which they differed. And none differed over it…” [al-Baqara: 213]

—up to His words:

“Then Allah, by His permission, guided those who believed to the truth over which they had differed. Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path.” [al-Baqara: 213]

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The argument of every Qadarī—a denier of divine decree—with whom Satan has toyed, leaving him to wander to and fro in his error, has been cut off. Praise be to Allah, who has kept us safe from the trial with which He afflicted them.

Furthermore, I have exerted every effort and explained the affirmation of divine decree through what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has said and what the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, has said—the Messenger who makes clear on Allah’s behalf what He revealed in His Book ⦗975⦘. I have also cited the statements of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, the Successors, and many of the imams of the Muslims, all in accordance with the meaning of the Book and the Sunnah. Whoever does not believe this is among those of whom Allah Most High said:

“Even if We had sent down the angels to them, the dead had spoken to them, and We had gathered all things before them, they still would not have believed unless Allah had willed. But most of them are ignorant.” [al-Anām: 111]