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As for the statement, “Unlawful sexual intercourse and other sins have been decreed for us,” this is true, but invoking it as an excuse does the speaker no good. Allah has written down His servants’ deeds, both good and evil, and their eventual misery or bliss. He has made deeds a cause of reward and punishment and has written all of this down, just as He has written down illnesses and made them a cause of death, and has written down the ingestion of poison and made it a cause of illness and death. Whoever consumes poison becomes ill or dies. Allah has decreed and written down both the cause and its consequence. Likewise, whoever commits what he has been forbidden—disbelief, wickedness, or disobedience—does what has been written down for him, yet deserves the recompense Allah has written down for whoever does such things.

These people’s appeal to divine decree to excuse their sins is of the same kind as the argument of the polytheists, about whom Allah said:

“The polytheists said, ‘Had Allah willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have worshipped anything besides Him, nor would we have forbidden anything without His authority.’ Those before them did the same.”

And He, Most High, said:

“The polytheists will say, ‘Had Allah willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have associated partners with Him, nor would we have forbidden anything.’”

Allah, Most High, said:

“Likewise, those before them denied the truth until they tasted Our punishment. Say, ‘Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow nothing but conjecture, and you do nothing but guess.’”

“Say, ‘The conclusive argument belongs to Allah. Had He willed, He would have guided you all.’”