Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wei Rasooluhu
''I bear witness that there is no deity but ALLAH
who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.''
"O ALLAH, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family.
Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". I am Satisfied with ALLAH as My Rabb and Cherisher, I am Satisfied With Islam as My Din (religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenger)sallallahu alaihi was salam.(Amin)
------------------------------------------------------------------The Four Levels of the Belief in al-Qadr. (Divine Decree ). INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION OF AL QADAA AND AL QADR When mentioned separately either one means the other, but when stated together differ in their meanings e.g.: when it is generalised Al Qadr encompasses Al Al- qadaa and vice versa. But when it is stated Al Qadr wa Al-qadaa then Al Qadr means the predestination of things and when the predestined matter occurs then it is Al-qadaa.
ITS RULING
It is an obligation to have faith in Al Qadr
(Divine Decree )
.
Evidence from the Qur'aan:
'Verily We have created all things with Al Qadr"(54:49)
Evidence from the Sunnah:
Hadith of Jibril (alayhi salam): When the angel asked what is Eman, Rasulallah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said 'Eman is to believe in ALLAH His angels, books, messengers, day of judgement and Al- qadar the good and bad' (Bukhari, Muslim)
Hadith of Jabir: 'No slave of ALLAH will truly believe until he believes in Al Qadr its good and bad from ALLAH, until he knows that what has befallen him was not going to miss him and that what missed him was not going to befallen him.'(Tirmidhi)
THE 4 ASPECTS OF BELIEF IN AL QADR(Divine Decree )
1. AL ILM- ALLAH'S KNOWLEDGE
ALLAH's knowledge encompasses everything. He knows what has occurred, what will occur and all that which has not occurred. He knew everything about His creation before He created it. He knows in His eternal knowledge about His creation ,their provisions, life spans, sayings, moves deeds, secrets all of their obedience and disobedient acts, who among them will be people of Jannah (Paradise) or who will be from the people of An Naar (fire):
'Verily ALLAH is the All Knower of everything." (8:75)
"And that ALLAH surrounds (comprehends) all things in his Knowledge." (65:12)
Ali narrated that "one day Rasulallah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was sitting with a wooden stick in his hand with which he was scratching the ground. He raised his head and said "there is none of you but has his place assigned either in the fire or in Paradise." They said, "O Rasulallah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) Why should we carry on doing good deeds then, shall we depend (on Al-qadar) and give up work? Rasulallah(sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said "No, but carry on doing good deeds, for everyone will find easy (to do) such deeds as will lead him to that for which he has been created "then he recited this ayat:
"As for him who gives (in charity)and keeps his duty to ALLAH and fears Him, and believes in Al Husna (Tawheed, path of righteousness) we will make smooth for him the path of ease, goodness..(92:5-10)" Muslim vol.4)
ALLAH knew that Iblees would disobey and that he would not prostrate to Adam as ALLAH commanded him. The Angels did not know anything about Iblees... ALLAH the Wise said to the angels:
"I know that which you do not know" (2:30)
Abdullah ibn Masoud said, "Allah knew what they the Angels did not know about Iblees." Ibnul Qayyim mentions many aspects of the wisdom of the creation of Iblees:
1.The manifestation of ALLAH's ability to create contradicting comparables
He(ALLAH) created the most wicked and evil of creatures, Iblees the source of every evil. In contrast He created the most purified and Honorable creatures of the angels. His ability is also manifested in every aspects of the creation. also in night and day, illness and cure, life and death, ugly and beautiful and many other contrasting forms of creation.
(Side point) -How ALLAH creates the good and the bad. ALLAH says which means.
"No evil befalls on the earth or in your own souls except it is in the writings before we bring it into existence."(57:22)
"If some good comes to them they say this is from ALLAH and if some evil befalls them they say this is from you prophet, everything is from ALLAH."
"the creator of everything. "(40: 62)
From these verses above we see that ALLAH created everything, for if ALLAH did not create everything there would be another creator.
We also know that Rasulallah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said 'All the goodness is in your hands and the evil is not attributed to you. "(Muslim)
So how does ALLAH create the bad/evil?. ALLAH does not create evil in the absolute sense. Because in every evil there is good, it is only evil if we make it evil.
Eg: We have shirk and kufr, which is evil. -the goodness in that is that it clarifies Eman. Because you cant see the difference between black and white until you see them both.
Death- makes us think about the Hereafter, encourages us to do good deeds.
Sickness is evil but if we remain patient it is something good because our sins are being wiped.
Abu Huraira related that Rasulallah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, 'for any trouble, illness, worry, grief hurt, or sorrow which afflicts a Muslim, even the prick of a thorn, ALLAH removes in its stead some of his (minor) sins"(Bukhari, Muslim)
When one of our beloved persons die, some people complain as to why he has died or they think its something evil. Whereas Rasulallah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said 'ALLAH the Glorious says, 'I have no reward better other than Paradise for a believing servant of mine who is patient and resigned, when I take away one of his beloved ones among the most cherished things of the world." (Bukhari) so if this person remains patient then its something good but if he is not patient then it becomes evil.
Likewise Iblees is something evil whether we follow him or not. If we disobey him and do not listen to him and refrain ourselves from the evil then it becomes something good because this is our way to paradise and we are rewarded by doing the good. So everything that ALLAH has created, has good in it and the evil comes if we use it in the wrong way, as evil, so the evil comes from the creation as ALLAH says
"I seek refuge in the Rabb of the daybreak from the evil of what he has created "(113:1-2)
So the evil comes from the creation.
"Evil has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression evil deeds) that ALLAH may make them taste a part of that which they have done in order that they may return." (30:41)
Evil is not an action of ALLAH otherwise a name would have been derived from it for ALLAH but there is not such a name. The goodness is attributed to ALLAH but the evil is not attributed to him because the evil comes from the creation depending upon how they use what ALLAH has created.
2. It manifests the names and actions of ALLAH such as severe in punishment, swift in reckoning, master of the day of judgement.
Had everyone been like the angels, ALLAH's names would not be manifested. ALLAH is also just, fair, and does everything with wisdom so he would not punish without reason for ALLAH is far removed from any defects and joking.
ALLAH's Rasulallah(sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said "Verily ALLAH created mercy. The day he created he made it into one hundred parts. He withheld ninety nine parts and sent one part to all his creation. If the unbeliever knew all of the mercy which is in the hands of ALLAH he would not lose hope of entering paradise. If the believer knew of all the punishment which is present with ALLAH he would not consider himself safe from the hellfire" and in another narration "the remaining ninety nine parts of mercy which are with ALLAH is what he will use to judge mankind on the Day of Judgement."
So think of all the mercy of ALLAH only one part is in the fraction from which a mother feels mercy to her child, so if a person goes to hell he must really deserve to go to hell. Likewise when we sin, if we did not turn in repentance to ALLAH how would his attributes of forgiveness be manifest.
ALLAH's Knowledge and Wisdom
ALLAH is All Knowing and All Wise about His choice and the consequences.
E.g.: The hadith of istikhara, whereby the Muslim asks for ALLAH's guidance in a certain affair saying
"O my Rabb, I ask your guidance due to your knowledge and appeal to you to help me (give me power) due to your ability, and ask you from your great favor, for you are able and I am not, you know and I don't and you know all hidden matters. O ALLAH if you know that this matter (and you name it) is good for me in my din, my livelihood,, the aftermath of my matter (also for my life in the Hereafter) its long term and short term then decree it for me, make it easy for me and bestow blessings in it for me. And if you know that this matter is bad for me in my deen, livelihood, the aftermath of my matter, its long term and short term, then keep it away from me and turn me away from it and for me the good wherever it is and then content me with it." (Bukhari).
The slave of ALLAH needs to know what benefits him in his livelihood. Is he able to achieve it? is it going to be easy or not? Certainly ALLAH taught him from what he taught man. So the knowledge is His. The slaves ability is from ALLAH, otherwise he is weak, making matters easy is also from ALLAH. If He does not make things easy for His slave they will turn out difficult. The prophet directed the Muslim to the essence of Uboodiyah. Asking guidance from the one who is All Knowing about the Matter of every task of life, its details, its good and its bad; seeking the help and Ability from the All Able, Asking His favour by making the matters easy for him. If ALLAH guides him due to his ability and makes it easy for him. If ALLAH guides him due to His knowledge, helps him due to his Ability and makes it easy for him due to His favour, then he needs ALLAH's help to preserve his guidance and to bestow blessings in it, so that his matter (what he asked for) becomes firm and grows. The person requests that ALLAH makes him content with His choice, otherwise ALLAH may choose what the person dislikes not knowing that it is good for him. Abdullah ibn Umar said, "The person asks ALLAH for guidance and ALLAH gives him. However he turns angry on His Rabb, only to look at the aftermath and find that ALLAH indeed has chosen (what is good) for him."
The maqdoor (what shall happen according to ALLAH's divine decree) is sheltered by 2 things:
1. Istikhara, before (i.e. before the maqdoor is manifested) and
2. Ridha (content) after (i.e. after its manifestation)
Part of the success which ALLAH bestows on His slave is to guide him to Istikara before the manifestation of the maqdoor and to contentment after it happens. Part of ALLAH's humiliation of His slave is when he does not make Istikhara before the maqdoor occurs and does not become content with it after it happens.