Levels of Divine Decree and Fate
13 hadiths
O boy, I shall teach you some words: Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him before you. If you ask, ask Allah; if you seek help, seek help from Allah
Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: One day, I was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he said: "O boy, I shall teach you some words: Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him before you. If you ask, ask Allah; if you seek help, seek help from Allah. And know that if the Ummah were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah had already prescribed against you. The pens have been lifted, and the scrolls have dried."
Allah decreed the destinies of the creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah decreed the destinies of the creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth." He said: "when His Throne was upon the water.”
The first thing Allah created was the Pen. He commanded it to write. It said: My Lord, what shall I write? He said: Write down what has been ordained for all things until the establishment of the Hour
‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his son: "O Son, you will not taste true faith until you know that whatever has come to you would never have missed you, and that whatever has missed you would never have come to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The first thing Allah created was the Pen. He commanded it to write. It said: 'My Lord, what shall I write?' He said: 'Write down what has been ordained for all things until the establishment of the Hour.'" O Son, I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever dies believing otherwise does not belong to me.'" In a narration by Imām Ahmad: "Verily, the first thing Allah, the Almighty, created was the Pen. He said to it: ‘Write.’ So in that very hour it wrote down all what was to occur up to the Day of Judgment." In a narration by Ibn Wahb, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So, whoever disbelieved in fate, the good and the bad thereof, Allah will burn him with the Hellfire.”
There is none among you except that his seat in Paradise or in Hell is decreed
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: "We were attending a funeral at Baqī‘ aI-Gharqad (Muslim cemetery in Madīnah). The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to us and sat down, and we sat down around him. He had a small stick in his hand. He lowered his head and started scraping the ground with the stick, then said: "There is none among you, except that his seat in Paradise or in Hell is decreed." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, should we depend on what has been decreed for us?" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Exert the effort, for everyone will find it easy to do such deeds that will lead him to what he was created for..." Then he mentioned the rest of the Hadīth.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) related to us, and he is the truthful and the trusted one; he said: "The creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days and forty nights
‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) related to us, and he is the truthful and the trusted one; he said: "The creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days and forty nights. Then, he becomes a clinging clot for a similar period, then a lump (of flesh) for a similar period. Then, there is sent to him the angel who is commanded to write down four things: his sustenance, lifespan, actions, and whether miserable or happy. Then, he breathes life into him. One of you would do the actions of the people of Paradise until there is an arm's length between him and Paradise, but the predestination overtakes him, causing him to do actions of the people of Hellfire, and he enters it; and one of you would do the actions of the people of Hellfire until he is an arm's length away from Hellfire, but the predestination overtakes him, causing him to do deeds of the people of Paradise, and he enters it."
Everything is decreed, even incapacity and capacity, or capacity and incapacity
Tāwūs reported: I found some of the Prophet's Companions say: "Everything is decreed." I heard ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar say: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Everything is decreed, even incapacity and capacity, or capacity and incapacity."
Adam and Mūsa debated with each other. Mūsa said to Adam: "O Adam, you are our father. You did us harm and caused us to get out of Paradise." Adam said to him: "O Mūsa, Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for an action which Allah had decreed on me forty years before He created me?" So Adam confuted Mūsa, Adam confuted Mūsa
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Adam and Mūsa debated with each other. Mūsa said to Adam: 'O Adam, you are our father. You did us harm and caused us to get out of Paradise.' Adam said to him: 'O Mūsa, Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for an action which Allah had decreed on me forty years before He created me?' So Adam confuted Mūsa, Adam confuted Mūsa."
كل يعمل لما خلق له
عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَيُعْرَفُ أَهْلُ الجَنَّةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ؟ قَالَ: «نَعَمْ» قَالَ: فَلِمَ يَعْمَلُ العَامِلُونَ؟ قَالَ: "كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ لِمَا خُلِقَ لَهُ، أَوْ: لِمَا يُسِّرَ لَهُ".
Do not weep for my brother after this day
‘Abdullāh ibn Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave the family of Ja‘far a three-days respite. He then came to them and said: "Do not weep for my brother after this day." He then said: "Call for me the children of my brother." We were brought over to him as if we were (bereft) chicks. Then he said: "Call for me a barber." He then ordered him to shave our heads.
An-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Abdullāh ibn Rawāhah (may Allah be pleased with him) fell down unconscious, so his sister started crying. She said: "O my mountain! O so-and-so!" and went on calling him by his good qualities one by one. When he came to his senses, he said: "Whenever you said something, I was asked: 'Are you really so?'"
An-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Abdullāh ibn Rawāhah (may Allah be pleased with him) fell down unconscious, so his sister started crying. She said: "O my mountain! O so-and-so!" and went on calling him by his good qualities one by one. When he came to his senses, he said: "Whenever you said something, I was asked: 'Are you really so?'"
Indeed Allah, the Almighty, created His creation in darkness, then He cast His Light upon them, so whoever is touched by that light is guided, and whoever is not goes astray. It is for this reason that I say that the (ink of) the pen has dried upon the knowledge of Allah
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Indeed Allah, the Almighty, created His creation in darkness, then He cast His Light upon them, so whoever is touched by that light is guided, and whoever is not goes astray. It is for this reason that I say that the (ink of) the pen has dried upon the knowledge of Allah."
ما يعمل الناس اليوم شيء قضي عليهم ومضى فيهم
عَنْ أَبِي الْأَسْوَدِ الدِّيلِيِّ، قَالَ: قَالَ لِي عِمْرَانُ بْنُ الْحُصَيْنِ، أَرَأَيْتَ مَا يَعْمَلُ النَّاسُ الْيَوْمَ وَيَكْدَحُونَ فِيهِ، أَشَيْءٌ قُضِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَضَى عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ قَدَرِ مَا سَبَقَ؟ أَوْ فِيمَا يُسْتَقْبَلُونَ بِهِ مِمَّا أَتَاهُمْ بِهِ نَبِيُّهُمْ، وَثَبَتَتِ الْحُجَّةُ عَلَيْهِمْ؟ فَقُلْتُ: بَلْ شَيْءٌ قُضِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَمَضَى عَلَيْهِمْ، قَالَ فَقَالَ: أَفَلَا يَكُونُ ظُلْمًا؟ قَالَ: فَفَزِعْتُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَزَعًا شَدِيدًا، وَقُلْتُ: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقُ اللهِ وَمِلْكُ يَدِهِ، فَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ، فَقَالَ لِي: يَرْحَمُكَ اللهُ إِنِّي لَمْ أُرِدْ بِمَا سَأَلْتُكَ إِلَّا لِأَحْزِرَ عَقْلَكَ، إِنَّ رَجُلَيْنِ مِنْ مُزَيْنَةَ أَتَيَا رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ أَرَأَيْتَ مَا يَعْمَلُ النَّاسُ الْيَوْمَ، وَيَكْدَحُونَ فِيهِ، أَشَيْءٌ قُضِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَضَى فِيهِمْ مِنْ قَدَرٍ قَدْ سَبَقَ، أَوْ فِيمَا يُسْتَقْبَلُونَ بِهِ مِمَّا أَتَاهُمْ بِهِ نَبِيُّهُمْ، وَثَبَتَتِ الْحُجَّةُ عَلَيْهِمْ؟ فَقَالَ: "لَا، بَلْ شَيْءٌ قُضِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَضَى فِيهِمْ، وَتَصْدِيقُ ذَلِكَ فِي كِتَابِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا".
الله يبتلي عبده بما أعطاه
عَن أَبي الْعَلَاءِ بْنُ الشِّخِّيرِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَحَدُ بَنِي سُلَيْمٍ، وَلَا أَحْسَبُهُ إِلَّا قَدْ رَأَى رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: "أَنَّ اللهَ يَبْتَلِي عَبْدَهُ بِمَا أَعْطَاهُ، فَمَنْ رَضِيَ بِمَا قَسَمَ اللهُ لَهُ، بَارَكَ اللهُ لَهُ فِيهِ، وَوَسَّعَهُ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَرْضَ لَمْ يُبَارِكْ لَهُ".