Divine Will (Al-Qadar)

Abu al-Walid Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us; Sulayman al-A'mash informed me, saying: I heard Zayd ibn Wahb, from Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who spoke the truth and was believed, told us: ‘Each of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days, then becomes a clinging clot for the same period, then a lump of flesh for the same period. Then Allah sends an angel, who is commanded to record four things: his provision, his lifespan, whether he will be wretched or blessed. By Allah, one of you—or a man—may do the deeds of the people of the Fire until there is no more than a cubit or arm's length between him and it, then what has been decreed overtakes him. He does the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters it. A man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is no more than a cubit or two between him and it, then what has been decreed overtakes him. He does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it.’ Adam added that it was except a cubit.

Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us; Hammad narrated to us, from Ubaydullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Anas, from Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘Allah appoints an angel over the womb. The angel says, My Lord, a drop of fluid; My Lord, a clinging clot; My Lord, a lump of flesh. When Allah wishes to complete its creation, the angel asks whether it is male or female, wretched or blessed, and what its provision and lifespan will be. All of that is written while it is in its mother's womb.’

Adam narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us; Yazid al-Rishk narrated to us, saying: I heard Mutarrif ibn Abdullah ibn al-Shikhkhir relate from Imran ibn Husayn, who said: A man asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, can the people of Paradise be distinguished from the people of the Fire?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ The man asked, ‘Then why do people perform deeds?’ He replied, ‘Everyone acts in accordance with what he was created for—or what is made easy for him.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Ghundar narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abu Bishr, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about the children of the polytheists. He replied: ‘Allah knows best what they would have done.’

Yahya ibn Bukayr narrated to us; al-Layth narrated to us, from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Ata ibn Yazid also informed me that he heard Abu Hurayrah say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about the offspring of the polytheists and replied: ‘Allah knows best what they would have done.’

Ishaq narrated to me; Abd al-Razzaq informed us; Ma'mar informed us, from Hammam, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Every child is born upon the natural disposition. Then his parents make him a Jew or a Christian, just as you produce animals: do you find any born with a mutilated ear before you mutilate it yourselves?’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what about one who dies while still a child?’ He said: ‘Allah knows best what they would have done.’

Abdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us; Malik informed us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Araj, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘A woman must not ask for her sister's divorce in order to take over what is in her vessel. Let her marry; she will have what has been allotted to her.’

Malik ibn Ismail narrated to us; Isra'il narrated to us, from Asim, from Abu Uthman, from Usamah, who said: I was with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when a messenger from one of his daughters came to him. Sa'd, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and Muadh were with him. The messenger said that her son was at the point of death. The Prophet sent her this message: ‘To Allah belongs what He takes and what He gives; everything has an appointed term. Let her be patient and hope for reward.’

Hibban ibn Musa narrated to us; Abdullah informed us; Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Abdullah ibn Muhayriz al-Jumahi informed me that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri told him: While I was sitting with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a man from the Ansar came and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we take captives and desire wealth. What do you think of coitus interruptus?’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do you really do that? It is no harm if you do not do it, for every soul that Allah has decreed to come into existence will indeed come into existence.’

Musa ibn Mas'ud narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Wa'il, from Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once gave us a sermon in which he left out nothing that would happen until the Hour without mentioning it. Those who knew it knew it, and those who did not know it did not. I might see something and think I had forgotten it, then recognize it when a man who had been absent returned and I saw him.

Abdan narrated to us, from Abu Hamzah, from al-A'mash, from Sa'd ibn Ubaydah, from Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: We were sitting with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he had a stick with which he was scratching the ground. He said: ‘There is none of you whose place in the Fire or in Paradise has not already been written.’ A man among the people said, ‘Messenger of Allah, should we not rely on that?’ He replied: ‘No. Act, for each person will find it made easy for him.’ Then he recited the verse: As for the one who gives and is mindful of Allah, and the rest of the verse.

Hibban ibn Musa narrated to us; Abdullah informed us; Ma'mar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: We were present with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, at Khaybar. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said about a man with them who claimed to be Muslim: ‘This one is among the people of the Fire.’ When battle came, the man fought fiercely and was wounded many times until he was incapacitated. A man from among the Prophet's Companions came and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what about the man you said was among the people of the Fire? He fought fiercely in Allah's cause and was badly wounded.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘He is indeed among the people of the Fire.’ Some Muslims nearly began to doubt. While they were in that state, the man felt the pain of his wounds, reached for his quiver, took out an arrow, and killed himself with it. Some Muslims hurried to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has confirmed your words: so-and-so killed himself.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Bilal, stand and call out: No one enters Paradise except a believer. Allah surely supports this religion through a wicked man.’

Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us; Abu Ghassan narrated to us; Abu Hazim narrated to me, from Sahl, that a man who was among the Muslims' most effective fighters in a campaign with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was seen by the Prophet, who said: ‘Whoever wants to see a man destined for the Fire, let him look at this one.’ A man from the group followed him. The fighter remained among the fiercest against the polytheists until he was wounded and sought death quickly. He placed the tip of his sword between his breasts and thrust it through until it came out between his shoulders. The man hurried to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said that he testified he was the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet asked what had brought him to that. The man said that the Prophet had indicated a certain man as destined for the Fire, although he had been one of their most effective fighters in defense of the Muslims. He had realized that the man would not die in that state. When wounded, the man sought death quickly and killed himself. At that, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘A servant may do the deeds of the people of the Fire while being one of the people of Paradise, or do the deeds of the people of Paradise while being one of the people of the Fire. Deeds are judged by their endings.’

Abu Nuaym narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Mansur, from Abdullah ibn Murrah, from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade vows and said: ‘A vow does not turn anything away; it is only a means by which something is extracted from the miser.’

Bishr ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Abdullah informed us; Ma'mar informed us, from Hammam ibn Munabbih, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘A vow does not bring the son of Adam anything that I had not already decreed for him. Rather, destiny brings it to him, when I had already decreed it for him; through it, I extract something from the miser.’

Muhammad ibn Muqatil Abu al-Hasan narrated to me; Abdullah informed us; Khalid al-Hadhdha informed us, from Abu Uthman al-Nahdi, from Abu Musa, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, on a campaign. Whenever we climbed a hill or high ground, or descended into a valley, we raised our voices in proclaiming Allah's greatness. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came near and said: ‘People, be gentle with yourselves. You are not calling upon One who is deaf or absent; you are calling upon One who hears and sees.’ Then he said: ‘Abdullah ibn Qays, shall I teach you a phrase that is one of the treasures of Paradise? It is: There is no might nor power except through Allah.’

Abdan narrated to us; Abdullah informed us; Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Abu Salamah narrated to me, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘Every caliph has two close advisers: one urges him to do good and encourages him in it, and the other urges him to do evil and encourages him in it. The one protected from error is the one Allah protects.’

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to me; Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Ma'mar informed us, from Ibn Tawus, from his father, from Ibn Abbas, who said: I have seen nothing more like minor lapses than what Abu Hurayrah related from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: ‘Allah has decreed for the son of Adam his share of unlawful sexual conduct, which he will inevitably encounter. The unlawful gaze is the eye's share, and the unlawful speech is the tongue's share. The soul desires and yearns, and the private parts either confirm that or deny it.’ Shababah said: Warqa narrated to us, from Ibn Tawus, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Al-Humaydi narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us; Amr narrated to us, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, concerning the verse, ‘We made the vision We showed you only as a trial for the people.’ He said: It was an actual vision shown to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, on the night he was taken on the Night Journey to Jerusalem. Regarding the verse, ‘and the accursed tree in the Quran,’ he said: It is the tree of Zaqqum.