Destiny in Islam

Destiny in Islam 

Elhamdulillah,

Bismillahirahmanirraheem,

All praise is for Allah, may peace and blessings be upon the prophet, his family and companions, Amin.

Destiny is a reality

A Muslim cannot be a Muslim without believing in destiny, both the good of it and the bad of it. 

This is an article of faith according to the Prophet PBUH as affirmed by Jibreel AS in the Hadith of Islam, Eeman & Ihsan. 

Rasulullah ﷺ said about Eeman (faith) that "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day and that you believe in pre-ordainment (destiny), the good and the bad of it." 

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Everything has been made with a determind destiny.” Quran 54:49

What is Qadr & Qadha?

Qadr - Qadr (Divine decree) is the divine declaration that all events, either good or bad, for eternity, are decreed by Allah ta’ala and He has full knowledge of all of them.

Qadha - Qadha (Divine will) is the occurance of all the incidents which were decreed by Allah Ta’ala in pre-eternity, at their due times and in total accordance with the divine will and knowledge for example, it is of Qadar (fate) when Allah ta’ala has decreed and willed someone's birth at a certain time (in his knowledge and written in the tablet). It is of Qadha when she/he is born on that day (i.e the event manifesting) İ.e events decreed by Allah that were not our chosing.

The Pen and The Preserved Tablet

Allah created the pen and ordered it to write the decree of everything that will happen until the day of judgement in Al Lawh Al Mahfuz (The preserved tablet) 50’000 years before the heavens & the earth was created. And the pen has been lifted. It is complete and nothing will be added or taken away. Allah knows everything, and is the only creator, he is Al Alim & nothing comes into existence except if Allah wills.

Allah speaks about Al Lawh Al Mahfuz, he says:

“This is a glorious Qur’an, recorded in a tablet preserved.”

Qur’an 85:21 & 22

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

“When Allah decreed the Creation He

pledged Himself by writing in His book

which is laid down with Him: My mercy

prevails over my wrath.” - Hadith Qudsi 1.

Abu Darda reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Everything has a reality, and the servant will not reach the reality of faith until he knows that what afflicted him could never miss him, and that what missed him could never have afflicted him.”

Source: Musnad Aḥmad 26944

Grade: Sahih (authentic)

Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported that Allah's Messenger ﷺ who is the most truthful (of the human beings) and his being truthful (is a fact) said:

“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 (after conception) 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 (Allah), one amongst you could act 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.” - Sahih Muslim.

On the authority of Abu Abbas Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

“One day I was behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) [riding on the same mount] and he said, “O young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, then ask Allah [alone]; and if you seek help, then seek help from Allah [alone]. And know that if the nation 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 pages have dried.” It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said it was a good and sound hadeeth. Another narration, other than that of Tirmidhi, reads: Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. Recognise and acknowledge Allah in times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember you in times of adversity. And know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you, and what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and hardship with ease.” - Hadith 19, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) called co-wives sisters. Muslim (1408) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “A woman should not ask for her sister to be divorced so as to deprive her of what is rightfully hers and so that she may be married in her stead; rather she will have what Allah has decreed for her.” (Narrated in Malik Muwatta) 

Your family is decreed, your mother, father, wife & children.

Destiny and Freewill (Choice)

Although there is pre-destiny we also have freewill to chose and Allah creates our choices into actions and enables us to do the action and nothing happens except by his permission and our choices that Allah has foreseen that we would chose are incorporated into the ultimate decree seemlessly and are in harmony with what Allah has willed like a cog in the great machine of destiny (metaphorically speaking), such is the wisdom of Allah who created you and what you do along with your choice and it is the intention and conviction in the choices Allah presents you with that you are judged on. You would not have any choice or ability to select a choice if Allah didn’t create you and your thoughts.

Ali RA said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was in a funeral procession an he picked up something and began to scratch the ground with it. He said, 'There is none of you who does not have his seat written either in the Fire or in the Garden.' They said, 'Messenger of Allah, then should we not rely on what is written for us and abandon action?' 'Act.' he said. 'Every thing is easy if you were created for it.' He added, 'As for someone who is one of the people of happiness, it is easy for him to perform the actions of happiness. As for someone who is one of the people of wretchedness, it is easy for him to perform the actions of wretchedness.' Then he recited, 'As for him who gives out and has taqwa and confirms the Good' (Qur’an 92:5-10) - Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 903 - Sahih.

Allah says “One who follows guidance does so for himself and one who goes astray does so against his soul. No one will suffer for the sins of others. We have never punished anyone without sending them Our Messenger first.” Qur’an 17:15.

“And whoever rejects the faith (belief in Qadr is included), all their good deeds will be void and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.” - Qur’an 5:5.

Allah affirms freewill in the following aya, no one is forced into the Fire or Paradise, Allah is not an oppressor he is just according to what we do. Man has the choice to be obedient or disobedient, accept or reject faith and Allah does not punish until a warner has been sent.

We must be content with what Allah has decreed but not content with evil and İnjustice that man commits that Allah creates to test us. The aspect attributed to man’s injustice we hate but the ultimate decree we must accept and say Alhamdulillah ‘ala kulli hal and Allah is all knowing and wise. 

And with this (same) chain, (it was reported) from the Prophet (ﷺ) who said: "Indeed greater reward comes with greater trial. And indeed, when Allah loves a people He subjects them to trials, so whoever is content, then for him is pleasure, and whoever is discontent, then for him is wrath." - Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2396

Allah says,

“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” - Qur’an 4:135

So be content with trials from Allah but stand against the injustice in the trial to pass the trial. 

He can stand against the evil or injustice by adhering to the following hadith:

On the authority of Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” [Muslim]

The only thing that can change the decree is dua but this is not change in the fixed decree these are changes in the suspended decree and these changes were already decided and written in the preserved tablet which doesnt change. As Allah forsaw this dua and pre-altered accordingly and wrote that in the preserved tablet. 

Salman reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Nothing repels the divine decree but supplication.” - Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2139, Grade: Hasan.

Evil eye & destiny

Ibn 'Abbas reported Allah's Messenger ﷺ as saying:

“The influence of an evil eye is a fact; if anything would precede the destiny it would be the influence of an evil eye, and when you are asked to take bath (as a cure) from the influence of an evil eye, you should take bath.”‏

Rasulullah SAW said: "Sadaqah (charity) repels calamities.”

Definitions: 

Qadr - Qadr (Divine decree) is the divine declaration that all events, either good or bad, for eternity, are decreed by Allah ta’ala and He has full knowledge of all of them.

Qadha - Qadha (Divine will) is the occurance of all the incidents which were decreed by Allah Ta’ala in pre-eternity, at their due times and in total accordance with the divine will and knowledge for example, it is of Qadar (fate) when Allah ta’ala has decreed and willed someone's birth at a certain time (in his knowledge and written in the tablet). It is of Qadha when she/he is born on that day (i.e the event manifesting) İ.e events decreed by Allah that were not our chosing.

Al Qadha Al Mu’allaq- Suspended Decree (Changable)

Al Qada Al Mubram - Fixed destiny (Unchangable)

Al Lawh Al Mahfudh (The preserved Tablet - Fixed)

The decree never changes as Allahs knowledge never changes he always knew exactly, to attribute change to Allahs knowledge is blasphemy as it implicates he didn’t know something before. He may change your path by your supplication in the suspended decree and that was written in the fixed destiny & He always knew everything. 

May Allah protects us from all sorts of calamities and troubles and to grant us lives in health and prosperity and protect us from the harm of others, everything that leads to the fire and a bad fate,

Amin.