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In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate,
Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds
Belief consist of belief in Allah,
His angels, His books, His messengers, the last day, and
belief that the Decree both the good of it and the evil of
it, the sweet of it and the bitter of it is from Allah.
DESTINY (QADAR)
1. He appointed destines for those He created.
2. He allotted to them fixed life spans.
3. Nothing about them was hidden from Him before He created
them, and He knew everything that they would do before He
created them.
4. He ordered them to obey Him and forbade them to disobey
Him.
5. Everything happens according to His decree and will, and
His will is accomplished. The only will that people have is
what He wills for them. What He wills for them occurs and
what He does not will, does not occur.
6. He gives guidance to whomever He wills, and protects
them, and keeps them safe from harm, out of His generosity;
and He leads astray whomever He wills, and abases them, and
afflicts them, out of His justice.
7. All of them are subject to His will either through His
generosity or His justice.
8. No one can ward off His decree or delay His command or
overpower His affairs.
9. We believe in all of this and are certain that everything
comes from Him.
10. The covenant which Allah made with Adam (peace be upon
him) and his offspring is true.
11. Allah knew, before the existence of time, the exact
number of those who would enter the garden and the exact
number of those who would enter the fire. This number will
never be increased nor decreased.
12. The same applies to all actions done by people, which
are done exactly as Allah has known they would be done.
Everyone is eased towards what he was created for and it is
the action with which a man's life is sealed which dictates
his fate. Those who are fortunate are fortunate by the
decree of Allah, and those who are wretched are wretched by
the decree of Allah.
13. The exact nature of the decree is Allah's secret in His
creation, and no angel near the Throne, nor any Prophet sent
with a message, has been given knowledge of it. Delving into
it and reflecting too much about it only leads to
destruction and loss, and results in rebelliousness. So be
extremely careful about thinking and reflecting on this
matter or letting doubts about it assail you, because Allah
has kept knowledge of the decree away from human beings, and
forbidden them to enquire about it, saying in His book, "He
is not asked about what He does, but they are asked"
(21:23). Therefore, anyone who asks: "Why did Allah do
that?" has gone against the judgment of the Book, and anyone
who goes against a judgment of the Book is an unbeliever.
14. This, in sum, is what those of Allah's Friend's with
enlightened hearts need to know and constitutes the level of
those firmly endowed with knowledge. For there are two kinds
of knowledge: knowledge which is accessible to created
beings, and knowledge which is not accessible to created
beings. Denying the knowledge which is accessible is
disbelief, and claiming the knowledge which is inaccessible
is disbelief. Belief can only be firm when accessible
knowledge is accepted and the inaccessible is not sought
after.
15. We believe in the Tablet (al-lawh) and the Pen (al-qalam)
and in everything written on the former. Even if all created
beings were to gather together to prevent the existence of
something whose existence Allah had written on the Tablet,
they would fail. And if all created beings were to gather
together to make something exist which Allah had not written
on it, they would not be able to do so. The Pen has dried
having written down all that will be in existence until the
Day of Judgment. Whatever a person has missed he would have
never gotten, and whatever he gets he would have never
missed.
16. It is necessary for the servant to know that Allah
already knows everything that is going to happen in His
creation and has decreed it in a detailed and decisive way.
There is nothing that He has created in either the heavens
or the earth that can contradict it, or add to it, or erase
it, or change it, or decrease it, or increase it in any way.
This is a fundamental aspect of belief and a necessary
element of all knowledge and recognition of Allah's Oneness
and Lordship. As Allah says in His Book: "He created
everything and decreed it in a detailed way" (25:2). And He
also says: "Allah's command is always a decided decree"
(33:38). So woe to anyone who argues with Allah concerning
the decree and who, with a sick heart, starts delving into
this matter. In his deluded attempt to investigate the
Unseen, he is seeking a secret that can never be uncovered
and he ends up an evildoer, telling nothing but lies.
17. Good and evil have both been decreed for people.
18. The capability in terms of divine grace and favour which
makes an action certain to occur cannot be ascribed to a
created being. This capability is integral with action,
whereas the capability of an action in terms of having the
necessary health and ability, being in a position to act,
and having the necessary means, exists in a person before
the action. It is this type of capability which is the
object of the dictates of the Sharia. Allah the Exalted
says: "Allah does not charge a person except according to
his ability" (2:286).
19. People's action are created by Allah but earned by the
people.
20. Allah, the Exalted, has only charged people with what
they are able to do and the people are only capable of doing
what Allah has granted them to do. This is explanation of
the phrases: "There is no power and no strength except by
Allah." We add to this that there is no stratagem or way by
which anyone can avoid or escape disobedience to Allah
except with Allah's help; nor does anyone have the strength
to put obedience to Allah into practice and remain firm in
it, except if Allah makes it possible for him to do so.
21. Everything happens according to Allah's will, knowledge,
predestination and decree. His will overpowers all other
wills and His decree overpowers all stratagems. He does
whatever He wills and He is never unjust. He is Exalted in
His purity above any evil or perdition and He is perfect far
beyond any fault or flaw. "He will not be asked about what
He does, but they will be asked" (21:23).
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