and Allah—in His timeless knowledge—has already fixed the exact number of those who will enter Paradise and the exact number of those who will enter Hell as one definitive tally; that figure will never increase nor decrease.

“…so much as a fly, even if they were all to band together for it.” ⦗al-Ḥajj 22:73⦘

The Creator, then, is Allah alone; no one creates alongside Him. How, therefore, can anyone be worshipped besides Him—someone who neither creates nor provides, and who can secure for himself neither benefit nor harm?

The meaning of the verse, “When your Lord took …” ⦗al-Aʿrāf 7:172⦘, is that both the innate disposition (fiṭrah) and the world of created things bear witness to Allah’s oneness. Consequently, on the Day of Resurrection no one will be able to plead, “We were unaware of this.” ⦗al-Aʿrāf 7:172⦘ Blindly clinging to inherited custom will be of no avail when confronted with these decisive proofs and radiant evidences.

Everything just mentioned—and what the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, will go on to say—deals with the doctrine of divine decree and predestination.

Belief in the decree (qaḍāʾ and qadar) is one of the six pillars of faith, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in the decree, its good and its evil.” (1)

The Quran likewise states: “Indeed, We have created everything according to a determined measure.” ⦗al-Qamar 54:49⦘ and: “He created all things and determined them with precise determination.” ⦗al-Furqān 25:2⦘

Thus, nothing exists without being predestined, nor does anything occur at random.