The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was once asked:

“O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about medicines with which we treat ourselves, healing invocations through which we seek treatment, and precautions by which we protect ourselves? Do they avert anything of Allah’s decree?”

He replied, “They are themselves part of Allah’s decree.” (1)

Thus, he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—explained that one counters Allah’s decree by means of Allah’s decree, either by warding something off or by removing it: by warding off something whose cause has already arisen, or by removing something that has already occurred, as with removing an illness or warding it off.

This also includes the words of Allah Most High:

“For each person there are successive angels before and behind him, guarding him by Allah’s command.”

[Surah al-Ra‘d 11]

It has been said that the meaning is: “Successive angels from Allah’s command guard him.” (2) It has also been said that they guard him against Allah’s command that has come but has not yet taken effect; (3) they prevent it from reaching him, (4) and their protection is by Allah’s command.

The fourth aspect concerns his statement: “It follows that Allah wills two contradictories, because disobedience is willed by Allah, while deterrence from it is also willed by Allah.” This is an utterly baseless statement. Contradictories are two things that can neither coexist nor both be absent. As for two things that cannot coexist, they are contraries.