is yet to come?’ He replied: ‘No, rather, they relate to what the pens have already recorded and dried upon, and what the decrees have determined.’ He asked: ‘Then what is the point of deeds?’ He replied: ‘Act, for everyone will be facilitated.’” In another wording: “Every doer will be facilitated in his deeds.”

In the Sunan collections, Ibn Abī Khuzāmah reports from his father, who said: “I asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about healing recitations we seek, medicines we take, and precautions we adopt? Do they ward off any part of Allah’s decree?’ He replied: ‘They are part of Allah’s decree.’”

These Prophetic reports and others show that although Allah, glorified is He, has already known, recorded, and spoken of the felicity and wretchedness that will come to pass, part of His decree is that these should come about through the means He has decreed: felicity through righteous deeds, and wretchedness through wickedness. Likewise, the healing He decrees for the sick is decreed through medicines and healing recitations. The same applies to everything else He decrees concerning this world and the Hereafter.

As for someone’s question, “How can allotted shares be obtained through actions?”