Verily your creation is on this wise. The constituents of one of you are collected for forty days in his mother's womb in the form of blood, after which it becomes a clot of blood in another period of forty days. Then it becomes a lump of flesh and forty days later Allah sends His angel to it with instructions concerning four things, so the angel writes down his livelihood, his death, his deeds, his fortune and misfortune. By Him, besides Whom there is no god, that one amongst you acts like the people deserving Paradise until between him and Paradise there remains but the distance of a cubit, when suddenly the writing of destiny overcomes him and he begins to act like the denizens of Hell and thus enters Hell, and another one acts in the way of the denizens of Hell, until there remains between him and Hell a distance of a cubit that the writing of destiny overcomes him and then he begins to act like the people of Paradise and enters Paradise.
The Book of Destiny - Sahih Muslim 2643 a
This profound hadith from Sahih Muslim illuminates the divine decree (al-qadr) and the stages of human creation, demonstrating Allah's perfect knowledge and wisdom in predestination.
Stages of Embryonic Development
The hadith details three forty-day periods: first as nutfah (sperm-drop), then as alaqah (clot of blood), finally as mudghah (lump of flesh). After 120 days, the soul is breathed into the fetus and four matters are decreed: livelihood, death, deeds, and ultimate happiness or misery.
Divine Decree and Human Action
Allah's preordainment encompasses both the means and the ends. A person may perform righteous deeds throughout life, yet their final actions determine their ultimate abode. Conversely, one immersed in sin may be blessed with righteous ending (husn al-khatimah).
Scholarly Interpretation
Classical scholars explain that divine decree doesn't negate free will. Allah's eternal knowledge encompasses all choices creatures will make. The "writing of destiny overcoming" refers to the actualization of what Allah has eternally known, not arbitrary divine intervention.
Practical Implications
This teaching encourages believers to combine trust in divine decree with diligent effort in righteousness. One should never despair of Allah's mercy nor become complacent based on current spiritual state, as the final outcome remains unknown until death.