with brilliant success, and what was that due to except their faith in Allah’s decree and predestination, and their deep awareness of His saying: “Say, ‘Nothing will ever befall us except what Allah has written for us; He is our Protector, and upon Allah let the believers rely.’” 1

One of the fruits of believing in qadaʾ and qadar is the ability to turn ordeals into gifts and calamities into reward. The Exalted says, “No disaster befalls except by Allah’s permission, and whoever believes in Allah—He guides his heart. Allah is Knowing of everything.” 2 ʿAlqamah explained, “It refers to the man who is struck by a calamity, realizes that it comes from Allah, and therefore accepts it and submits.”

The meaning of the noble verse is this: when someone is visited by a calamity and knows it is from Allah’s decree, then bears it with patience, seeks the reward, and surrenders to Allah’s judgment, Allah guides his heart and compensates him for what he missed of worldly things with guidance within his heart and a sound, unwavering certainty. Allah may even replace what was taken from him with the same or something better. This applies to afflictions that descend purely by Allah’s decree, in which the servant had no direct hand—apart from the possibility that his neglect of Allah’s rights, by ignoring His commands or committing His prohibitions, helped bring them about. In such a case, he must both believe in the divine decree and correct the fault for which he was afflicted.

Some people, however, commit a flagrant error when they invoke qadaʾ and qadar to justify their sins and their neglect of duties, claiming, “This was predestined for us!” and thus never repent—just as the polytheists said, “If Allah had willed, neither we nor our fathers would have associated anything with Him, nor would we have made anything unlawful.” 3 This is a distorted understanding of qadaʾ and qadar. They are not to be cited as proof for committing sins; they are only to be cited concerning the descent of calamities. To use them as an excuse for sin is reprehensible, for it leads to abandoning repentance and the righteous deeds that are commanded. To use them in the face of calamities, on the other hand, is praiseworthy, for it urges patience and hopeful expectation of reward.

Another fruit of believing in qadaʾ and qadar is that it drives a person toward action, productivity, strength, and courage. The combatant in the path of Allah therefore presses on in his struggle, unafraid of death;