PILLAR OF IMAN (6): BELIEF IN PREDESTINATION
The word ‘Qadr’ linguistically means a specified measure or amount of something whether it is in terms of quality and quantity. So here Al-Qadr is an Arabic word meaning Allah’s predestination of measurements and sustenance of everything and everyone, according to His knowledge and wisdom. Belief in al-Qadr comprises of four aspects or levels:
1) Belief in Allah’s knowledge of everything from the beginning of time until the end.
2) Belief in Allah’s recording of everything in the Preserved Tablet (اللوح المحفوظ)
3) Belief that whatever happens only happens by the will of Allah and if He does not will something, it can never come into existence.
4) Belief in Allah’s creating of all, bringing of everything into existence and making everything be.
FIRST ASPECT: KNOWLEDGE
Belief in al-Qadr entails to believe that Allah’s knowledge is all encompassing. It is to believe that Allah knows all things: be it general or specific, be it knowledge of the past, present or future or be it even knowledge of the hypothetical (something that didn’t happen, had it happened, how it would’ve happened).
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُكِنُّ صُدُورُهُمْ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ * وَمَا مِنْ غَائِبَةٍ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ
He knows everything their hearts conceal and everything they reveal: there is nothing hidden in the heavens or on earth that is not in a clear Record. (Surah An-Naml, verse 74-75)
Allah’s knowledge also varies from the knowledge of His creation in that it’s not preceded by ignorance nor is it followed by forgetfulness.
قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ رَبِّي فِي كِتَابٍ ۖ لَا يَضِلُّ رَبِّي وَلَا يَنْسَى
Moses said, ‘My Lord alone has knowledge of them, all in a record; my Lord does not err or forget. (Surah Taha, verse 52)
SECOND ASPECT: WRITING
The second concept is that Allah, the Most High, has written all matters that would ever occur in a Preserved Tablet (للوح المحفوظ).
In the Preserved Tablet everything is determined and accounted for and is not subject to change. Scholars agree that the other types of records such as the Life-time Record (Written while the foetus is in the mother’s womb), the Annual Record (which is written on Laylatul Qadr) and the Daily Record, may be affected by certain acts such aa Duā and Righteousness.
لَا يَزِيدُ فِي الْعُمْرِ إِلَّا الْبِرُّ ، وَلَا يَرُدُّ الْقَدَرَ إِلَّا الدُّعَاءُ ، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيُحْرَمُ الرِّزْقَ بِخَطِيئَةٍ يَعْمَلُهَا
“Nothing increases one’s life-span except good deeds, and nothing repels Divine Decree except du’a. And very, a person may be deprived for sustenance due to a sin that he does!” [Narrated by Ibn Majah]
Note: Changes in destiny caused by dua and righteousness have already been accounted for in The Preserved Tablet. This does not interfere with one’s free choice/will but rather is a testament to the all-encompassing nature of Allah’s nature.
Allah S.W.T will NOT use this (the preserved Tablet) against us on the Day of Judgment but ANOTHER writing, the account of our deeds, which will exactly match the Preserved Tablet as it had taken into account of everything!
و وجدوا ما عملوا حاضرا ولا يظلم ربك أحدا
They will find whatever they did present before them, and your Lord will not wrong anyone. (Surah al-Kahf, verse 49)
THIRD ASPECT: ALLAH’S WILL
If anything were to happen against the Will of Allah, it would imply weakness. Glorified be Allah from attributing such a thing to him! Belief in His Will means that nothing can occur without His permission. Allah says in Surah Al Qasas:
وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ
And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses.
We also have a will granted to us by Allah S.W.T which we use to indulge in or avoid actions of our choice and hence we will be held accountable for that which we used to do. These actions which we will be accountable for are those which we did willingly, and not unwillingly. Our will is a product of Allah’s will and is secondary to His will.
FOURTH ASPECT: CREATION
The 4th aspect of Qadr is to believe that Allah created all of creation, all attributes they possess and even their actions. He creates the actions by making their existence possible but the human being earns them.
Aside: Actions have 4 components: Will, Strength, Time, and Place, All of which were created by Allah. We use these 4 components when performing an action.