to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he ruled against one of them. The man against whom he ruled said, ‘Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Allah blames helplessness, so you must act prudently. Then, if something overcomes you, say: Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.’”

In Sahīh Muslim, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is reported to have said:

“The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though there is good in both. Strive for what benefits you, seek Allah’s help, and do not give in to helplessness. If something befalls you, do not say, ‘Had I done such and such, such and such would have happened.’ Rather, say, ‘Allah has decreed, and He has done what He willed,’ for ‘if only’ opens the door to Satan’s work.”

A person is not commanded to look to divine decree when considering the actions he is commanded to perform, but rather when calamities befall him that he has no means of averting. Whatever befalls you, whether through human actions or otherwise, bear it patiently, be content, and submit. Allah Most High says:

“No calamity befalls except by Allah’s permission. And whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart.”

One of the early generations—either Ibn Masʿūd or ʿAlqama—said: “This is the man whom a calamity befalls, who knows that it is from Allah, and so is content and submits.”

This is why Adam said to Moses, “Do you blame me for something Allah decreed for me forty years before I was created?” Thus Adam prevailed over Moses in argument. For Moses had said to him, “Why did you cause us and yourself to be expelled from Paradise?” He blamed him for the calamity that resulted from his action, not for its being a sin. That is why Adam invoked divine decree in his argument against him. As for the notion that the blame concerned the sin itself, as various groups of people suppose, this is not what the hadith means, because Adam, peace be upon him, had already repented of the sin, and one who repents of sin