among the blessed will come to perform the deeds of the blessed, and whoever is among the wretched will come to perform the deeds of the wretched.’

He replied, ‘Strive, for everyone is enabled to act. The blessed will be enabled to perform the deeds of the blessed, and the wretched will be enabled to perform the deeds of the wretched.’ Then he recited:

‘As for the one who gives and fears Allah,
and believes in the best reward,
We will make easy for him the way of ease.
But as for the one who withholds and considers himself self-sufficient,
and denies the best reward,
We will make easy for him the way of hardship.’”

In al-Bukhārī’s version:

“‘Should we not rely on what has been written for us and give up striving? Whoever among us is among the blessed will come to perform the deeds of the blessed, and whoever is among the wretched will come to perform the deeds of the wretched.’ And he said, ‘As for the deeds of the blessed’”—and the hadith continues.

In another version in the two Sahīhs, ‘Alī said:

“One day, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a stick in his hand with which he was poking the ground. He raised his head and said, ‘There is not a soul among you whose place in Paradise or the Fire is not already known.’

They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, why, then, should we strive? Should we not rely on this?’

He replied, ‘No. Strive, for everyone is enabled to do that for which he was created.’ Then he recited, ‘As for the one who gives and fears Allah, and believes in the best reward,’ through to His words, ‘We will make easy for him the way of hardship.’”

In these and other hadiths, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, thus conveyed what the Quran also indicates: that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knew, recorded, and decreed beforehand whether His servants would ultimately be blessed or wretched, just as He knew and recorded beforehand other matters concerning His servants and other beings. Thus, in the two Sahīhs, ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ūd said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who is truthful and whose truthfulness is confirmed—told us, ‘The creation of each of you is brought together in