Al-Qadar which is also referred to as destiny or divine preordainment is from the secrets of Allah, The Most Gracious. Its concept is a bit cumbersome as it’s one of the knowledge of the unseen therefore a lot of people find it hard to phantom. A Muslim isn’t true to his faith if he has doubts on this matter of destiny as it’s a cornerpiece of our belief system. Besides, there are also a lot of misconceptions when it comes to Al-Qadar and how Allah predetermines the affairs of His creations. However, it’s sufficient for us as Muslims to believe in these occurrences whether they’re good or bad.

In today’s world, many people believe that what they are going to do is caused by what has already been predestined for them. They confuse ‘causation’ with ‘association’ and in reality, what we have is the association, not causation. What we do is not caused by what is written by Allah. Rather, our actions follow the path of our destiny. Allah in His ultimate knowledge knows what we are going to do. If He willed, He would have put the good-doers into paradise and the evil-doers into Hellfire. However, Allah is Al-Adl — The Just One; so He created us with free will in order to test us on our choices of decision. Hence, our deeds will always match what has already been decreed. So, what we do is out of our own will and we take responsibility for the repercussion of our actions.

A Misconception about Al-Qadar

A lot of times, people just want to cheaply blame things on destiny in order to find an excuse for misgivings. There are many situations where you can do something about the divine decree and you will still be fulfilling what Allah has destined. For instance, when you’re sick, you’re expected to take medicine and don’t just say Allah has ordained this illness upon me so if I die, it has been decreed. Your taking medicine will be a means through which Allah will bring you a cure. This is another fate that you have to explore in order to fulfill the restoration of your health. A related instance is if I lose my job, I’m not expected to say this is my qadar and there’s nothing I can do about it. Instead, I should go out and look for another means of livelihood which will turn out to be the consequence of another fulfilling destiny.

A beautiful example from the salaf was a deadly situation in which the Muslims found themselves during the plague of Al-Amwas. This tragic scenario occurred during the caliphate of Umar and over twenty thousand Muslims lost their lives including prominent companions. ‘Umar bin al-Khattab was traveling with a group of companions to Syria. On their way, they were informed that there was an outbreak of a contagious epidemic.
‘Umar asked his group whether they should proceed or return back to Madinah. Some companions said they should go back while others suggested they should proceed. AbdurRahman ibn Auf then reported that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said: “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place.” So ‘Umar then thanked Allah for guiding them to the sunnah and decided that they should go back to Madinah. However, Abu Ubaydah asked him: ‘are you running away from the qadar of Allah?” ‘Umar replied beautifully: “Yes! We’re moving away from one qadar to another qadar”.

Hence, the right concept of qadar is: we are responsible for whatever we do.

In what ways is our destiny decreed?

This is a question that many people ask. Foremost, it is important to understand that there are different types of writing and how can we utilize that information. Our destiny is written in a number of ways and we find evidence for this in the book of Allah and the Sunnah of our beloved Messenger peace be upon him. Here are four ways in which the decrees are written viz:

i. The Eternal Writing: This is the decree that was ordained on the supreme preserved tablet also known as Al-Lawh Al-Mahfoodh. And it is called “preserved” which indicates that no change happens to it. This has been ordained by Allah from the time of creation.

Nay! This is a Glorious Qur’ân, inscribed in Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz — The Preserved Tablet — Qur’an 85[Al-Buruj]:21–22

ii. The Angel’s Writing: This is the writing that happens when the angel is sent to breathe the soul into the fetus. It is commanded to write four things about an individual: the lifespan, the actions, the provision, and whether they are going to be happy or unhappy. This writing can be changed as Allah wills.

“Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.” — Qur’an 13[Al-Ra’a]:39

This is why Amirul Mu’mineen ‘Umar ibn Khattab used to say in his du’a: “Oh Allah if you wrote me of the people of paradise, then confirm it. And if you wrote me of the people of the hellfire then eliminate it. For you eliminate what you will or confirm what you will. And with you is the mother of the book!” — At-Tabari

iii. The Yearly Writing: This writing happens annually in the month of Ramadan on the night of Laylatul Qadr which is known as the night of decree. Allah says about this blessed night thus:

By the clear Book! Indeed, We sent it down on a blessed night, for We always warn against evil. On that night is decreed every matter of ordainments. — Qur’an 44[Ad-Dukhan]2–4

iv. The Daily Writing: And every day, Allah decrees things that happen to His creatures. This He informed us of in the noble book:

Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter. — Qur’an 55[Ar-Rahman]:29

Now we can see that of all these four decreed writings, three of them change, and only one remains unchangeable —Al-Lawh Al-Mahfoodh. This is a perfect manifestation of Allah’s infinite knowledge. So what are the things that could transcribe the changeable decrees? Dua’, charity, good deeds, and keeping ties of kinship. Allah’s Apostle hinted about this in the subsequent ahadith:

Salman reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, said, “Nothing repels the divine decree but supplication, and nothing increases life span but righteousness.” — Sunan al-Tirmidhī

And also in another narration, he said:

“He who desires for their provision to be expanded and lifespan to be extended should maintain good ties with his blood relations”. — Bukhari and Muslim

How do we balance our understanding of this concept?

Without a doubt, understanding the divine decree can be complex but we can make it simple by attesting to these three tautologies enlisted below:

1. Allah’s wisdom supersedes all: This means that Allah knows what is best for you. Knowing this means knowing peace. So, whatever He does to you either good or bad is in your best interest. He knows beyond your scope and your knowledge is limited.

… Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know. — Qur’an 2[Al-Baqarah]:216

2. Allah Does as He Wills: Knowing Allah’s ability to do all things without questioning is a branch of wisdom on its own. So if He chooses to do as He wishes, who are you to challenge his will?

And He is the All-Forgiving, All-Loving. Lord of the Throne, the All-Glorious. Doer of whatever He wills — Qur’an 85[Al-Buruj]:14–16

3. Allah is Just in His ordeals: Always remember that Allah has forbidden oppression and injustice upon Himself. Therefore, He will not treat anyone unjustly. Realizing this will help you rest your mind that this is what is best for you.

Is Allah not the Most Just of all judges? — Qur’an 95[At-Tin]:8

We ask Allah to count us among those who believe in the unseen concept of Al-Qadar and grant us steadfastness to endure patiently when tested by what’s decreed to befall us. Amin!

Are you not aware that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and earth? All this is written in a Record; this is easy for Allah. — Qur’an 22[Hajj]:70

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Yaumul Jum’ah 5th Rajab 1444H // Friday 27th January 2023.