FAQ in the category of Qadar

This a divine preserving tablet in which the things that happened and are to happen, all moments in time and all beings in space, in short, everything is written on; it is the mirror of Divine knowledge, the book of fate and the program of the universe.

The little sample of the Preserved Tablet in man is memory. Memory contains the events that we experience, the places that we see, people that we know, voices that we hear, tastes that we taste, all impressions that we receive all our life long, all knowledge that we learn, but it still never becomes full.

Memory is the treasure of intelligence, the capital of reflective thought, and the history of our own self. It is one of the most valuable tools that has been implanted in our soul. Intelligence without memory is of no use. For we think by resting on our previous learnings.

Memory has an aspect that looks to our eternal life. Memory is a voucher, a title deed, a document. It will bear witness by showing the good deeds and sins we committed in the world.

Just as each event man experiences is written in his memory, all events that happened, happening and will happen are written on that great memory. On both tablets, the name of Preserver (Al- Hafeez) of our Sustainer manifests itself.

Some people cannot grasp the fact that everything is written on the Preserved Tablet. It would be inaccurate to understand written as writing something with pen letter by letter. The arrangements of genes are far different from writing. That memory records something does not resemble typing. Words and events in a video cassette are not recorded by pen.

Therefore, that everything is written on the books of the Preserved Tablet, which are Clear Record and Clear Book, is arbitrariness beyond these. Moreover, this record has nothing to do with letters and words.

Sealed Heart is defined as hearts getting blacken and stiffen because of unbelief and repentance.

Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated, With every other sin that one commits, heart gets one more black spot.

In a verse, Assuredly God does not forgive that partners be associated with Him; less than that He forgives to whomever He wills (whomever He has guided to repentance and righteousness either out of His pure grace or as a result of the persons choosing repentance and righteousness by his free will). Whoever associates any partner with God indeed fabricated a most heinous sin. (An-Nisaa Surah, 4:48) As we understood from the hadith and the verse, associating any partner with God is the main cause for heart to become blacken. If one becomes the advocate of the Shirk (polytheism) and starts to fight against believers, the black spot enlarges and darkens more and more; finally covers the whole heart so it becomes impossible for him to accept the belief and tawheed (unification). With the expression of the Risale-i Nur collection, author Bediuzzaman Said Nursi it is, It corrupts mans potentialities in such a way that they are incapable of reform and unreceptive to good.

Above quoted verse has been announced about the unbelievers who fight against the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). The door, which opens to the way of Allah (swt), is closed for unbelievers who reached up to that level of disbelief. It does not fit to all sinners, oppressors or even to people who associate partners with God. If it had been, how could we explain the people who later became Muslims but used to be idolaters in Asr-i Saadah (Age of Happiness and tranquility in which Prophet Muhammad lived).

If anyone associates partners with God are set sealed in their hearts, no unbeliever should not have become Muslims. As a matter of fact, persons who have sealed hearts are the ones who cannot comprehend the Unification (Oneness of God).

And these people fall into a hole by misusing their will power.

We would like to take your attention to an important point. In the Risale-i Nur Collection Disbelief is analyzed in two grounds: Non-acceptance and acceptance of non-being. Non-acceptance is confused with the acceptance of non-being. The evidence for non-acceptance is the absence of established proof. The acceptance of non-being requires proof of non-being. One is doubt while the other one is denial. One is unconcernedness, closing eyes to the facts, and ignorance. However, in the acceptance of non-being, there is an advocacy, and invitation of disbelief. As you see second group fights against believers. Sealed heart is more effective for them actually. We say more, because even it is rare there are some people who find the way of Allah and become Muslims.

There are two alternatives in this question: First; does it happen however, God Almighty wills with His universal and all-encompassing will or the second; does man choose with his own will? The verse in this question is as follows: "Man yahdillahu fala mudilla lah. Va man yudlil fala hadiya lah: He whom Allah guides is rightly guided; but he whom Allah leaves to stray, - for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way. (Al-Kahf Surah, 18:17) Literally, guidance means the right path and the path the prophets stuck to. And straying means the way of the aggressors, losing the right path and straying from the right path.

If attention is paid, it will be seen that both of these are each a deed and act, and in relation to man, each a function. For this reason, both of these must be attributed to God. As was stated before, every deed is created by God. There is no deed outside of the will of God. The creator of straying from the right path with the reflection of the name Mudhell- The Disgracer, The Dishonorer and the creator of guidance with the reflection of the name Hadi- The Guide is God Almighty. Both of them are given by God.

But it does not mean that without any interference or connection of the slave, by force he is led astray or is rightly guided by God and he becomes either an aggressor or a trustworthy person.

This issue can be understood following way: It is wrong to attribute the deed of guidance and straying to man, because the real possessor is God and this deed must surely be attributed to the possessor. The amount of the deed does not change this fact; for example, if this deed weighs ten tons, even one tenth of it must not be attributed to man. The real possessor is God and this deed must surely be attributed to its possessor.

To explain this with an example: God guides and there are causes for His guidance. To go to mosque, to listen to advice, to illumine ones ideas are each a cause of guidance. It is also among the causes of guidance to listen to the Quran, to try to understand its meaning and to delve into its depths. To go to the presence of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), to sit before him while he gives advice, to listen intently to him, or to listen to a lesson of a people of knowledge, to enter his spiritual world that resembles paradise, and to take in the meanings he presents with all ones being are each one of the causes of guidance. Through these causes and ways, man nears to guidance. Even if going to the mosque is small in becoming nearer, God Almighty may make it a cause for guidance. The guide is God; but it is the slave who knocks at the door of God with the deed of wanting.

Man knocks at the door of the name Mudhell and says, Lead me astray. And if God wills, He leaves him to stray. But if He wills, He causes obstacles and does not leave him to stray. If due attention is paid, it will be seen that there is so little to man which suffices as the real cause neither for guidance nor for straying.

Let me give an example: When you listen to the Glorious Quran and a lesson of advice, or read a book of knowledge, your spiritual being is illumined entirely. However, another becomes irritated and uncomfortable when he hears adhan-the call to prayer-under the shadow of the minaret, or listens to a lesson of advice or even when he hears the most deeply uttered supplications and he complains: What are those cracked sounds?

Therefore, the one who guides and leaves to stray is God. But, if someone opts for evils and enters its way, then God creates this deed for him with a possibility of more than 999,9 out of a thousand-just like pushing the button-and then He either punishes man for his inclination and desire for evil or forgives him.

The following is reported from Abdullah Ibn   Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him):  Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his (i.e. the new creature's) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into him. So, a man amongst you may do (good deeds till there is only a cubit between him and Paradise and then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire. And similarly a man amongst you may do (evil) deeds till there is only a cubit between him and the (Hell) Fire, and then what has been written for him decides his behavior, and he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise."  . (Buhari)

Explanation: The words of the Messenger of Allah ends with the words shaqiy and said. The part that comes after belongs to Abdullah Ibn-i Mas'ud, the narrator of the hadith.

The meaning conveyed by this Ibn-i Mas'ud hadith is expressed as: “a ‘said’ (blessed) person is ‘said’ in the womb of the mother and a ‘shaqiy’ (wretched) person is ‘shaqiy’ in the womb of the mother”, and it is famous like a proverb.  

This hadith states that some people will go to Paradise and some will go to Hell.

That Allah created some people for Paradise and that they will act accordingly should be understood as follows: Some people will want, in this world, to do deeds that will be worthy of entering Paradise and Allah will create those deeds and as a result, those people will go to Paradise.    

That Allah created some people for Hell and that they will act accordingly should be understood as follows: Some people will want to commit deeds that will necessitate entering Hell and Allah will create those deeds and they will go to hell by committing those deeds.

As a matter of fact, a person can go to a place where sins are committed of his own accord; he may go to places where Allah’s name is mentioned, too. He is free to go to either place. He will reap what he sows. That is what is meant by the hadith.

Are the hands of a person tied when it is decided in the womb of the mother that he will be a blessed or wretched person? If it is claimed to be so, how is it compatible with the divine justice that the person is tested and then a reward or punishment is given to him?

First of all, God Almighty is Wise and Just. He does not do anything without a reason (wisdom) and in vain; He is just. He does not oppress His slaves.

One meaning of fate (Qadar) is that Allah knows the life programs of the beings He created with his pre-eternal knowledge. That is, everything beginning from the moment a person falls into the womb of the mother to coming to the world and every breath that he takes is recorded in his fate and Allah knows it all.

Allah created every person in a clean nature and as a good person in essence. Every person has a tendency towards both the good and evil. A person’s responsibility depends on which one he tends more. Allah created a potential Abu Bakr and Abu Jahl in each person. It is valid for every person except prophets because Allah is just; He does not oppress people.

However, not every man can develop the sapling of belief in them; and some people make it wither. That a person is given inclinations toward the evil and that the soul and satan pester him is good in a sense. Man can be elevated to higher ranks than angels and can go down to lower levels. The main reason why the universe was established and life continues is to bring about perfect man. Man needs to oppose bad tendencies, his soul, and satan in order to be elevated to high ranks. If it were not like that, man would be like angels, with a fixed rank. In fact, there are many angels with fixed ranks.  

Fate (qadar) is a program arranged by science and will. Qada (decree) is the name of the application phase of that program.  

Qada is the manifestation of the power of Allah. Qadar is a reflection of the knowledge of Allah. When it is seen in this light, knowledge (science) is thought of. As a matter of fact, the following verse shows that Qadar means the knowledge of Allah: “And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures..” (al-Hijr, 21).

Since Qadar is a program originating from knowledge, it has no compulsory effect on the acts of man. As a matter of fact, the following rule of the science of kalam relating to Qadar will express the issue more clearly:  “knowledge is subject to what is known”. Let us explain it by giving an example; for instance, the fact that we know when the sun will rise and when it will set has no effect on the rising and setting of the sun.  The sun will not rise and set at those times because we know it; on the contrary, we know that it will rise and set at those times.

The sustenance and deeds of a person, and whether he is blessed or wretched mentioned in the hadith is related to the point of Qadar. In fact, the expression stated in the hadith is used in order to declare that Allah knows what happened, what is happening and what will happen, in short, everything.    

That Allah knows who will go to Hell and who to Paradise with His pre-eternal knowledge is a qualification of His Divinity. The fact that He makes the appointed angel write it when the baby is in the womb of the mother does not change this qualification of His attribute, knowledge, which has no sanction power. That is, there is no compulsion in terms of Qadar.  

Man has properties that are suitable for deeds that will lead him both to Hell and to Paradise. Man can do the deeds that will lead him to Paradise or to Hell with the partial free will given to him. All of the responsibility for it belongs to him. That hadith mentions that property of man.

Qadar has two aspects: One is out of man’s will; they are issues like coming to the world, his father and mother, time of his death, etc. Man is not responsible for them since he cannot decide about them using his own will.

He is responsible for his deeds that he decides to do. Every man knows that one goes to the mosque or to the pub of his own accord. There is no compulsion here.

It is stated in a hadith that every person has the nature of Islam when he is born. One of the meanings of the word Islam mentioned in hadiths is high ethics. That is, every man is created with high ethics in essence and with a property that can approve the fundamentals of belief. However, if man changes this property of his using his own will and adopts a belief that belongs to the people of Hell and commits deeds that are peculiar to the people of Hell, he will definitely be responsible for it.  

According to Islam, It is Allah (SWT) Who creates good, goodness, beauty; and again Who creates evil, bad and ugly as well.

Some ask, “How is it that Allah creates evil?” It seems that those people cannot imagine the act of creation of evil by Allah (SWT) befits Him. Yet contrary to the common belief, this is a sign of His sublimity.

If a painter is able to draw the picture of the ugly objects, as quite successfully as those of the beautiful ones in which he had already proven good, this means that he is perfect at his art. If he were not able to draw the pictures of the ugly objects successfully, that would be a deficiency. This example could be taken with regard to the creation of evil.

Furthermore, what is evil is not to create it but to commit it.

Let us ask those who say, “Allah does not create evil”: If it is not Allah, then what is it?

In any answer to give to this question, it is probable to apply to polytheism. Creation is peculiar to Allah (SWT) and He has no match, helper, or partner. This is the one side of the point.

We also have the other side of the point, which is “the testing.” If Allah had created only goodness, evil would never exist. Then there would be no point in testing people. To do the prohibited, to commit sins and denial would never be possible. Everybody would inevitably be like angels. Yet this is not what our Lord wishes. He wishes that human beings could do whatever they want with their free will. Therefore, He creates what human beings’ will prefer.

For example, one can go to both mosque and a pub. The first is good and the second is evil. Allah (SWT) creates what humans please. If the feet that take one to the pub become stone suddenly, if the eyes that look at the prohibited things were blind, if those without worship caught some fatal illness, man would have no will power.

Then it is very wisdom to create evil beside good in order to set apart the good and the bad from each other. I think this explanation is the answer to the question “Why does Allah not prevent evil?”

We will try to answer your question via some questions and answers.

Fate is a part of faith and it is described as follows: “Fate means that Allah knows every feature, situation, place, time, attributions and characteristics of everything that happened and that is going to happen from the pre-eternity to the post-eternity, with His infinite knowledge and He ordains them.”

And qada (decree) means the creation, manifestation and practice of what one’s fate includes.

Every event from the creation of universe in six stages to the formation of humans in wombs in nine months points out to fate!..

Each wise system from the Solar System to atom systems declares the existence of fate. Numbers and characteristics of elements hint fate. Categorization of plants and animals according to species and families and different skills of each species have been possible due to fate…

The fact that positions of angels, animals and lifeless beings are stable and that human beings and the jinn are put through testing is planned in fate…

Creation of Heaven and Hell were determined by Divine wisdom and decision. The ways leading to them were also determined due to fate…

How much reward will be given for which good deed and how much punishment will be given for which evil deed is also determined by fate…

In a science magazine, the wonderful system of human body was described and many nice examples about Divine decision were listed. And the article was concluded as follows:

“Let alone our whole body, if we did not have our thumbs, technique and civilization would not have emerged.”

Frankly, all inventions, discoveries and arts are somewhat bounded to the thumb. And if it was not supported by other fingers, we would neither be able to hold a spoon, nor a pen and nor a hammer. Let alone the whole world of beings, if humankind could look at the thumb carefully, they could see the Divine decision most clearly.

People who keep asking the same memorized questions about fate again and again do not ever think of this essential meaning of fate. They never ponder about how this gorgeous universe was created by stages with an infinite knowledge and decision. They cannot observe these magnificent manifestations of fate; similarly, they cannot evaluate seeds, zygotes, sperms and genes from this point of view. However, those small creatures are like embodied plans and programs… They display Allah’s wonderful decision and fine wisdom to those who use their brains.

And humankind is supposed to believe in fate by disposition!.. Human beings are capable of understanding measures and numbers. They decide on the number of the rooms of the house they decide to build consciously. They build the kitchen, the bathroom and others all in the most appropriate places of the house. They make plans about their future, set goals for themselves and make decisions. And this disposition of theirs makes them responsible for believing in fate.

Let us ponder: What other being amongst all these creatures we see is aware of their own existence and stages of creation? Which one knows what it is, why it is created and where it is going to?.. Birds? Trees? The Sun? The Moon?...

Animals are unaware of the essences of their organs. Plants do not know about their leaves. Seas are unaware of the fishes swimming in them. The Moon does not know what it is rotating around.

Yet is it the same with human beings? They know both the system of their body and the system in their souls. They know the duties of elements, species of animals and heavenly systems. They can understand why every person, every species and every system was created and what kind of wisdom there is in them, at least to some extent. Due to this natural disposition, they can realize the innumerable manifestations of fate in everything to some extent.

Belief in fate is a source of peace

Belief in fate is the greatest source of peace for human beings. A true believer thinks that systems and rules which he sees both in his own body and in universe are full of much wisdom and that all of them result in mercy. He says “Everything is nice about fate” and seeks for mercy and wisdom in everything that happens to him.

He does anything that is necessary both for his life and afterlife happiness and eventually, trusts in Allah’s mercy and kindness, and finds peace. He does not feel sorry when he loses. He does not regret for the opportunities he missed in the past. He knows that saying “If it had been like that, it would not have been so” or “If it had not been like that, it would have been better” does not provide him with any benefits but just causes sorrow to his soul. He gets rid of the burden of the past off his back. He sets out to the future, having trust in Allah, and finds peace…

He does not boast about boons, wealth and skills Allah has endowed upon him and does not behave arrogantly. He knows that everything that is good is a blessing from Allah, and finds peace…

What do those who do not believe in fate suggest to humankind?

Do they suggest not to work and spend days lazily? Or do they suggest depending on causes and then not consenting to outcomes and grieving? What do they expect from it apart from giving people sorrow? What a heavy burden they place on the back of poor people with a sensitive soul and impatient body! Or is there something that they benefit from in restless, aggressive and rebellious souls in order to realize their devastating goals?

Can we blame our faults on fate?

We can divide the fate into two: forced fate and voluntary fate.

“We cannot have any affect on forced fate. It is totally out of our free-will. Our forced fate includes our place of birth, our parents, our shape, and our inborn skills. We cannot determine them. And we are not responsible for that kind of fate.

The second kind of fate is voluntary fate. Allah knows with His infinite knowledge and ordains whatever we will decide and whatever we will do. Your question must be discussed in this category. That is to say, you are deciding on a type of person to marry and look for him/her. And Allah introduces some people who have got the characteristics which you desire to you. You like one of them and accept him/her with your own free-will. The fact that Allah knows whom you will marry is fate and the fact that you choose your spouse with your free-will is a responsibility of human beings, which is called partial freewill.

Our hearts beat, our blood is refreshed, and our cells grow, reproduce and die. Many things which we do not know happen in our bodies. We are not the doers of any of them. Those things continue to happen even when we are asleep.

However, we know very well that there are things which we do of our own accord. It is us to decide to eat, drink, speak, and walk and so on. We have got a free-will though weak, knowledge though little and power though slight.

It is us to decide which way to go at the crossroads. And life is full of crossroads.

In this sense, on whom else but ourselves can we put the blame of the things we choose consciously and decide to do without any enforcement?

As Allah created the things we do, what is our fault?

Human beings’ free-will which is called partial freewill causes many significant things benefiting from the laws ruling in the universe although it seems insignificant.

Imagine that the top floor of an apartment building is full of boons and the bottom floor is full of tormentors; and a person is in the lift of this building. That person was informed about the state of that building before. He will reach the boons if he pushes the up button and he will be tormented if he pushes the down button.

In this case, what the free-will of the person does is only to decide which button to push and then push it. And the lift does not work with that person’s free-will and power, but it works based on certain physic and mechanic laws. So, the person does not go to the top floor or to the bottom floor not with his own power. Nevertheless, he is the one to decide where the lift will go, with his own free-will.

Everything one does with his own free-will can be evaluated according to that criterion. For instance, Allah the Glorious stated that it is sinful to go to a pub and virtuous to go to a mosque. And we are free to go to whichever one we want, just like the lift in the example given above.

Man’s will does not have any role in the occurrences in the universe; similarly, he does not have any role in the activities occurring inside his body. Human body works in accordance with divine rules which are called the universal law. However, wherever he will go is up to his decision. Whichever button he pushes, that is, wherever he wants to go, his body will move towards there and thus, the reward or the punishment of the place where he will go belongs to him.

Does fate treat people cruelly?

Some people are born rich, handsome and healthy; and some are born poor, ugly and handicapped. They are matters of “forced fate” which human beings cannot change with their will.

We hear people complaining about the cruelty of fate putting forward those differences. However, cruelty means depriving one of their personal rights. And servants (human beings) do not have any rights to expect from Allah. Whatever Allah has given to them, He has given them as a kind offer, not as a right.

What we should do is not to think of the boons which are not given to us, but to remember what we are given and be thankful for them. Lacks are for testing servants. The world is a hall of testing and all disfavored situations are questions in the test. Will testees rebel or will they be thankful for what is given and react to what is not given patiently?

Let us imagine a reach tradesman. He wants to do two poor people who enter his shop a favor only because he is merciful. He gives a shirt to one of them and trousers to the other. In addition to them, he gives a jacket and trousers to one of them. Can the man who takes only a shirt and trousers say “Tradesman has been cruel to me; he has given the other man more”? If he says, will it not be rudeness?

And we resemble those poor people. Allah gives us many boons and blessings from His treasury because of His infinite mercy. He is Allah who has created our bodies, minds, dreams, the air that we breathe in, the water that we drink and food that we eat. We did not work to deserve them. He gives them to us only because He is merciful. If the one who is given less waits patiently, he will gain eternal boons.

Worldly life is nothing but a short test… If one who is given less becomes aggressive like the first man in the story and calls it cruelty, it is rudeness. His duty is to be thankful for what he is given. Otherwise, he invites punishment to himself.

Allah is just in all of His works; He is never unjust or cruel. We should evaluate troubles from this point of view too. Troubles are either the results of our faults or means of testing.

A person whose house has been burnt down must look for a fault in himself even though he does not know a certain reason, before complaining about fate. Maybe, he broke someone’s heart! The one who has put the house on fire has committed a crime, but fate treats justly.

Are we leaves drifting with wind?

It can be said that a person who complains saying “what is my fault here?” making the fate his excuse, is indeed ignoring his free will.

If human beings are “leaves blown by the wind”, if they do not have the ability to choose, if they are not responsible for what they do, then what is the significance of crime? Does a person who says “what is my fault” not resort to court when he is wronged?

However, in this sense, that person should have thought like this: “that man put my house on fire. He defamed my honor, killed my child but he has got excuses. It was his fate to do those things, what could he do, he could not have acted otherwise.”

Do people who are wronged really think so?

If man were not responsible for what he did, words like “good” and “bad” would be meaningless. There would be no need to appreciate heroes and to despise traitors. Both of them would have done the things unwillingly. However, nobody can claim like that. Everyone admits in their hearts that they are responsible for what they do and they are not leaves blown by the wind.

Does the fact that Allah knows what we are going to do abolish our responsibility?

Let us imagine a screenplay: a detective is listening secretly to three men planning a robbery. When it is the time, he goes to the place where the robbery will take place. His aim is to arrest them red-handed. However, when starting the robbery, the men change their plan. One of them gives up and the other two act with a different plan. If another person’s knowing the robbery could affect the robbery, the plan would not be changed. The fact that the police knew about it did not affect the robbery at all.

If the plan had not changed, it would not have affected it anyway; they would do so because the police knew they would do so. And, they already did know what the police knew.

If they could put their plan into practice and got arrested; and if the police said that they had known their plan before; would they say “We committed this crime because you knew we would do. The real criminal is you. We are innocent.”? Is committing a sin and then blaming fate for it any different from those robbers?

The number of people, who think “I cannot escape my fate; what is written in your fate will find you one day. So why am I considered faulty because of my sins?” is not very few at all.

It is clear that this mentality belongs to a criminal who wants to get rid of the responsibility of his crime. Here is the formula: put the blame on fate and be relieved! I do not think that conscience which is a just moderator will find peace with this mentality because it is a careful witness of what we do. Doubtlessly, there is a “law of fate” and it puts its rules into practice, nevertheless, “free-will” is also a law. How can we forget that we commit every sin voluntarily? We cannot read what is written in our fate; we do not know our future. What we know is that there are two ways before us, one is good and the other is evil. We choose one of them to follow with our free-will, which we can never deny. We feel it very well that there is not anything else than our lower-self which forces us through that way. We learn our fate not before, but after it all happens.

I think the following example will set light on our way. Let us imagine a perfect cameraman. This man has filmed secretly ten days of our life in the future. That is to say, he knew our ten days’ life before. And we have learnt that there is a film about our life; yet we do not know what is in it. He let us watch the film on the eleventh day. We watched the mistakes we did, sins and crimes we committed. Can we say to the cameraman, “We would not have done all of those if you had not known our ten days’ life and filmed it”?

It is necessary to emphasize that knowing and doing are very different things. We gave an example before. The fact that we know a seed will grow into a tree does not mean that it does not need to grow into a tree.

Moreover, if there is a plan for the construction of a machine or a building, could we say, “there is no need for the building or the machine as there is the plan”?

Let us plan to go somewhere and eat these or those foods tomorrow. In this sense, do we say, “as what we will do is already planned now, we do not need to go and eat those foods”?

We cannot say so for simple daily things; similarly, one cannot say “why did Allah create human beings and why does He try them as He already knows what they will do.”

The true meaning of fate is that Allah knows what happened and what will happen. It does not ignore free-will. To know and to do are different. The one who knows is Allah and the one who does is His servants.

The fine detail here is that we do things not because Allah knows, but Allah knows because we will do them. As a matter of fact, it is impossible that Allah not know the future. If He did not or could not know, He would not be the creator.

Let us give an example for it: think of a teacher from saintly slaves of Allah. He says to one of his students “I will test you tomorrow from this book”. However, as the teacher knows that the student will not study because of playing football, having fun with friends or watching movies; so, he writes “0” point in his report beforehand. The following day, the student comes and he cannot answer the questions and when he realizes that he deserves “0” point, the teacher takes out his notebook from his pocket and says “as I knew you would not study and deserve 0 point from this test, I wrote 0 in my notebook beforehand”. In this case, can the student say “I got 0 from the test because you gave me 0. Otherwise, if you had written a higher point in your notebook, I would get a higher point now.”?

So we can say that we do not do so because Allah wrote it so, but Allah wrote them so because He knows we will do so. That is what we call “fate”.

We can say that Allah records what we do throughout our life with His pre-eternal camera on a tape called “Lawh Mahfuz”. However, we do not know what is recorded on that tape at all. Why should that recording affect out acts? As a matter of fact, we are responsible, of course. We are blamed for nothing else but because we choose bad/evil with out own free-will and commit sins. We do not have the right to say, “What is my fault if it is written in my fate?” If making a fault deliberately is not a fault, what is fault then?

What we should do is to repent for our sins, beg for His forgiveness and try to get rid of punishment by performing good deeds. We can deceive only ourselves, not Allah, by putting the blame on fate.

Some of those who ask this question are both not sincere and does not get the point well. After explaining these two points, I would like to the answer of the question.

Why is questioner not sincere? Let me first explain this: every person knows, as far as their conscience concerned that there are two separate activities in themselves. The first of them rests on free will, which means that things happen with their own wish and free will. And the other group of activities is collective, which means that things happen out of their wish and free will.

For example, the first includes their speaking, sitting, and standing; second includes their heartbeats, growing taller, having gray hair. As far as the first types of activities are concerned, we wish and Allah gives. That is to say, whatever we prefer and decide Allah Almighty creates them with His absolute will. As for the second type of happenings, our will has no right of speaking about it. Both who wishes and creates is Him. We are not responsible for the activities in this second group. In other words, in the Hereafter, we shall not be questioned about our length, color, race, gender or the age in which we were born.

Now the questioner is in the heedlessness of considering these two happenings similar. Let us turn to the big mistake: Man claims to be the owner of every good deed he does and tells about them proudly I did, I earned. But when it comes to the sins he commits, the mistakes he makes, the oppression he inflicts, he clings to fate: He used to try to escape from difficult situations by saying this is my fate. However, he forgets about fate while suing the thief who broke into his house.

This man, he says, broke into my house, and stole my stuff. When the thief defends himself saying, I am innocent. I am predestined to rob this man, and he is predestined to be robbed by me, he gets angry about this defense and is foaming at the mouth. But when his sins are in question, he embraces the thiefs defense!..

Is it ever possible to talk seriously about fate with someone like this? Truth is that: We are not the prisoners of fate in every action of us. We have been recognized freedom in the actions we do with our free will. We know this by our conscience. In these happenings, it is us that wishes and it is Allah the Almighty Who creates...

Doesnt the fact that we have been sent to this world for testing require that anyway? Someone who is going to take an examination cannot choose their examination class. They cannot start and end the examination whenever they want. They cannot determine the grading of questions. All this comes true with the determination of the one who puts them on the examination. However, after the examination has started, the examiner may give the answers as he pleases. He is not interfered during the examination. Otherwise, it would not be called an examination.

Now let us seek the answer of this question: Do people not in this world fill their book of the deeds as they please? Are they not free in following the orders and prohibitions? Then what do these men try to arrive at?!.. On the one hand, they attempt to deny their free will in order to get rid of the responsibility of the sins they have committed; and on the other hand, when a little child, who even Allah does not hold responsible, stones at their windows, they show no hesitation to beat him. Is this scene not enough to hold them responsible and make them embarrassed?

We said that those who asked this question did not get the point well. Let us examine this question in terms of grammar: Now that Allah Almighty, with His eternal knowledge, knows what I shall do, so what is my fault?

There pass two verbs in this sentence: to do and to know. The subject of the verb to do is I. The subject of the verb to know is Allah Almighty. This means that questioner comes to says, I do and Allah knows. Then he asks us, What is my fault? We kindly reply, Your fault is to do that.

At this point, The Words from the Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi writes as follows: Divine Determining is a sort of knowledge. Knowledge is dependent on the thing known. That is, it knows it as it is. The thing known is not dependent on knowledge. Knowledge means, to know or information. The thing known means learned thing, scholar means the one who knows. Let us try to explain this rule with an example. For example, supposing I know that a young person studies in the faculty of science. This information is knowledge. The thing known is that the young person is a student there. Now this piece of knowledge of mine is dependent on the thing known. That is, since this young person studies in the faculty of science, I know that as it is.

We can multiply the examples.

By saying that Allah Almighty knows what I shall do, it is agreed in advance that Allah is All-Knowing and the questioner will act like that. That the man acts like that is the thing known and that Allah knows this with His eternal knowledge is knowledge. And this knowledge is dependent on the thing known.

In the following sentences of The Words, it reads as follows, That is, the principles of knowledge are not fundamental so that the knowledge directs the thing known with regard to its external existence. Because the essence of the thing known and its external existence look to will and are based on power.

As known, to know something, an event or an action is not enough to be its doer. An example: Everybody knows how to speak. However, unless any person makes an attempt at it and takes action to speak, can we say that they speak?

Another example: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) announced the good news with regard to the conquest of Istanbul. But since the action of conquest was done by the Sultan Mehmed, we give the title of conqueror to this padishah (ruler). We would not claim that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) conquered Istanbul.

In order to be doer, to know the action is not enough. One needs to will it, attempts at it and take action towards it. Allah (SWT) knows mans every deeds and actions. But it is man who does that action by using his will and strength and he is to be held responsible for it.

As we previously mentioned, on what –either evil or good- man uses his free will, Allah Almighty creates it. Man desires, Allah creates. But the fact that Allah creates all actions would not make man free of responsibility... It is Allah Who grants man power and bestows upon him every sort of opportunity. If servants use this power contrary to His approval, certainly, they are to be held responsible and they become guilty.

Let us consider this: If a police officer, by abusing his authority and gun, kills someone unjustly, is it state to be called killer or the police officer himself? Doubtlessly the killer is the police officer!.. Now, can this police officer excuse himself saying, I committed that crime with the gun which the state has given me? I used neither my own gun nor my own bullet.

Being pleased with the destiny means being contented with ones share from the divine ordainment. Man should be pleased both with such results that are ordained without his will as being born to his own family, coming to world in this era, his gender, color, race and with the results that emerge after he has used his will and power for a specific aim.

A statement of evaluation from the Risale-i Nur Collection:

In no way do beings have any rights before the Necessarily Existent One, nor can they claim them; their right rather is to carry out through offering thanks and praise, what is required by the degree of existence He has given them.
For all the degrees of existence that are given are occurrences, and each requires a cause. Degrees, which are not given, are possibilities, and possibilities are non-existent, as well as being infinite. As for instances of non-existence, they do not require a cause. For example, minerals cannot say: "Why weren't we plants?" they cannot complain. Rather, their right, since they have received mineral existence, is to offer thanks to their Creator. And plants may not complain asking why they were not animals; their right is to offer thanks, since they have received life as well as existence. As for animals, they may not complain that they are not humans; the right over them rather, since they have been given the precious substance of spirit in addition to life and existence, is to offer thanks. And so on...
O complaining man! You did not remain non-existent; you were clothed in the bounty of existence, you tasted life. You did not remain inanimate, nor become an animal; you received the bounty of Islam; you did not remain in misguidance; you have experienced the bounties of good health and well-being! (The Letters, First Station, First Sign)

When ranks of existence are mentioned, it reminds us firstly of the lifeless, half-living, animals and humans. The distance between existence and non-existence is endless. The existent is bestowed a great honor, whether it is stone, fire or star.

The distance between the lifeless and the half-living is also endless. The plant is given a great favor, whether it is clover, milk vetch, or poplar. The distance between the plant and the animal is also endless. Being alive is a great honor, whether be an insect, a hen, or a rabbit.

As for human, there is such a great distance between him and the animal that it is taken as an insult to call a man animal; whether this animal is nightingale, canary or gazelle. Let us ask this question to the ones who are not pleased with the big share allocated to him from the bounty of existence and who are virtually offended by the fate: A human without a small garden of his own and a lion that dominates the forest. Which one of these two options would you choose?

Let us continue with the options: Man who most often cannot find the chance to go swimming and; fish, which does not leave the sea. Man who cannot make a couple of plane travels a year and; bird, which flies for hours everyday. Man who cannot find the means to wear 100% woolen clothes and; sheep, which wears wool for all its life. In short, man who suffers from all kinds of poverties and; any animal which has no trouble, suffering, or distresses.

Every one will find such question nonsense and will say, I would not want any pleasure or delight of this world if there is no humanity. As is articulated in the quotation we made, no one has the right to complain, finding his share small that is bestowed from the bounty of existence. He is only responsible for offering his thanks for the favors he is given.

Is not it the case actually? For an animal to complain saying: Why am I not human? it should set out with the hypothesis that before the world was set man and animal were tested. Although the animal has passed this test, it could not be human. In spite of this, the honor to be human would be given to this one and it would stay as animal.

Nobody has taken such an examination. Neither plants have overtaken the lifeless in such a test, nor animals have plants, and nor humans have animals. Everyone and everything were created from nothingness; i.e. they were saved from non-existence and they thus reached existence. Again, everything and everybody are obliged to offer their thanks for the ranks of existence of their own.

Actually, it is not a matter, as it is understood. It had been debated many centuries ago and raveled out. It was not mentioned as a desolate place in the world but as a desolate mountain and a man unaware of social life. Or it had been talked about alike sample.

There is a verse in Quran. The interpretation of it is, God burdens no soul except within its capacity (Al-Baqarah Surah, 2:286) That is to say, He (swt) burdens no extra; He (swt) made persons responsible within their capacity. He (swt) places a head, which that body can carry. He does not attach the planets to the seed of the atom.

Muslim scholars interpret the verse from different point of views. Islamic canon law scholars examined it from the point of canon law; Islamic theologians examined it from the point of belief. Islamic theologians argued out the issue within capacity from the reason point of view and agreed upon, A person who lives in an isolated place on earth, unaware of society is only responsible with the truths that he can comprehend with his distinct mind. When it is said distinct mind we understand a mind, which have not ever touched with a Messenger and which have not received any divine commands.

It has been delivered many opinions about the mind and its limits. Imam Maturudi who among belief imams explained it as, A human, by using his/her brain is capable of knowing his/her creator. Therefore, he/she is responsible of believing God, but not to the other belief causes and stated prayers.

Another belief imam, Imam Eshari on the other hand argues the points as, It is impossible for someone to know God and even he/she worships to a piece of rock, he/she would be among the salvated.

As it is seen, the common point that both imams agreed upon is, A person is responsible with whatever his/her capacity allows him/her under the conditions he/she is in. Undoubtly, God is the One who knows the truth best.

Divine determining is a pillar of faith and is described this way: Divine determining-fate is Gods knowing with His eternal knowledge every aspect and every condition, time and place, attributes and qualities of everything that happened or will happen from the pre-eternity to the past-eternity and His ordaining them accordingly.

Decree, though, means the creation and coming into existence of something that is planned in the Divine Determining.
Every event from the creation of the Universe in six phases to the formation of the human in nine months in mothers womb indicates the Divine Ordaining...
Every purposeful arrangement from the solar system to the atomic system proclaims the Divine Determining
The number and characteristics of elements inform us of the Divine Determining
It all happened through Divine Determining that plants and animals are divided into kinds and species and that each species is given different capabilities...
It is planned with Divine Determining that angels, animals, and non-living beings are rendered in fixed ranks while humans and jinni are put to test...
The creation of the paradise and the hell was determined with divine knowledge... And it was ordained through Divine Determining which ways would lead to these places...
It was also determined with Divine Determining which good deed would receive how much reward and which sin would receive how much punishment...

In a scientific magazine, the wonderful arrangement in the human body was related and very good examples were listed about Divine Determining. And the passage ended as follows: Leaving aside our entire body, if only our thumbs were missing, technique and civilization would not have developed. Actually, all the discoveries, explorations, and arts in a way depended on the thumb. And if it were adjacent to other fingers, we would not be able to hold a pen, spoon, or a hammer, too. The human will clearly witness Divine Determining if only he can reflect upon his thumb, let alone the entire world of existence.

People who repeat over and over the few questions about fate they have memorized do not ever think about this real meaning of Divine Determining. It never occurs to them that this great Universe is created with the eternal knowledge and determining from phase to phase. Just as they cannot regard these great reflections of Divine Determining, they cannot also evaluate seeds, grains, eggs, sperms, and genes from this perspective. However, these micro-creatures are each like a plan and program in bodily form They proclaim and give the lesson of the wonderful determining and precise wisdom of God to the sensible.

This issue can be summarized as follows: The human has a will of his own. We call this the weak (limited) will. And we call the creation of God the universal (unlimited) will and the power to create. (These are the capabilities of God). When the issue is handled from the perspective of God, it is understood as if things happen with God forcing them and thus compulsion is mixed into the issue. On the other hand, when the issue is handled from the perspective of the human, it is understood as if humans do their own deeds themselves and thus the view of Mutazila, which claims, everyone is the creator of their own deeds is mixed into the issue.

God creates whatever goes on in the Universe. And this is just the universal will that is concerned with this issue. Moreover, "While it is God Who has created you and all that you do?" (As-Saffaat Surah, 37:96). In other words, it is God alone who is the Creator of both you and the deeds that you perform.

For example, if you make a car or build a house, it is God who creates these deeds. You and your deeds belong to God. However, there is a share of you in all these deeds and this is working and performing. And this is a simple condition and a small cause; just like pushing the button of a colossal electric system that will illumine the entire world. This being the case, as it cannot be said, You do not have any intervention it cannot also be said that the entire deed belongs to you. The deed belongs completely to God. However, God has accepted your small intervention as a simple provision while creating these deeds related to you and has based what He creates on it.

For instance; God set the electric system in this mosque; and made it function. The deed of illuminating it again belongs to God. To form a beam of light out of the currents of electrons and to illuminate the mosque are each a deed. And these belong to God Almighty Who is the Light of Light, the Giver of Light, and the Fashioner of Light. However, you also have a share in the illumination of this mosque; and it is just to hit the button of what God has devised in this mechanism, which He has established. The deed of making the mechanism fulfill its duty of illuminating which is far above your capacity belongs completely to God.

Let us give another example; imagine a machine, which is already prepared to function; the only thing you have to do is to push the button. And the duty to make it function belongs to the one who built it. Therefore, this small deed of the human is called working or weak will. And that of God is called creating. Thus, there emerges a categorization of will:

A) Universal will
B) Weak will

Will means ordaining and belongs completely to God. You cannot will unless God wills. This should not be misunderstood. Thinking this way, we show that we are far from the view of complete compulsion by saying the slave also has a will to such a degree as to touch a finger. And by saying the Creator of the deed is God we show that we do not think the way the sect Mutazila does. By this way, we do not attribute partners to God in either His Godhood or His Control over worlds. Just as God is one in His Being, He is one also in His deeds; he does not make others do His deeds. God Almighty created everything Himself. However, for such secrets and wisdoms as offer and test, He accepted the deeds of the humanity as a simple condition.

In order to clarify the subject, I want to present an example Bediüzzaman gave on this subject: If the comparison is not mistaken: you take a powerless child onto your shoulders and leaving the choice to him, tell him you will take him wherever he wishes. The child wants to go to a high mountain so you take him there, but he catches either cold or falls. So of course you reprimand him, saying, You wanted to go there, and give him a slap. Thus, Almighty God, the Firmest of Judges, makes His servants will, which is utterly weak, a condition, and His universal will has it in view Here the child did not catch cold himself. He just wished it. Therefore, here the giver of the disease- the carrier, and the one who wishes this deed, have been separated. We understand the fate and the human will in this meaning.

The One who ordains everything knows the truth of everything.

As usual, some people disregard will power and use fate as an excuse by saying It is not my fault?

If mans will is not binding at all and if he is like a leaf in the wind, if he were not answerable for what he did, then there would be no significance of the concept of crime. Someone who has this kind of argument is supposed not to go to court when inflicted injustice. On the contrary, he is supposed to say, This man burned my house down, killed my child, but he is excusable. Hes predestined to do like that; it wasnt up to him not to do that.

Do those who have been overridden really think like that?

If man were not responsible for what he did, the words good and bad would be meaningless; there would be no need to appreciate heroes and to despise traitors. Because either of them would not have done anything willingly. Yet nobody would make such a claim. Everybody agrees that he/she is not like the leaves in the wind as far as his/her conscience is concerned.

Oppression is the violation of a right. Man has no right in Allah (SWT). Whatever He (SWT) gives is out of His bestowal.

What we need to do is not to attempt at rebellion by thinking of the bounties that have not been given to us, but thanking by recalling those given. Flaws are for mans trial. If we liken the world to an examination hall, the situations that we dislike are the questions in the exam in order to see if man will rebel or return it with gratitude to the bounties, which are given, and if he is patient when he is deprived of.

Let us think of a well-off merchant. He wants to do goodness to two poor people out of his sheer mercy. He gives them a shirt and trousers but he gives one of them an additional jacket and a coat. Can the man who just receives a shirt and trousers say, I have been wronged by the merchant? He gave more to the other man?

We human beings resemble these two poor people. Allah (SWT) gives bounties from His inexhaustible treasure out of His endless mercy. It is Him Who creates our mind, imagination, the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the meal that we eat and so on so forth. We have not gained and deserved them by working. He has bestowed upon us out of His favor.

The world only consists of a transient test. If servants, like the first man who has been given little, claim that they have been wronged, they act improperly, and receive punishment. Their duty is to thank for what has been given.

Allah (SWT) is just in His all actions, He never does anything wrong. We need to take this point of view for calamities. Either calamities are the results of our mistakes or the questions asked us in the exam. If we answer this question with patience, we shall have our grade raised.

Suppose that top floor of an apartment is full of bounties whereas basement is filled with the means of torture, and someone is in the elevator in this building. This person, who has already been told about the situation in the apartment, will receive many gifts if he hits the button for top floor and will be subjected to torture if he hits the button for basement.

Here, what will power only does is to make up its mind and decide which button to hit. As for elevator, it moves not through this persons power and will, but through some particular physical and mechanical laws. In other words, just as man does not go to the top floor with his own power, he does not go to the basement with his own power either. However, it is allowed for his will to determine where the elevator should go up or down.

All actions man makes can be evaluated by this criterion. For example, Allah Almighty declared that to go to pub is not permitted whereas to go to mosque is a virtuous act. The human body, with its will, is fit to determine where to go as in the example of elevator.

Good: Lawful, beneficial act. Goodness.
Evil: Harmful act. Ill-doing.

God has decreed both good and evil. He Who is the One created both good and evil. However, He approves good but not evil. Moreover, what we call as good and evil is all related with the acts that are committed as if they are conformable with Gods commands and approval. That is to say, it is not about the act itself, it is about the attribute of it.

Namely talking, seeing, walking are all acts. If the act, which is committed conformable with Islam, it is good, otherwise it is evil. Anyhow, isnt it true that a person who believes in Gods Oneness also believes that He is the One and only creator of all acts?

A Human only wishes to do something and with his/her free will (limited) tries to make it real. However, God is the One Who creates the conclusion. If the truth would not be approached as this, there arises the contradiction, When the act is good, it means that it is created by God, otherwise How should we end it up the sentence?

Let us give one example. God creates the act of seeing. The factory of eye belongs to Him. Light belongs to Him. Every object that is seen belongs to Him. If that is so, whatever the thing that a person looks, seeing is created by God. If the thing that he/she looks is Halal (religiously permissible), it is good; if it is Haram (religiously prohibited), it is evil.

He is the One Who creates both good and evil.

Appointed time of death means the end of the time an existent will spend in its peculiar environment and the end of this existents life. Everything that found existence afterwards actually comes to the world with such a fate of end.

In the course of the flow of the existence, it is not possible to differentiate between the beginning and the end. Everything eventually falls down to the earth and melts just like a drop, and like a stream they eventually flow and meet a sea.

This is the common fate of almost all existents. With this fate, every being comes into existence and again with this fate it leaves away as it came.

In this world, both births and deaths take place each as an exhibition and as a test. Just as everything coming into existence is a clear proof of a secret Existent, their leaving this world at the end of the appointed time also indicates the eternity and immortality of this secret Existent who has no beginning. Certainly, we and everything that have come into existence from non-existence and nothingness show with our existence the existence of the One; with our seeing, hearing and knowing, we show the One who sees, hears and knows; and by leaving aside everything that we have borne for lifes long and going away, we show the unknown ONE in comparison to ones who come one after another and go one after another and who go and do not come back. He Who has created death and life, so that He may try you (and demonstrate to yourselves) which of you is better in deeds. (Al-Mulk Surah, 67:2)

To grasp the mystery of coming, to pass the test of existence and to be prepared to depart; these are what is really important for the human.

Now that we have made this small preparation, let us handle the topic Did the appointed times of all the people who die in a natural disaster come all together?
Yes, the appointed times of death of all have arrived at the same time. And there is no serious and important obstruction for it to happen this way. As the Exalted Being, who has control over the entire existence, creates everything and everyone from the atom to systems in their own fates at the same time, He can also cause them to die at the same time. Neither their being in different places, nor their difference in quality and characteristics may cause any obstruction.

All in all; the existents with different nature and characteristics continue their lives facing the Sun without causing any disorder; they take on all colors under its light; they flourish with it and with its rise and set, they become paler and finally fade down. Just like that, everything is germinated in the lap of the same spring; everything flourishes in the same summer and they turn pale in the same fall; but all their fates are each different. All of them exist and continue this existence not recklessly or spontaneously but in the direction this Exalted One wishes and wills, with the plan and program of this great wisdom and with the guidance of His endless will and wish. He knows whatever is on land and in the sea; and not a leaf falls but He knows it; and neither is there a grain in the dark layers of earth, nor anything green or dry, but is (recorded) in a Manifest Book. (Al-Anam Surah, 6:59)

While the lives and deaths, growth and fruits of trees, grass, seeds and grains are watched that much seriously, can such a perfect existent as human ever be left alone to wander as he pleases? The Exalted Possessor of the worlds, whose seeing something else is not hindered by seeing something; and whose hearing something else is not hindered by hearing something, surely gives importance to every state of the human and bestows upon an individual what He has bestowed upon the kinds and species of other existents and thus He treats the human, who is the index of the worlds, exclusively and will grant him His special reward and will honor him in His presence with His special call.

As a conclusion, death and the time of it are only the termination of the time of staying in this world and paying service. Such a time is like a plan that is prepared beforehand, registered, and written down in such a way as not to annul the will of the human; and it is nothing but the carrying out of it when the time comes with the command and decree of the One who sees and knows everything. There is no reasonable difference between its being collectively and individually.

Are earthquakes fated to be or not? In order to analyze this, first, let us recall what fate means: Fate, briefly, means that every creature and every incident is known by Allah Almighty in detail with His eternal knowledge, that they were ordained and created accordingly. Every event is predestined, that is, its place and time have been determined in the pre-eternity. Allah (SWT) knows everything, which is to happen just as He knows those, which had already happened in the past. There can be nothing left outside of the divine knowledge. Whatever happens, it remains within the boundaries of divine knowledge, which we briefly call fate. There is nothing in the world, which happens by chance, but rather happens by divine ordaining. The reality of fate, which surrounds every space and all times, gives no scope to coincidence.

Earthquake is an action too. Like every action, it also points to its doer. Is it ever possible for Allah (SWT), Who created the world from nothing, Who makes it rotate around the sun like a spacecraft, Who changes the seasons within such a great system, Who created plants, animals, human beings on earth, Who arranges infinite happenings in time, without confusion, and with a great measure, Who creates wonderful works by bringing atoms together miraculously with His vast knowledge, will and power, not to know an important occurrence such as earthquake which is closely related to human beings, not to will it, to leave it unsupervised, and to leave it to chance Is it ever possible?


Like all happenings in the world, earthquakes are also known and commanded by Allah (SWT). Every detail with regard to an earthquake exists in fate such as when, where and how it will occur, who will die, and who will survive.

Having stated this basic truth and refreshed our faith, let us examine another point.

Someone may as well say, We do not utter this sentence in order to deny fate and state that earthquakes happen by chance. Our purpose is to invite people to take the necessary measures. We can somehow prevent the destruction of this disaster with the measures such as not erecting buildings on seismic regions, constructing buildings, which could resist a probable earthquake, to use strong materials. We just want to warn those who ignore earthquakes by reminding of these points.


If the point is this, it becomes clear that calling a blind submission fate and suggesting that taking measures is to change fate are wrong standpoints. The Islamic way of true reliance on Allah (SWT) is not to await the outcome without taking any measures, but await the outcome with submission after having done everything possible. It is to attempt at the causes and to wish the result from Allah (SWT). Because there is not such a rule as to there will be a fine results if the causes favor. The causes are not a creator but means. Whatever one might do as a measure, Allah (SWT) will create the results.

No matter whether one takes measures or not, in either case, whatever happens is fate. One cannot get out of fate by taking measures. If a ship changed its route that would not mean that, it got out of the ocean. We human beings are like ships navigate in the ocean of fate.

No matter what way we may take, no matter if we take measures or not, we cannot get out of that ocean of knowledge. It has nothing to do with true belief and understanding of fate to call going without measures fate and to suppose that taking measures mean getting rid of fate.

Situations may change, but fate does not. For instance, a poor person cannot say, I have changed my fate by working hard and being rich. What only changes is his situation, poverty has been replaced by wealth. He needs to say, I have predestined to be poor first and then to be rich.

Islam does not instruct us, If you believe in fate, you will take no measures. On the contrary, it wants us to take measures first and to rely on Allah (SWT) then.

As man/woman does not know his/her fate, he/she wants everything that is permissible and legal whether his/her wish had been written or not in his/her fate. Allah who knows and thinks us better than us and who knows our fate, past and future, and who decides better of what is useful for us, shall give the best, the most beautiful and useful things as we want in our prayers to us. We are ill; needy thus just like a doctor who knows the sorrow of his patient, Almighty Allah gives what we want and desire according to our needs. Sometimes a person wants richness, as Allah knows that His servant will go astray, and then He does not give him/her richness however He gives him/her a strong faith, peaceful family, a healthy body and protects him/her from many calamities and troubles. So, prayer has been responded but with the most proper way.     

How does a prayer change the fate? Our beloved Prophet Muhammad says the following:

“Only prayer changes the fate. Only good deeds prolong one’s life.  A person is deprived of sustenance only because of having committed sins.”

In another hadith, the same subject is explained as follows:

“Being cautious and carefulness does not affect the final decision of Allah. However, the prayer affects the calamities that were sent and not sent. A calamity is sent but the prayer prevents it and continues to resist it till the Doomsday.”1 

Changing the course of the fate by prayer is explained as follows:

Here what changes is not the fate (Qadar), but the Qada. Fate (Qadar) is the decision given for something and Qada is the execution of it. That is to say, a man prays sincerely, Almighty Allah rewards that man by eliminating a possible calamity that may happen to him. Here what changes is not the Fate (Qadar), but the cancellation of the Fate (Qadar) without being executed.

Let us come to your question: Imagine that your fiancé or fiancée has some wrongs or deficiencies in his/her religion. If he/she does not pray, drinks alcohol, gambles, ignores his/her family then you can pray so that he/she can be saved from this moral calamity; God willing, your sincere prayer saves him/her from this situation. In the meantime, you should not ignore the factual prayer as described such as getting personally involved, talking as much as you can. You can also practice the things yourself that you want to observe on him. You can set yourself as an example with your behavior and attitudes. You can act in a manner which can be envied and imitated.

1 at-Targhib wa’t-Tarhib, 2:481-482.

Mehmed Paksu

Allah is the possessor of the property. He (SWT) disposes of His property as He wishes. No one can object to His actions and interfere in His creation. Allah (SWT) creates the cells of man, arranges the place of his organs, and bestows upon him a humane entity. Man has never given something to Allah, Who has given all these bounties, so that in return of which he might claim a right for anything.

If man had given something to Allah (SWT) in return of what have been given to him, he would have had a right for objection by saying, Give me two eyes, not one! or Everybody has two legs but I have only one. Injustice arises from an unreturned right. What right does man have in Allah (SWT) so that he might be inflicted injustice because it has not been satisfied?

Sometimes Allah Almighty gives many things in the hereafter as a reward of someones disability. By making him disabled, He (SWT) makes His servants feel their impotence and weakness. If He lets the feelings of His servants develop towards him, that is to say, he gives many things to him, and thus his disability looks insignificant. However, not explicitly, in reality this is the favor of Allah (SWT) for His servant.

In the same way, Allah Almighty gives paradise when someone becomes martyr for the sake of Him Some person becomes martyr in the battlefield whereby he rises to a position, which godly people long for. Others, upon seeing him, wish Allah Almighty had made it possible for them to be martyrs. Such a person loses nothing even if he is smashed into pieces for the thing he receives is far greater than his apparent loss.

Even if some people consider this situation inappropriately having vexation, resentment and with a hostile attitude towards Allah (SWT), this kind of defects has attracted the affection of Allah (SWT). The objections of some rebellious and ungrateful people in this respect are unfair and improper.

The history has recorded many people who did not believe in Allah (SWT), even treated Him as an enemy though they were born in Mecca. For example, Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, Omayya bin Halaf and such other did not have faith in the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), although they were born in Mecca, even they saw him personally, and witnessed his miracles. Again, one must not forget that Noahs son perished in the storm though his father was a prophet; Lots wife was a polytheist though his husband was a prophet. On the other hand, are there not any Muslims, who converted to Islam later in their lives, and endured every sort of torture for the sake of their religion although they were born in Russia or China? Therefore, a servant who seeks his Lord is able to reach the light of faith even if he is in the palace of Pharaoh. People who turn a blind eye to the Truth cannot reach the bounty of faith even if they become the son of a prophet, the wife of a prophet, or the father of a prophet.

Besides faith is a matter of truthfulness through the way of Allah and a blessing of Allah Almighty. Just as Allah Almighty gives wealth whomever He wishes, He also grants truthfulness, the way of His to whomever He wishes. However, Allah (SWT) does not wish His servants to engage in disbelief. Therefore, He sent prophets to invite his servants to have belief in Him, and announced that the consequence of disbelief and sin is Hell and the fruit of faith and obedience is Paradise. Besides, by bestowing a bounty such as mind, He has made it possible for His servants to discover their creator.

The ability in man to be able to recognize his creator is like the creation of ears to be able to hear voices and of eyes to be able to see the outside world. Wherever he is born, even if someone has never heard of the name Allah (SWT), however, he can sense there is One who created Himself. According to Imam Maturidi, a person who is born in such a desolate place is only responsible for knowing and believing in Him. He is not obligated to perform prayer, to fast, and similar worship. According to Imam Ashari, he is not obligated to believe in Allah (SWT) as well since test is made only if a prophet is sent to a particular place. We never punish until We have sent a messenger. (Al-Israa Surah, 17:15) These people shall have their rewards if they obey, but not tortured if not.

Another point is that people born in a country where religion is condemned or to whom the Prophet (PBUH) is told deliberately falsely will not be held responsible. Imam Khazali says that one who has been misinformed about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will be equal with the one who has never heard of his name and they will be saved from hell-fire. He further adds:

Because these people heard of the name of the Prophet (PBUH) with the opposites of his qualities he has, this would not lead them into contemplation and research to find out the truth.

In our age although the broadcasting is widespread such as television, radio, and newspapers, it is possible that there are some people included by the explanation above. According to Islam, just as a person who is deprived of reasoning is not to be held responsible, in the same way, a person who has been misinformed about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not to be held responsible either.

We must not forget that Allah Almighty is very much merciful and more compassionate than anyone can be towards his servants. Trying to be to more compassionate than Allah (SWT) is an improper thing to do.

Imam al-Mubin (Clear Record) and Kitab al- Mubin (Clear Book) are notebooks of al-Lawh al-Mahfuz (Preserved Tablets) and titles of divine knowledge. In Badiuzzaman’s words, the Clear Record, Clear Book and Preserved Tablets are all the titles of divine knowledge.
 In Maktubat (Letters), “the spheres of the knowledge of the body like the Clear Record, Clear Book and Preserved Tablets, which are the titles of Pre-eternal knowledge” are mentioned.   
In Şualar (Rays), the following expression is present: “and records the life-stories of all beings in the Clear Record and Clear Book, which are the notebooks of the Preserved Tablet”.
When those expressions are evaluated together, it is understood that all of them are recording tablets. All of them have become titles for the divine knowledge. When they are mentioned, divine knowledge is thought of; they are not knowledge themselves.
Badiuzzaman states that tafsir (interpretation) scholars put forward various opinions about the Clear Record and Clear Book that some scholars accepted those two as the same thing; then he gives his own opinion as follows:
“The Clear Record is a title for a variety of Divine knowledge and command which looks to the World of the Unseen rather than the Manifest World.
“'The Clear Record' looks at the Manifest World rather than the World of the Unseen. That is, it looks at the present rather than the past and future; it is a title of Divine Knowledge and Command , a book and a notebook rather than knowledge and command. If the Clear Record is the notebook of the divine will, the Clear Book is the notebook of the divine power.” (Sözler: Words)
Both the Clear Record and the Clear Book are the notebooks of the Preserved Tablets, but there is difference between them.
We can feel the subtle difference to some extent in the following statement: “Indeed, in a seed there are two manifestations of Divine Determining; one is self-evident and points to and tells of The Clear Book, which is a title of will and the creational commands; the other is theoretical, and alludes to and tells of The Clear Record, which is a title of Divine knowledge and the Divine command. Self-evident Divine Determining is the physical nature, states, and parts of the tree which the seed comprises. While theoretical Divine Determining is the stages, states, forms, motions, and glorifications which the tree will undergo and perform in the period of its life, and which are in the seed and will be created from it; these stages, states, forms, and acts, which constantly change and are called its life-history, each have a regulated measure in accordance with Divine Determining, like the tree’s branches and leaves.” (Nursi, Sözler: Words) 
The Clear Book expresses the creation plan and program of everything that lives in this world of existence. In the seeds of the fruit, eggs of the living beings or their sperms, all of the properties of the beings to come to the world are recorded. That is, man has understood that every being in the nature comes into existence in accordance with a plan and program but some men attribute that program to the nature of that being and do not realize the Clear Book, which is the divine knowledge and tablet of it.    
Seeds are broken into, germinate, become saplings, grow tall and branches start to come out from different directions. Then, flowers and leaves come out. They are all present in the first program called the genetic code. In short, everything of that tree is recorded in that seed. And that seed informs about the Clear Book.
On the other hand, it is impossible to find the following information in that genetic code: in which garden will the seed be sown, when will a naughty boy break a branch of it, when will it be exposed to a storm, what kind of damage will it have, what will happen in the end, where will it be taken after it is cut down and what will happen to it? Since they also take place within the sphere of divine knowledge, all of those phases should take place in accordance with some knowledge and a book in which that knowledge is written. That book is the Clear Record.
We can think of similar things for a man too: all of his physical properties are recorded in a sperm, which is his seed. Everything is written in that sperm: that he has two eyes, that they are placed on the face symmetrically; the number of his fingers and their order, the properties of red and white blood cells, the shapes, functions and sizes of his liver, kidney, heart and brain.
Different characteristics emerge due to the various arrangements of bases in genes.

However, the following information is like a separate book for each person: what school will he attend, when will he finish school, where will he attend high school and university, who will be his friends, where will he go with them, what will he do, what will he face in the testing of life, what diseases will he catch, where and when will he die, how will he be treated in the grave? And similar questions…  
That book has no relation with the program in the sperm. All of the phases of the journey that starts with the sperm are written in the Clear Book; however, the mind sees it necessary that there be an eternal notebook in which the whole of the life journey of man, with his body and spirit, is written. Badiuzzaman states that it is the Clear Record.
It should  be  kept in view that when the word ‘writing’ is used, it will be incomplete to understand it as writing the letters. The arrangement of the genes are different from writing. The recording of the memory is not like typing with the keyboard. The words and events are not recorded by a pen or pencil in audio and video cassettes.
The writing and recording of everything in the Clear Record and Clear Book, which are the notebooks of the Prescribed Tablets, takes place in a very different form. That recording has no relation with letters and words.
Lastly, let us mention another meaning of the Clear Book briefly. Many interpreters of the Quran state that one aspect of the Clear Book is the Quran. They explain especially the verse: “anything fresh or dry (green or withered) is (inscribed) in a Record Clear (to those who can read)” as the Quran.
Badiuzzaman agrees with that view by saying the following in his work ‘Sözler’: “According to one interpretation, the Clear Book or Record consists of the Quran. This verse states that everything, fresh or dry, is found within it, is that so? Yes, everything is found in it, but not everyone can see everything in it, for they are found at different levels. Sometimes the seeds, sometimes the nuclei, sometimes the summaries, sometimes the principles, sometimes the signs, are found either explicitly, or implicitly, or allusively, or vaguely, or as a reminder.”

There is a common belief among people which says to speak of fate is dangerous. This understanding has great fallacy.

There are so many works written about fate, will power, and the actions of men. To speak of them is at least means studying a branch of knowledge and it can by no means be prohibited. However, fate has an aspect that human reasoning cannot comprehend the subtlety in it, i.e. diseases, calamities, natural disasters that kill many innocent people In this field, man cannot reach a conclusion however hard he may think. The Satan abuses his impotence and despair as much as possible and makes him suspicious about divine justice.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) reminded his companions that the most of previous nations were led astray for having false beliefs about fate, and prohibited them to dwell on the subtle and profound mysteries of fate.

Here is a wonderful saying on fate from the Risale-i Nur Collection: The absolute truth cannot be grasped with limited mind.

That is, human mind is limited and finite whereas Divine truths are absolute and infinite. The limited mind cannot grasp and comprehend the infinite wisdoms of fate. Most debates with regard to fate take place on this point. To speak tactlessly of this point brings nothing but harm. And moreover prohibited!

Every human being knows from conscience that there are two different groups of actions, two different groups of deeds going on around him. The first one of them is optional, i.e. happens with his own desire and will; and the second is obligatory, i.e. happens completely without his desire or will.

For example; his speech, silence, sitting down and standing up are among the deeds that fall into the first group; his heartbeat, growth, and his hair turning gray are among the ones that fall into the latter. In the first group, it is on us to want and on God to create. In other words, whatever we choose and decide with our small wills, God creates that thing with His supreme will. However, in the second group, our wills do not have the right to intervene. It is God, who both wills and creates. We are not responsible for the deeds that fall into this second group. Therefore, we are not questioned for our height, color, race, gender or for the age, we were born into.

By pondering on the purposeful and most beautiful organization of every system in the Universe and of every organ in the human body, every one who uses his brains correctly will come to the conclusion: Therefore, I must utilize my quality of will-power in accordance with the acceptance of God as well as my other qualities of sight and hearing. Only by this way, can I give its due and benefit from it in the best way.

The ones who submit their wills to the universal will of God again with their own wills enter the place of eternal bliss, the Paradise. However, the ones who use this great capital for the sake of their selves head to the place of eternal pain.

At this point, such a question may come to the mind: How can we know the divine will and so suit our actions and behaviors to it?

The deeds and behaviors God is pleased with are explained to humankind through prophets and scriptures. However, no compulsion is applied. In other words, though man is brought to this world without his own will, he is set free to choose between the options of paradise and hell for his eternal travel.

Therefore, man can choose the paradise out of the places of Hereafter with the correct use of his small will. God has drawn the ways to this place of bliss with His divine will: Faith, worship, avoidance of sins, and adherence to the right path

However, He did not compel man to obey this will. In the Glorious Quran, it is stated: Let there be no compulsion in religion. (Al-Baqarah Surah, 2:256), which is the clearest expression of the divine-will about this point. So, man will succeed if he uses his will on the right path and in the circle of halal-that which is legitimate in Islam. Otherwise, his loss will be too big.

Some people who ask this question confuse justice with equality. What prevails in any beings or events is justice, not equality. Considering human face like this, we see that eyes and ears, nose and mouth are not equal, but there is exact justice prevailing in each of them.

The life of every man is a work in itself; and since the first day of the world, this work has had a beginning and an end. Thus, we need to evaluate each human being with the conditions s/he is in; and with the different incidents s/h is going through and different events s/he is being tested with. A judgment we make for someone cannot become a measure for others. The very same event that honors someone may degrade another one. Something, which is good for someone, might be evil for another one. Something, which someone aspires after, may be a reason for abhorrence for another one. Everyone is offered a testing in accordance with the conditions s/he is in. What important is not the variety of these conditions, but to come out successfully from this testing.

In respect of profiting from the worldly bounties, men seem to have some sorts of differences whereby they are going through different testings with regard to surrendering to destiny and to the divine determining. Just as, a large number of poor people pass this testing, so many rich people fail this testing. For a person, who does not consent to his share, no matter how much wealth s/he may have, may take the way of rebellion against destiny by longing for more. Again, a large number of poor people may take the way of thankfulness by considering the poorer people than themselves.

The testing of wealth is rather hard. To give alms (Zakah) perfectly, going further, to please the poor with giving charity, to live a humble life despite this splendor, not to be very much fond of this world, and not to bank on material possibilities are the most difficult questions of this testing. The evil-commanding self never likes these at all.

It is more or less the case for those who occupy the high ranks and positions. We falsely come to believe that those possessing wealth and high-ranking positions would worship and glorify the Lord (SWT) more than anyone else. Yet in practice, we encounter the opposite case. We see that those worshipping are generally poor and/or middle-income people.

Let there be no misunderstanding. To be rich and take up high-ranking positions is of course desirable and necessary things must be done to achieve this goal. Without giving way to grief, one must be able to say, My Lord has not allowed it to happen since it would have been evil for me.

One day this abode of testing will be closed for good and everything will remain behind. People who come to the field of resurrection will bring nothing there but their faith and good deeds. This point wants great care. What is important in this transitory worldly life is not to be rich or poor, but to come to that dreadful field as someone who has passed the testing.

For such a coming will be rewarded with an eternal bliss.
This point is also important: We ourselves produce events that spoil our worldly life thoroughly. We bother, oppress and inflict torture upon ourselves. Behind all evil-doings are our evil-commanding souls and wills. If they were not exist, we all might have endured and showed patience in the face of all divine-ordained calamities and place our trust in Allah (SWT) and to submit to Him.

If we have lost the ability to interpret occurrences well, if we view everything negatively, if jealousy, greed, envy prevail over our soul, if we are never contented with what we can have, that means that we spoil our worldly life with our own hands. Seeing this let us neither fight others nor object to fate. Even if the most meritorious positions were to be given to us, even if we had the mountains of wealth, it is impossible for us to reach bliss as long as we have this kind of soul and morality.

People would live a life of paradise in a place where the rich give their alms perfectly, where everybody fears the threat in the Hadiths which says, He is not one with us who sleeps with a full stomach when he knows that his neighbor goes hungry, where good morality is dominant with its all branches. If paid attention closely, it will be clear that what troubles us is not what fate inflicts on us, rather damage, ill doings, ill conducts, injustice, and oppressions that we receive from peoples evil-commanding selves.

People reach certain ends, positions, or wealth in two ways. The first is legitimate, while the second one is illegitimate.

Through bullying, wrongdoing, or fraud, a person may get some illegitimate profit out of another person. A conscious Muslim is obligated to take refuge in Allah (SWT) for not to wish such gains, let alone possess them. Someone who says So and so stole and became rich; I never found such opportunities. has a damaged belief of Allah and the Hereafter. The actual loss of this man is not that material wealth he has lost but the humane and Islamic values. He must feel sorrowful for, weep over that, and seek ways to regain those.

Wealth is either legitimate, the result of sweat of ones brow and the harvest of hard-work, which manifests itself in the hadith which says, The straightforward merchant will be resuscitated among the veracious saints and martyrs on the Judgement Day. or it is illegitimate, undeserved, and has mark of tyranny on it and manifests itself as Mawlana puts it, The property of tyrants look beautifully from afar, but in fact, it is the blood of those tyrannized.

If the gain is legitimate, its owner would not have people against himself, if it is illegitimate, it is not to be longed for. In both cases, we have nothing to do with others. We do not want to dwell on undeserved gain, and accept the question as follows; What is the Divine wisdom underlying the difference of gains between people?

Most people confuse richness and a life of luxury with happiness. So many rich people are deprived of happiness. On the other hand, so many people lead a life of welfare and happiness with little or middle income. One can reach happiness not through wealth or high positions; but with faith, good deeds, and good conduct.

It is the greatest source of peace for humans to believe in Divine Determining. The believer reflects upon the arrangements and ordainments both in his self and in the outer world and sees that they are all full of many a beam of wisdom and that they all result in mercy. And saying, Everything coming from Divine Determining is good. he searches for mercy and wisdom in every event that befall him.

The believer goes in for every initiative that is necessary for the bliss of both this world and the Hereafter and eventually he depends on the mercy and favor of God and finds peace. He does not grieve for what he has lost. He does not feel sorrow for the chances he lost in the past. He well knows that such expressions as if it had been that way, this would not have happened; or only if it had not been that way, that would have happened. avail no more than make the soul suffer. He casts the burden of the past and relying on God he sets out for the future with complete peace.

He does not brag about the favors, treasures, and capabilities God has bestowed upon him. He knows every good from him and finds peace. What do the unbelievers in Divine Ordaining present to the humanity?

Not to work anymore and to wander idly? Or to suffer and cry out having first complied with causes but then not accepting the result with pleasure? What benefit do they expect out of this except leading people into distress? How can they put this heavy burden upon the shoulders of this person with tender soul and weak body? Or do they expect something for their wicked intentions out of uneasy, nervous, and rebellious souls?

Let us try to mention briefly some fundamental issues related to Qadar. First of all, let us mention some basic concepts in summary:

Qadar (Destiny) is the preordination by God Almighty of everything from pre-eternity to post eternity by knowing the state, time, place, attributes and features of everything.

Qada (Decree) is the occurrence of the planned things and events.

Irada al-juziyya (partial free will) can be defined as the free will of man that can wish only one thing at a time and that cannot be related to two things at the same time.

Man cannot wish two things at the same time. If he could, he would be given the power necessary to do it. However, man’s power is partial just like his will. He cannot do two things at the same time. He has two hands but he cannot write two letters together. He cannot look at two directions at the same time; he cannot go to two different places at the same time.

Man’s thought is also partial; he cannot think of two things at the same time.

Af'al al-ibad means the deeds of the slaves. The deeds that man does are divided into two: voluntary and obligatory.

The former deeds are the ones that a person does using his own will; the latter ones are the divine deeds that are done out of the will of a person. To talk, to read a book and to walk are examples of voluntary deeds; the beating of the heart, getting old and dying are examples of obligatory deeds. Everybody knows the difference between those two kinds of deeds through their conscience. However, some people who follow the path of sins and disobedience do not heed their conscience and they unjustly claim that they were dragged to the path of disobedience out of their own wills.

Kasb (acquiring, gaining) means to tend toward a deed and to decide to do it. It is said that kasb affects the quality of the deed, not the deed itself. That is, when the human will intends to do a deed, it affects the good or bad quality of that deed, not the creation of it.

Khayr and sharr (good and bad deeds): Khayr means that a deed, a state or a thought complies with the divine consent; Sharr means that a deed, a state or a thought belongs to the zone forbidden by Allah. Man is tested to use his partial will to choose one of those opposite poles and to intend to do one of them. However, it does not matter whether man chooses to do the good or bad deed; it is Allah who creates that deed because there is no Creator (Khaliq) other than Him.   

Let us give only one example: Allah creates the deed of saying. All of the sounds, from the chirrup of words to the thunder take place as a result of His creation. The talking of human beings occurs as a result of the creation of Allah. It is Allah who creates all the conditions and causes necessary for the tongue and salivary glands to function and for the air to facilitate talking. If the word that is uttered complies with the divine consent, it is khayr but if it belongs to the class of haram like lie, backbiting and slander, it is sharr. Allah creates talking in both cases.

How can one claim the opposite?

When man tells the truth, Allah will create it; what will happen if he tells lies? To whom can this act, which takes place as a result of the cooperation of the universe and the human body, be attributed?

The following verse teaches us that everything is created by divine preordination:

"And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures." (al-Hijr, 21)

Many tafsir scholars interpret the word “khazainu” (treasures) as rains and the phrase “qadarin ma’lum” (ascertainable measures) as the precipitation (of rain) at certain times and in phases. Other scholars deal with the issue in wider dimensions and say that the word “rain” is not used in the verse and that the word “treasures” is more comprehensive, stating that rain may be one of those treasures.

Accordingly, all of the human beings are in the treasure of Allah; however, he creates them at certain times and in certain numbers.

Since there is no verse, hadith or mental evidence showing that human beings have been created beforehand and that there is another realm where they wait for the period when they will be sent down to the world, we are to understand that treasure of man as a spiritual one. That is, all of the human beings are present in the knowledge of Allah. Each man is present in the knowledge of Allah with their forms, number of organs, places and sizes, and all of their features in their spirits. Those beings in the knowledge are called “mahiyah”. What Muhyiddin al-Arabi calls “ayan thabitah” is that realm of mahiyahs. When they are created, they become real.

We can think of the other beings similarly. There is not a separate realm where human beings gather and wait; similarly, it does not comply with truth to say that the realm of non-living things, mountains, plains, skies were created beforehand, that they are waiting in another treasure and that they will be created when their time is due.

Then, the first part of the verse informs us about “qadar” and the second part about “qada”. That is, everything is present in the divine knowledge “in the preordained form” and they are being sent down in ascertainable measures, that is, they are being created (qada).

There is a nice phrase in Risale-i Nur Collection: “Man is a scale for measuring the Divine attributes.” Man, who is created for belief, knowing and worshipping Allah, has been given various abilities so that he can see the divine truths even if from a distance. A very small example of the big truths like "the emergence of the beings in accordance with the circle of qadar, qada and knowledge” is present in man. When we make a sentence in our mind, that sentence is freed from non-existence and becomes a being in our knowledge. When we want that being to come into existence, we express it in writing by using our power, too. We can make many sentences like that in our brain. The treasure of those sentences is our knowledge. Their arrangement in our knowledge informs us about “qadar” and expressing them in writing informs us about “qada”.

When we apply the word "nunazzilu”, (we are sending down) to the deed of writing, it seems like this: expressing a sentence that is present in our knowledge and that is known only by us in writing resembles the sending down of our knowledge onto the paper.

Then, the phrase, " wa ma nunazzilu illa bi qadarin ma’lum” (We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures) in the verse expresses the creation of all of the beings that are present in the knowledge of Allah at certain times and in certain amounts.

That is, everything that we see in our body and the magnificent realm that surrounds us declares the existence and oneness of Allah and at the same time, they teach us that they are arranged by the preordainment of Allah. Thus, everything informs us about qadar and they open new windows in the spirit of the believer regarding belief in qadar.   

When we think this meaning with what is taught by this verse, " He Who has made everything which He has created most Good" (as-Sajdah,7), we approve the following judgment heartily:

"Every aspect of qadar is good."

Let us see some of the eternal evidences of this truth on our own body with their outlines. For instance, let us have a look at our eyes. They could have been created in the shape of rectangles, squares, hexagons, etc. Our eyes were not created in the form of those shapes but as they are now.

And they have the best shape.

Let us have a look at their size. Our eyes could have been as small as points, or as big as our ears, chins or cheeks. They were not created as small or as big as them. They were created as big as they are now.   

And that size is the best.

Let us go on thinking about the place of the eyes. They could have been on our necks, in our stomachs, or under our feet. However, they are not in any of those places or elsewhere but in their present place.

And it is the best place.

We can think about other things from flowers to trees, from flies to eagles and from atoms the solar system. Our thoughts will always lead us to the same judgment:

"They have been created in the best way.”

We see, understand and accept that truth easily in everything.

The hard part of the issue is to be able to evaluate other manifestations of qadar whose reasons and wisdom we do not know in the same way and to be able to make the right decision when we face misfortunes, diseases, hard tests and death. Man sometimes has great difficulties regarding those issues. However, by taking into consideration the endless mercy and the endless beauties that he has witnessed, he should try to say, "There are definitely some nice aspects of these incidents, which my soul does not like." A person who manages to do it reaches the pleasure of belief in qadar and understands the mystery of the saying, “He who believes in qadar becomes free of grief.” As a matter of fact, the Prophet  (pbuh) stated the following, pointing out that truth: "Belief in qadar eliminates anxiety and grief." (Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir, 3/187)

The events and incidents we encounter are like the day or the night. Man should be able to benefit from both. The benefits of the night are not fewer than those of the day. Man should not be sorry when the sun leaves but should be happy meeting the stars.

Perfect men are exemplary personalities who have managed to do it. They regard death as a great bounty like life. They are aware that beyond the grave is more beautiful than the world. Instead of fearing death, they try to get ready for death in the best way.

They know that diseases eliminate sins.

They regard the incidents like diseases that alienate the human heart from the world and make man turn toward the eternal realm as a divine mercy and they try to benefit from it in the best way. While they do it, they do not forget that the body is entrusted to them; they try to protect it in the best way and they seek treatment when they become ill.   

They know that the rewards of the hard tests are great. They evaluate misfortunes as a “test of patience”. They try to get rid of them but they never complain about or oppose to them.

"They responded to the pains with patience; they turned out to be good." (Abdulqadir Gaylani)

The following line of poetry summarizes their state in a nice way: "Your torture is nice; Your blessing is nice, too." They know that all of the names of Allah are good and they regard their manifestations as good, too. However, they try to avoid mistakes, sins and faults, and try to lead their lives on the straight path. When they face divine incidents that take place out of their own will, they submit and trust in Allah.   

The hadith, "Working is my habit and tawakkul (trust in Allah) is my state" is their life program. They fully do whatever is required whether in the field of art and trade or treatment and health and then trust in Allah; they welcome the result no matter how it is with consent and gladly.

Their state is a nice expression of the manifestation of belief in qadar.

And it is a high degree that makes man experience Paradise life in the world.

Question: How are we supposed to answer the question; “Now that Allah Almighty, with His eternal knowledge, knows what I shall do, so what is my fault? Now that Allah (SWT) created all of our actions, what is our fault?   Does fate oppress?   What is it to be pleased with the destiny and what is the suitable limit in doing so?   Is speaking about fate dangerous?

The nature of human free will

Our free will is not visible and does not have material existence. However, such factors do not render its existence impossible. Everyone has two (physical) eyes, but we also can see with our third (spiritual) eye. We use the former to see things in this world; we use the latter to see things beyond events and this world. Our free will is like our third eye, which you may call insight. It is an inclination or inner force by which we prefer and decide.

Man wills and God creates. A project or a buildings plan has no value or use unless you start to construct the building according to it, so that it becomes visible and serves many purposes. Our free will resembles that plan, for we decide and act according to it, and God creates our actions as a result of our decisions. Creation and acting or doing something are different things. Gods creation means that He gives actual existence to our choices and actions in this world. Without Gods creation, we can do nothing.

To illuminate a magnificent palace, we must install a lighting system. However, the palace cannot be illuminated until we flick the switch that turns on the lights. Until we do so, the palace will remain dark. Similarly, each man and woman is a magnificent palace of God. We are illuminated by belief in God, Who has supplied us with the necessary lighting system: intellect, reason, sense, and the abilities to learn, compare, and prefer.

Nature and events, as well as Divinely revealed religions, are like the source of electricity that illuminates this Divine palace of the human individual. If we do not use our free will to flick the switch, however, we will remain in darkness. Turning on the light means petitioning God to illuminate us with belief. In a manner befitting a servant at his lords door, we must petition the Lord of the Universe to illuminate us and so make us a king in the universe. When we do this, the Lord of the Universe treats us in a way befitting Himself, and promotes us to the rank of kingship over other realms of creation.

God takes our free will into account when dealing with us and our acts, for He uses it to create our deeds. Thus we are never victims of Destiny or wronged by Fate. However insignificant our free will is when compared with Gods creative acts, it is still the cause of our deeds. God makes large things out of minute particles, and creates many important results from simple means. For example, He makes a huge pine tree from a tiny seed, and uses our inclinations or free choice to prepare our eternal happiness or punishment.

To better understand our part, and that of our will power, in our acts and accomplishments, consider the food we consume. Without soil and water, air and the suns heat, none of which we can produce or create despite our advanced technology, we would have no food. We cannot produce a single seed of corn. We did not create our body and establish its relationship with food; we cannot even control a single part of our body. For example, if we had to wind our heart like a clock at a fixed time every morning, how long would we survive?

Obviously, almost all parts of the whole complex and harmonious universe, which is a most developed organism, work together according to the most delicate measures to produce a single morsel of food. Thus, the price of a single morsel is almost as much as the price of the whole universe. How can we possibly pay such a price, when our part in producing that morsel is utterly negligible, consisting of no more than our own effort?

Can we ever thank God enough for even a morsel of food? If only a picture of grapes were shown to us, could all of us work together and produce it? No. God nourishes us with His bounty, asking in return very little. For example, if He told us to perform 1,000 rakas (units) of prayer for a bushel of wheat, we would have to do so. If He sent a raindrop in return for one raka, we would have to spend our whole lives praying. If you were left in the scorching heat of a desert, would you not give anything for a single glass of water?

How can we thank Him enough for each bodily limb? When we see sick and crippled people in hospitals, or when we ourselves are ill, we understand how valuable good health is. But can we ever thank Him enough for this blessing? The worship God Almighty orders us to perform is, in fact, for our personal benefit and spiritual refinement, and well as for a good personal and collective life. Furthermore, if we believe in and worship God, He rewards us with infinite happiness and bounties in Paradise.

In sum: Almost everything we have is given to us for practically nothing, and our part in the bounty we enjoy here is therefore quite negligible. Similarly, our free will is equally negligible when compared with what God Almighty creates from our use of it. Despite our free wills weakness and our own inability to really understand its true nature, God creates our actions according to the choices and decisions we make through it.

Question

Is Islamic viewpoint of Destiny and human free will compatible with fatalism?

Answer

Most Western Orientalists accuse Islam of being fatalistic. Whereas, except a small sect-Jabriya-no one in the history of Islam has defended fatalism. Almost all the Western philosophies of history and, to some extent, Christianity with all its sects, are, by contrast, fatalistic and based on the irresistibility of what they call historical laws. The outlines of those philosophies of history may be summed up as follows:

*Mankind are in a continuous progress towards the final happy end.

*This progress depends on the fatalistic, irresistible laws of history which are completely independent of humanity, so humanity must, in any case, obey these laws, otherwise they are certain to be eliminated.

*All the stages, primitive, feudal or capitalistic, through which mankind inevitably pass in the course of time to the final happy end should not be criticized, because mankind have nothing to do other than passing through them.

What is implied concerning the political conditions of time by all such philosophies of history may be this: The present socio-economic and even the political conditions of the world are inevitable, because they were dictated by nature, which decrees that only the able and the powerful can survive. If the laws of history dictated by nature are in favor of the West, the communities that choose to survive must concede to the dominion of the West.

What distinguishes the Quranic concept of history from other philosophies is that, first of all, while philosophers of history or sociologists build their conceptions on the interpretation of past events and present situations, the Quran deals with the matter from the perspective of unchanging principles. Second, contrary to the fatalism of all other philosophies, the Quran lays great emphasis on the free choice and moral conduct of the individual and community. Although Divine Will, emphasized by the Quran, could be regarded as, in some respects, the counterpart of the Geist in the Hegelian philosophy and of absolute, irresistible laws of history in other philosophies, the Quran never denies human free will. God, according to the Quran, tests humanity in this life so that humanity should sow the field of the world to harvest in the next life, which is eternal. For this reason, the stream of events-successes and failures, victories and defeats, prosperity and decay-all are the occasions which God causes to follow one another for mankind, to the end that the good may be distinguished from the evil. Testing must evidently require that the one who is tested should possess free will to choose between what is lawful and unlawful or what is good and bad. Thus, according to the Quran, what makes history is not a compelling Divine Will, rather it is humanitys own choice, the operation of which God Almighty has made a simple condition for the coming into effect of His universal will. If this point is understood well enough, then it will be easy to see how groundless are the Western philosophies of history especially with respect to their conception of some inevitable end.

Destiny and human free will can be reconciled in the following seven ways:

This subject is quite difficult and has long been discussed by exacting scholars who have attached to it great significance.The Divine Destiny and mans free will can be reconciled in seven ways.

First way

The absolute order and harmony displayed by the whole of creation bear witness that God is All-Wise and Just. Wisdom and Justice demand that man should possess free will so that he may be chastised or rewarded for his acts. Although we cannot know the exact nature of this free will, and we may not be able to reconcile it properly with Divine Destiny, this does not mean that free will does not exist.

Second way

Every person feels himself to possess free will, and perceives it to exist. Knowing the nature of something is different from knowing that it exists. There are many things the existence of which is obvious to us while their nature is not understood. Mans free will may be one of them. Also, existence is not restricted to the number of the things of which we know, so our ignorance of something does not indicate that it does not exist.

Third way

Mans free will does not contradict Divine Destiny, rather, Destiny confirms the existence of free will. Divine Destiny is in some respects identical with Divine Knowledge, which goes parallel with mans free will, in determining his actions, thus it confirms free will, and does not nullify it.

Fourth way

Divine Destiny is a kind of knowledge, and knowledge is dependent on the thing known. That is, conceptual knowledge is not fundamental to determine the external existence of what is known. The known in its external existence is dependent upon the Divine Power, acting through the Divine Will.

Also, past eternity is not, as people imagine, just the starting-point of time so that it becomes essential for the existence of things. Past eternity is in fact like a mirror in which the whole of time, past, present and future, is reflected. People tend to, excluding themselves from the passage of time, imagine a limit for past time which extends through a certain chain of things, and they call it azel-past eternity. But to reason according to such an imagining is not right and acceptable. For better understanding of this subtle point, the following example may help:

Imagine that you are standing with a mirror in your hand, that everything reflected on the right represents the past, while everything reflected on the left represents the future. The mirror can reflect one direction only since it cannot show both sides at the same time as you are holding it. If you wish to reflect both directions at the same time, it would be necessary to rise high above your original position so that left and right directions are united into one and nothing remains to be called first or last, beginning or end. As already mentioned, Divine Destiny is in some respects identical with Divine Knowledge. It is described in a Prophetic saying as containing all times and events in a single point, where first and last, beginning and end, what has happened and what will happen, are all united into one. And we are not excluded from it so that our understanding of time and events could be like a mirror to the space of the past.

Fifth way

Cause and effect are not separable in the view of Destiny, that is, it is destined that this cause will produce that effect. It cannot therefore be argued that, for example, killing a man by shooting him should not be regarded as a crime because the slain was destined to die at that time anyway so he would have died even had he not been shot. Such an argument is baseless since that man is actually destined to die as a result of being shot. The argument that he would have died even if he had not been shot would mean that he died without a cause, and in this case we should not be able to explain how he died. It should be remembered that there are not two kinds of destiny-one for the cause, and the other for the effect. Destiny is one. Having been deceived by such a paradox, the Mutazili school of thought concluded that the man would not have died if he had not been shot (forgetting that it was his destiny to be shot) while the Mujabbira (Fatalists) argued that he would have died even if he had not been shot. The Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jamaa follow the correct view by judging that we do not know whether he would have died or not if he had not been shot.

Sixth way

The followers of Imam al-Maturidi, one of the sub-schools of the Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jamaa, regarded mans inclination upon which his free will is based as having nominal value and existence, and accordingly originating in man himself, while the Asharites do not ascribe that inclination to man because they consider it to have a real existence. According to them, man has, however, a nominal or theoretical disposal of that inclination and, because of this, the inclination and mans disposal of it are a relative matter, not having a definite external existence. Something of nominal and relative existence does not require a perfect efficient cause which would annul mans free will in his actions; rather, when its cause acquires the weight of preference, it might have an actual existence. In which case, where the Quran says, Do not do this, because this is evil, he may refrain from committing it. If man were the creator of his own actions, then he would himself be the ultimate cause of them, and his will would be cancelled. According to the science of established principles or methodology and logic, if a thing is not necessary, it will not exist. That means there has to be a real complete cause before something can exist, but a complete cause makes the existence of something compulsory so there will be no room for choice.

Question

Mans actions are the result of his preference between two alternatives, which is of nominal significance. If a necessary cause does not exist which forces him to make a preference, then this means that the act of preference takes place without a necessary cause. Is it not a logical impossibility which contradicts one of the most important principles of theology?

Answer

It is not an impossibility that man makes a preference without a necessary cause, it is an attribute of his free will to do such things. It is, however, an impossibility that something can be preferable by itself without a necessary cause for its preference.

Question

Since it is God Who creates the act of murder, why is he who kills called a murderer?

Answer

According to Arabic grammar, the active participle functioning as the subject is derived from the infinitive, which denotes a relative affair or deed, not from another word derived from the infinitive which expresses an established fact. Therefore, since it is man himself who does the deed denoted by the infinitive, he is the murderer.

That is, man wills to do something and accordingly does it, so he is the doer or agent of his acts. It is the man himself who does the act of killing, so he should be called the murderer. God creates mans acts in that He gives external existence to them; He does not perform those acts. It would have been meaningless for man to have free will if God had not created the acts which are the outcome of that free will.

Seventh way

Although mans free will is too inefficient to cause something to happen, Almighty God, the absolutely Wise One, has made its operation a simple condition for the coming into effect of His universal Will. He guides man in whatever direction man wishes by the use of his free will so that he remains responsible for the consequences of his choice. As an example, if you were to take a child upon your shoulders, and then leave him free to decide where he would like to go and he elected for you to take him up a high mountain, and in consequence he caught cold, he would have no right to blame you for that. Indeed, you might even punish him because he wanted to go up the mountain. In like manner, Almighty God, the Most Just of Judges, never coerces His servants into doing something, and He has accordingly made His Will somewhat dependent on mans free will.

In sum: As man, you do possess free will, which makes almost no contribution to your good acts, although it can cause deadly sins and destruction wherever it operates. Therefore, exploit your free will for your own benefit by praying to God continuously, so that you may enjoy the blessings of Paradise, a fruit of the chain of good deeds, and attain to eternal happiness. Further, you should always seek Gods forgiveness for your sins in order to refrain from evil deeds and to be saved from the torments of Hell, a fruit of the accursed chain of evil deeds. Prayer and putting ones trust in God greatly strengthen the inclination to good, and repentance and seeking Gods forgiveness cut the inclination to evil and break its transgressions.

We may summarize the discussion so far in seven points:

*Divine Destiny, also called Divine determination and arrangement, dominates the universe but does not cancel our free will.

*Since God is beyond time and space and everything is included in His Knowledge, He encompasses the past, present and future as a single, undivided point. For example: When you are in a room, your view is restricted to the room. But if you look from a higher point, you can see the whole city. As you rise higher and higher, your vision continues to broaden. The Earth, when seen from the moon, appears to be a small blue marble. It is the same with time. So, all time and space are encompassed by God as a single, undivided point, into which the past, present and future are united.

*Since all time and space are included in Gods Knowledge as a single point, God recorded everything that will happen until the Day of Judgment. Angels use this record to prepare a smaller record for each individual.

*We do not do something because God recorded it; God knew beforehand we would do it and so recorded it.

*There are not two destinies: one for the cause, the other for the effect. Destiny is one and relates to the cause and the effect simultaneously. Our free will, which causes our acts, is included in Destiny.

*God guides us to good things and actions, and allows and advises us to use our willpower for good. In return, He promises us eternal happiness in Paradise.

*We have free will, although we contribute almost nothing to our good acts. Our free will, if not used properly, can destroy us. Therefore we should use it to benefit ourselves by praying to God, so that we may enjoy the blessings of Paradise, a fruit of the chain of good deeds, and attain eternal happiness. Furthermore, we should always seek Gods forgiveness so that we might refrain from evil and be saved from the torments of Hell, a fruit of the accursed chain of evil deeds. Prayer and trusting in God greatly strengthen our inclination toward good, and repentance and seeking Gods forgiveness greatly weaken, even destroy, our inclination toward evil and transgression.

THE MEANING OF DESTINY AND DECREE
        There is nothing of which its treasuries are not with Us, and We send not down anything but in a known (pre-determined) measure.
        And all things We have kept in a Manifest Record.
The Arabic word translated as “destiny” is qadar. In its derivations, this word also means “determination,” “giving a certain measure and shape,” “dividing,” and “judging.” Muslim scholars of Islam define it as “Divine measure,” “determination,” and “judgment in the creation of things.”
Before discussing Divine Decree and Destiny further, we will provide the translation of some relevant verses:
        With Him are the keys of the Unseen. None but He knows them. He knows what is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf falls but He knows it, not a grain amid the darkness of the soil, naught of wet or dry but it is in a “Kitabun Mubin” (Manifest Book). (6:59)
        There is nothing hidden in the heaven or the Earth but it is in a Manifest Book. (27:75)
        It is We Who bring the dead to life. We record what they send (of their lives and conduct to the Hereafter) and what is left of them. All things we have kept in a “Imamun Mubin” (Manifest Record). (36:12)
        They ask: “When (will) this promise (be fulfilled), if you are truthful?” Say: “The knowledge is with God only, and I am but a plain warner.” (67:25-6)
        Nay, but it is a glorious Quran. On a “Lawhun Mahfuz” (Preserved Tablet). (85:21-2)
In one sense, Decree and Destiny mean the same thing. In another sense, however, Destiny means to predetermine or preordain, while Decree means to execute or put into effect. To be more precise, Destiny means that everything that exists, from subatomic particles to the universe as a whole, is known by God Almighty. His Knowledge includes all space and time, while He Himself is absolutely free both of them. Everything exists in His Knowledge, and He assigns to each a certain shape, life span, function or mission, and certain characteristics.
Consider the following analogy: Authors have full and exact knowledge of the book they will write, and arrange its chapters, sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words before writing it. In this sense, Destiny is almost identical with Divine Knowledge, or is a title of Divine Knowledge. It is therefore also called the “Supreme Preserved Tablet” (or the “Manifest Record”). Destiny also means that God makes everything according to a certain, particular measure and in exact balance:
        God knows what every female bears and what the wombs absorb and what they grow. And everything with Him is measured. (13:8)
        The sun and the moon are made punctual according to a calculation. The stars and the trees adore, in subservience to Him. And the sky He has uplifted; and He has set the balance, that you exceed not the balance, but observe the balance strictly, nor fall short thereof. (55:5-9)
The universe’s exact measure and balance, order and harmony, as well as that of all it contains, clearly show that everything is determined and measured, created and governed by God Almighty. Therefore, Divine Destiny exists. Such assertions as determinism, which is upheld by many people and even some Marxists, to explain such an obvious universal order and operation are tacit admissions of Destiny. But we have to clarify one point here: According to Islam, absolute determinism cannot be used in the context of human action.
All seeds, measured and proportioned forms, and the universe’s extraordinary order and harmony, which has continued for billions of years without any interruption or deviation, demonstrates that everything occurs according to God Almighty’s absolute determination. Each seed or ovum is like a case formed by Divine Power into which Divine Destiny inserts the future life-history of a plant or a living being. Divine Power employs atoms or particles, according to the measure established by Divine Destiny, to transform each seed into a specific plant, and each fertilized ovum into a specific living being. This means that the future life-history of these entities, as well as the principles governing their lives, are prerecorded in the seed or the fertilized ovum as determining factors and processes.
Plants and living beings are formed from the same basic materials. However, there is an almost infinite variety between species and individuals. Plants and living beings grow from the same constituent basic elements, and display great harmony and proportion. And yet there is such abundant diversity that we are forced to conclude that each entity receives a specific form and measure. This specific form and measure is established by Divine Destiny.
WHY IS DESTINY INCLUDED IN THE ESSENTIALS OF BELIEF?
Destiny and man’s free will, which marks the farthest point of perfection of one’s belief and submission, is something related to the inner experience and spiritual state of a believer, so it is not something indicated by science or theory. Man has free will, and is enjoined to follow the religious obligations. He cannot by any means ascribe his sins to God. Divine Destiny exists so that the believer does not grow proud of his good acts by ascribing them to himself. Man has free will so that the rebellious carnal self does not rid itself of the consequences of its sins by ascribing them to Destiny, and the pious person conceitedly ascribe his good acts to himself alone.
While it may be admissible for people to relate some misfortunes to Divine Destiny, so as not to be driven to despair in the face of calamities, no one can be absolved from his sins and exempt from his obligations by attributing everything to Destiny. So, belief in Destiny has been included among the principles of faith to preserve man from self-conceit, and man’s free will is recognized as the ground of his sins.
Man is completely responsible for his sins, because it is he himself who wills to commit them, and then does so. Sins are the cause of much disorder and destruction, so they may merit a terrible punishment-to cite an example, a house can easily be burnt to the ground just by the striking of a match. On the other hand, man has no right to boast about his good acts since, in reality, he has little share in them. It is the Divine Compassion which demands good acts and the Power of the Lord which creates them. God guides man to good acts and makes him succeed in willing and doing them, so the cause of a man’s good acts is the Divine Will. A man can possess and own them by means of faith and by praying to God to be able to deserve them, consciously believing in the necessity of performing them and being pleased with what God has ordained for him. It is man himself, on the other hand, who causes sins either through capacity and disposition or through choice and preference, just as the pure bright sunlight can cause some substances which are subject to decomposition to go bad and putrefy.
Man wills and commits sins, but it is God Who creates all his acts whether they are good or bad. God creates a sinful act as a requirement of a law He established for the life of man and the universe for many good purposes. Although man derives much benefit from rain, a person who has suffered some harm because of it cannot say that rain does not contain God’s grace for man. It is on account of this subtle reality that willing and committing evil deeds is evil but creating them is not. Although there may be an evil in creating evil deeds on the part of man, creation is absolutely good by its very nature and contains many instances of good for the general operation and life of the universe as well as for the one who wills and commits that evil. Ugliness in a man’s acts lies in his will and potential, not in God’s creating it.
As Divine Destiny is absolutely free from evil and ugliness in relation to results, it is also exempt from injustice on account of the causes. Divine Destiny always takes into consideration the primary cause, not the apparent secondary cause, and always does justice. Men, on the other hand, judge according to the apparent causes and draw the wrong conclusions. To cite an example, a court may condemn a person to imprisonment on a charge of theft, and do injustice because he has not committed any such crime-however, Divine Destiny actually passes this judgment on account of the murder which that person committed but which remained secret. Thus, while the court has done injustice by condemning him on a charge of which he is innocent, Divine Destiny has done justice by punishing him for a crime which remained unknown. It can be concluded from this example that God is absolutely just in all His acts, whilst man is liable to do injustice. Divine Destiny and Creation is absolutely free from evil and ugliness at the beginning and at the end of events, and on account of cause and results.
Question
If man has only a nominal share in his acts because his free will does not possess creative ability, why do we read in the holy Quran that the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth takes man’s rebellion so seriously?

Answer:

Unbelief, rebellion and sinfulness mean destruction, and complete destruction can result from an act of disobedience of a most nominal weight. Just as a vessel may sink due to the helmsman’s negligence, whilst the efforts of the whole crew can achieve nothing to save it. A man’s free will can cause great depredations as a result of unbelief and sinfulness, no matter how insignificant a share it actually has in the performance of acts. Unbelief is so great a sin by its nature that it reduces the whole universe to something of no value, and contradicts the witnessing to the Oneness of God by the whole of creation, and denies the manifestations of the Divine Names. It is, therefore, entirely proper that God should take unbelief so seriously and threaten unbelievers so severely in the name of the whole of creation and the Divine Names, and it is absolutely just to condemn them to the eternal torment of Hell. Since rebellious men cause vast corruption through unbelief and sinfulness, the believers are in great need of God’s succor against them. A mischievous boy can set a whole house on fire although it is guarded by ten strong men, and those guards may need to apply to the parents of that boy to prevent him from committing such a crime. So too do believers need the help of God against rebellious and sinful men.
In short: It is permissible for the believer to speak of Divine Destiny and man’s free will, when his faith is perfect and when he is mature enough to perceive that all creation including himself is at God’s disposal. He assumes his responsibilities because he has free will and glorifies God by proclaiming Him to be free of any involvement with his own sins. He never forgets that he is a servant of God, and accordingly tries to follow all the Divine Commandments. On the other hand, he remains thankful to God by ascribing to Divine Destiny any good acts he has been able to achieve, and never boasts of them. Also he finds the strength to bear all his misfortunes by discerning in them the role of Destiny.

However, it is not proper for anyone who neglects the Divine Commandments to argue about Divine Destiny and man’s free will, since his defective thinking will lead him to ascribe the whole of creation to causes and ignore God completely. He appropriates all his skills and good deeds, regarding them to have originated directly with himself, and attributes his defects and failures to Destiny. This view means the reduction of Divine Destiny and free will to a senseless trick played upon man by his own commanding self (nafs ammara) to mislead him to the point where he disregards and denies his religious duties.

Lawh Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet) means destiny. There is no difference between “Destiny” and lawh mahfuz. Lawh Mahfuz, which is used to discern it from other terms related to destiny, has the special meaning of “the Largest Book of Destiny”.

Lawh Mahfuz is the eternal knowledge that contains the, past, the future and the present. Destiny has dimensions like qada (decree), ata (change) and  Lawh Mahw (expunction). Lawh Mahfuz contains all of them.

For the definition of Lawh Mahfuz, please click on the link given below;

What is the Preserved Tablet (Lahw-i Mahfoos)?

We can think as follows: We know when the sun will rise and set. It is written in the calendar that the sun will rise at a certain time tomorrow. And the sun rises at that time. The writing on the calendar does not have any effect on the sun’s rising at that time; it will be a mistake to say, ‘we know that the sun will rise tomorrow; so, it does not have to rise tomorrow'. If the sun does not rise, many benefits that will be caused by it will not take place.

One of the reasons why Allah created man is worshipping.

1- Allah created man to test him. That reason cannot take place without the creation of man.  

2- Allah wants to see himself – in a way peculiar to Him – and with the eyes of others His beauty and perfection manifest in the universe. The first one that is meant by others is man. This also necessitates the creation of man.

3- Allah created man so that he will worship Him. For this reason, an existing being is necessary. Worshipping is not possible without the creation of man. Our place in Paradise is prepared depending on the amount of our worshipping in the world.

4- To declare that Allah is greater than everything and to spread the orders of Allah. For this reason, the creation of both, the one who conveys the message and the one to whom the message is conveyed, is necessary.

5- A seed needs to enter the ground in order to become a tree; similarly, man was sent to the field of the world so that it would become mature and develop.

6- If we were created in another realm, we would ask 'why we were created in that realm?' It can be said that 'man was sent to this world because it is the perfect examination hall for testing.'

7- It is necessary to emphasize that to know and to do are very different things. We had given an example above. The fact that we know that a seed will become a tree does not mean that that seed does not have to become a tree.

8- One of the reasons why man is tested is the fact that it is important for man to know what he did. As a matter of fact, man will be shown what he did in the Gathering Place and he will not have the opportunity to say anything against the justice of Allah. If He threw people into Paradise or Hell without testing, the soul would complain about it by saying it was injustice to throw a person into Hell without testing.

Think of a teacher. He knows the marks that his students will get. If he said to the students when he entered the class that he knew the marks they would get and he gave them marks without giving them any exams, the students would oppose. Our Lord tests us to prevent us from opposing.

If a plan is made for a machine or building, is it possible to say ‘since there is a plan, there is no need to construct the building or the machine’?

Suppose that we plan to go somewhere and eat certain things to morrow. Do we ever say, ‘since it is certain what we are going to do, there is no need to go there and eat those things’?

If we cannot say it even for simple things, we cannot say why Allah, who created man based on innumerable reasons, tests people since He knows what they will do.

Allah Almighty is wise and just. He does not do things without any reason; He is just. He does not oppress His slaves.

One meaning of qadar is the fact that Allah knows the life programs of the creatures He created through His pre-eternal knowledge. That is, everything from the moment a person starts to exist in the womb to the moment he is born and to the breaths he takes is written in qadar and they are all known by Allah.

Qadar is a program designed by knowledge and will. Qada is the name of the phase of the application of that program.

Qada is the manifestation of Allah’s power. Qadar is the reflection of Allah’s knowledge. Therefore, when qadar is mentioned, knowledge comes to the mind. As a matter of fact, the following verse shows that qadar means the fact that Allah knows everything:

“And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures.” (al-Hijr, 21)

Since qadar is a program originating from knowledge, it does not have a forcing aspect regarding the deeds of man. As a matter of fact, the sentence, “Knowledge depends on what is known”, which is a rule of the science of Kalam regarding qadar expresses it more clearly. We can express it more clearly by giving the following example: The fact that we know when the sun will rise and set tomorrow does not affect the sunrise and the sunset. The sun does not rise or set at those times because we know it; on the contrary, we know it because the sun rises and sets at those times.

That Allah knows who will go to Hell and who will go to Paradise is an attribute of His divinity. Man has the qualities that can do the deeds that cause him to go to Paradise or Hell. Man can do the deeds of the people of Paradise or Hell through the partial free will given to him. The responsibility lies with him regarding the issue.

Qadar has two aspects: Things that are out of man’s will like being born, his parents, his time of death, etc. Man is not responsible for them since he cannot decide about them.

However, he is responsible for the deeds that he decides to do of his own accord. Everybody knows that a person goes to the mosque or to the pub of his own accord. Nobody forces him regarding the issue.

With the expression of a hadith of the Prophet, “every child is born with the nature of Islam.” One of the meanings of the word 'Islam' mentioned in hadiths is high ethics. That is, each person is created with the nature of high ethics and with the characteristic to approve the principles of belief. However, if a person changes that characteristic and accepts the belief of the people of Hell, doing the deeds of the people of Hell, he will definitely be held responsible.

Since the good and the evil come from Allah, it is He who leads people to hidayah (the right way, guidance) and leads to dalalah (misguidance, the wrong way). People can just be reasons for hidayah and dalalah. Some people misunderstand that God Almighty created the right way and the wrong way. They say, The right way is led only by Allah; if he does not demand no one can be good. By saying so, they close the way of warning and guiding people and try to find excuses for their mistakes.

Let me tell you this first: It is right that God Almighty can lead anyone he wishes to the right way. It is He who leads people to the right way and who leads them to the wrong way. However, His creation of dalalah is because of that servants misusing his partial free will. If the man does not use his partial free will in a bad way, God does not lead him to dalalah. The same thing is valid for hidayah. It is just like a person who does what he can do to obtain his food and waits for the results from Allah. He is the Razzaq (Provider of the food).

When a person does everything he can do to obtain food, he cannot consider that he will definitely get what he wants. It is similar to that example; when a person tells someone about the demands and prohibitions of Allah properly, he just cannot be sure for the results. It is He who is Hadi (leading to the right way). His showing the right way to a person whom He wishes means leading someone who obeys the rules of getting hidayah into the right way. That does not mean that it is unnecessary to observe any reasons for hidayah. That opinion reminds the example of food; hoping for crops without planting anything beforehand.

When interregnum is mentioned, we understand the period between the distortion of the religion brought by Hazrat Eesa (Christ) (pbuh) and the first revelation received by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). But this term can be used for any period or person who is not aware of the religion brought by any prophet. There are some slight differences between the sects of creed about the limits of the responsibilities of those people. The imams of Maturidi and Ashari made different explanations about the word messenger in the verse We would not visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).

According to the sect of Maturidi what is meant by messenger is the mind. The mind is the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, every person who has a mind can understand that he was created and is responsible of knowing that there is a being that created him. However, since rules abut worships can not be known by the mind only, people of interregnum will not be responsible for worships. That is, interregnum is valid for deeds not for faith and belief.

The sect of Ashari interpreted messenger directly as prophet and argued that a nation without a prophet would not be responsible.

The full translation of the verse is as follows: Whoever goes aright, for his own soul does he go aright; and whoever goes astray, to its detriment only does he go astray: nor can the bearer of a burden bear the burden of another, nor do We chastise until We raise an apostle.(al-Isra, 15)

Some scholars said that the word chastisement in the verse was worldly chastisement and disasters but most scholars said that it was the chastisement of hell and that the verse warned about the chastisement of both the world and the hereafter depending on the hadith The world is the field of the hereafter.

The following verse sheds light on the issue: And those who disbelieve shall be driven to hell in companies; until, when they come to it, its doors shall be opened, and the keepers of it shall say to them: Did not there come to you apostles from among you reciting to you the communications of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours? They shall say: Yea! But the sentence of punishment was due against the unbelievers. (Chapter az-Zumar , 71)

The following question can arise: Why were the imams of creed (belief) so much interested in the period of interregnum? Similar causes bring about similar effects. Interregnum is a symbol. It is used for a certain period, but there is no doubt that the decrees of interregnum will be valid when similar conditions occur.

In the chapter al-Kafiroon the following is stated: To you be your religion, and to me mine. Although some people said that that decree was abrogated by the verse of jihad, others agreed that that verse would be valid when certain conditions occurred.

Can we not think as follows? Today, if the Muslims in the United States and Europe acted in accordance with the verse of jihad, would not they be erased from the Earth at once? However, is the aim not being erased but increasing? Then what are they supposed to do? They will act in accordance with the chapter al-Kafiroon and try to live their religion and spread it as much as possible without interfering with the others religions. That is, the decree in the chapter al-Kafiroon is still valid for many countries, that is, it was not abrogated.

As we see in that example, if there are people who live in the darkness of interregnum, the rules that will be applied to them should be the rules of interregnum. We see that some people who ignore this reality oppose some statements of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi about the interregnum and they do it in a rude way.

What matters is not persons but opinions. So, we think it is better to analyze the issue without mentioning any names.

Said Nursi says in his letter, which was appreciated by the scholars of that time but is opposed by some groups today:


In the future, since there will be a veil of heedlessness in religion and in the religion of the Prophet Muhammad at the level of interregnum and the real religion of Christ (pbuh) will reign and will be shoulder to shoulder with Islam, it can be assumed that the disasters of the oppressed Christians who are faithful to Christ (pbuh) suffer are kind of a martyrdom for them. Kastamonu Lâhikası (Kastamonu Addendum).

When the last sentence that is subject to objection is analyzed thoroughly without prejudice, it will be clearly seen that there is nothing to criticize. The sentence is about the Christians who were in the darkness of the interregnum and therefore who were not aware of Islam. The oppressed Christians were kept apart. That keeping apart is for the decree of a kind of martyrdom. Accordingly that sentence should be understood as follows: The people who were exposed to torment and suffered severe misfortunes are in the state of a kind of martyrdom.
Badiuzzaman says the following in an answer to a question: But in accordance with the verse, Nor would We visit with Our wrath until We had sent a prophet [to give warning>, the people who live in interregnum are among those saved. It has been stated unanimously that they are not punished for their mistakes in secondary matters. According to Imam Shafi'i and Imam Ash'ari, even if they are deniers and do not believe in the fundamentals of faith, they still are among those saved. It is because responsibility before God occurs through the sending of prophets, and when prophets are sent, responsibility is established through knowledge of their mission. Since heedlessness and the passage of time obscured the religions of the former prophets, they could not provide the proof for the people of that time. If they obey the former religion, they receive reward; if they do not, they are not punished because since it was hidden, it cannot be a proof. Mektubat (Letters)


It is necessary to pay attention to the word unanimously. According to both sects people of interregnum are not responsible for decrees of deeds, that is, orders and prohibitions. It is unanimous. However, there is disagreement about the belief between the two sects.

We want to mention a very interesting verse about the issue:
Nor was thy Lord the one to destroy a town until He had sent to its center a messengers, rehearsing to them Our Signs; nor are We going to destroy a population except when its members practice iniquity. ( Chapter al-Qasas, 59)

The phrase its center in the verse is very important. The decree differs when the Prophet does not come in a central place but in a remote place and cannot convey divine messages in a way that everybody can hear.

What brings us to this point is the following explanation of Imam Gazali:

Those who do not know that prophets were sent are people of salvation. Those who know it but deny it are people of hell. And we hope that those who hear it but do not search it and mishear it will be people of salvation.

1-You can ask anything that occupies your about in fate. It does not mean that you deny fate. As a matter of fact, according to what we learn from the Quran, Prophet Abraham asked Allah how the dead would be resurrected and then said “My Lord, I am asking not because I do not believe but because I want my heart to be convinced.” For this reason, we can ask the questions in our minds. And we will try to answer them as much as we can do.

2- The true meaning of fate is the fact that Allah knows what happened and what will happen. We should pay attention that it does not ignore free-will. To know and to do are different. The one who knows is Allah and the one who does is His servant. Let us give an example regarding the issue:

Our Prophet informed us and gave the good news about the conquest and the conqueror of Istanbul hundreds of years ago. When the time came for it, it happened as he had told us. Now, was Istanbul conquered because the Prophet said it would be or did the Prophet said it would be conquered because he knew it would? Then, would it still have happened if Mehmet the Conqueror had not worked and had not prepared the army for it? So, it can be said that Allah knew that Mehmet the Conqueror would work and conquer Istanbul and informed His Messenger about it.

The focal point here is that we do things not because Allah knows, but because Allah knows we will do them. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to think that Allah will not know about the future. If He did not or could not know, He would not be the creator.

Let us give an example for it: think of a teacher from saintly slaves of Allah. He says to one of his students “I will test you tomorrow from this book”. However, the teacher knows that the student will not study because of playing football, having fun with friends or watching movies; so, he writes “0” point in his report beforehand. The following day, the student comes and he cannot answer the questions and when he realizes that he deserves “0” point, the teacher takes out his notebook from his pocket and says “as I knew you would not study and deserve 0 point from this test, I wrote 0 in my notebook beforehand”. In this case, can the student say “I got 0 from the test because you gave me 0. Otherwise, if you had written a higher point in your notebook, I would get a higher point now.”?

So we can say that we do not do so because Allah wrote it so, but Allah wrote them so because He knows we will do so. That is what we call “fate”.

3- Every person born into world is bound to be tested. Allah the Glorious knows with His infinite knowledge what one will do and what will happen to him. However, the fact that Allah knows does not force him to do so, because Allah has offered lots of options to people.

Whichever way one prefers using his own free-will, Allah creates that way. Therefore, it is the human being who is responsible.

It can be exemplified as follows: Imagine that the top floor of an apartment building is full of boons and the bottom floor is full of tormentors; and a person is in the lift of that building. That person was informed about the state of the building before. He will reach the boons if he pushes the up button and he will be tormented if he pushes the down button.

In this case, what the free-will of the person does is only to decide which button to push and then push it. And the lift does not work with that person’s free-will and power, but it works based on certain physic and mechanic laws. So, the person does not go to the top floor or to the bottom floor with his own power. Nevertheless, he is the one to decide where the lift will go, with his own free-will.

Everything one does with his own free-will can be evaluated according to that criterion. For instance, Allah the Glorious stated that it is sinful to go to a pub and virtuous to go to a mosque. And we are free to go to whichever one we want, just like the lift in the example given above.

Whichever button he pushes, that is, wherever he wants to go, his body will move towards there and thus, the reward or the punishment of the place where he will go belongs to him.

It is the same with marriage, too. There are lots of choices before a person who wants to get married. It is up to you to decide what kind of a person you want to marry. Allah creates the circumstances based on your choice. The fact that Allah knows whom you will marry does not force you into that marriage.

The Islamic criterion of marrying a non-Muslim person is as follows: a Muslim man can marry a woman from the people of the book, that is a Jewish or a Christian, but he cannot marry a non-Muslim woman who is not from the people of the book.

In addition, a Muslim woman is not permitted to marry a non-Muslim man, even if he is from the people of the book.

4- We can divide the fate into two: forced fate and voluntary fate.

“We cannot have any affect on forced fate. It is totally out of our free-will. Our forced fate includes our place of birth, our parents, our shape, and our inborn skills. We cannot determine them. And we are not responsible for that kind of fate.

The second kind of fate is voluntary fate. Allah knows with His infinite knowledge and ordains whatever we will decide and whatever we will do. Your question must be discussed in this category. That is to say, you are deciding on a type of person to marry and look for him/her. And Allah introduces some people who have got the characteristics which you desire to you. You like one of them and accept him/her with your own free-will. The fact that Allah knows whom you will marry is fate and the fact that you choose your spouse with your free-will is a responsibility of human beings, which is called partial free will.

Our hearts beat, our blood is refreshed, and our cells grow, reproduce and die. Many things which we do not know happen in our bodies. We are not the doers of any of them. Those things continue to happen even when we are asleep.

However, we know very well that there are things which we do of our own accord. It is us to decide to eat, drink, speak, and walk and so on. We have got a free-will though weak, knowledge though little and power though slight.

It is us to decide which way to go at the crossroads. And life is full of crossroads.

In this sense, on whom else but ourselves can we put the blame of the things we choose consciously and decide to do without any enforcement?

The will of man, which is called partial free will, causes many significant things benefiting from the laws ruling in the universe, although it seems insignificant.

Imagine that the top floor of an apartment building is full of boons and the bottom floor is full of tormentors; and a person is in the lift of this building. That person was informed about the state of that building before. He will reach the boons if he pushes the up button and he will be tormented if he pushes the down button.

In this case, what the free-will of the person does is only to decide which button to push and then push it. And the lift does not work with that person’s free-will and power, but it works based on certain physic and mechanic laws. So, the person does not go to the top floor or to the bottom floor with his own power. Nevertheless, he is the one to decide where the lift will go, with his own free-will.

Everything one does with his own free-will can be evaluated according to that criterion. For instance, Allah the Glorious stated that it is sinful to go to a pub and virtuous to go to a mosque. And we are free to go to whichever one we want, just like the lift in the example given above.

Man’s will does not have any role in the occurrences in the universe; similarly, he does not have any role in the activities occurring inside his body. Human body works in accordance with divine rules which are called the universal law. However, where he will go is up to his decision. Whichever button he pushes, that is, wherever he wants to go, his body will move towards there and thus, the reward or the punishment of the place where he will go belongs to him. So it can be said that a person who complains saying “what is my fault here?” using the fate as his excuse, is indeed ignoring his free will.

If human beings are “leaves blown by the wind”, if they do not have the ability to choose, if they are not responsible for what they do; then what is the significance of crime? Does a person who says “what is my fault” not resort to court when he is wronged?

However, in this sense, that person should have thought like this: “that man put my house on fire. He defamed my honor, killed my child but he has got excuses. It was his fate to do those things, what could he do, he could not have acted otherwise.”

Do people who are wronged really think so?

If man were not responsible for what he did, words like “good” and “bad” would be meaningless. There would be no need to appreciate heroes and to despise traitors. Both of them would have done the things unwillingly. However, nobody can claim like that. Everyone admits in their hearts that they are responsible for what they do and they are not leaves blown by the wind.

5- There are different kinds of supplications (dua). For instance, you have an examination tomorrow. The supplication for the examination is studying. It is called practical supplication. After finishing studying, we raise our hands and say “My Lord, give me what is good for me”; and it is verbal supplication. One should supplicate sincerely and be ready to accept the result because Allah knows that what we want sometimes may not be good for us, but we do not know. As Allah who has infinite mercy knows that it will not be good for us, He accepts that supplication in a different way. Hazrat Mary’s mother vowed her to the mosque when she was about to be born. And when she saw that her child was not a boy but a girl, she was surprised and sad. Emphasizing that example, Islamic scholars say that Allah definitely accepts our supplication. Sometimes He accepts them in a different and better way. And Hazrat Mary was a girl equal to a hundred boys. One cannot say that Allah did not accept her supplication. As a matter of fact, He accepted her supplication in a better way. And sometimes one thinks that his supplication is never accepted on the earth. However, his supplication is accepted in a better and more elevated way in Heaven.

According to those explanations, what we must do for a good spouse is to search within the frames of religious criteria and to supplicate to Allah.

Qadar is the decision made about something. The carrying out of that decision is qada. To annul that decision and by skipping the carrying out of that judgment is ata (forgiving, grant). A soft grass can pierce a stone with hard grains; similarly, ata pierces the certainty of the law of qada. And qada pierces the decisions of qadar like an arrow. That is, the relation of ata to qada is like the relation of qada to qadar. Ata is an exception to the scope of the law of qada. And qada is an exception to the generality of the law qadar. A saint who is aware of this fact says, "O my Lord! My good deeds are out of your ata. My bad deeds are out of your qada. Were it not for your ata, I would be destroyed." (Mesnevi-i Nuriye, 206)

That is, ata is defined as the annulment of the decision given about something and skipping the carrying out of that judgment. When ata is mentioned, the pardon and grant of ar-Rahim (the All Compassionate), al-Karim (the Generous), al Ghafur (the Forgiver) is understood.

For instance, a certain misfortune was preordained in our qadar at a certain date; if that misfortune takes place at that date, it is called qada. However, a good deed of us or a prayer before that date may annul the judgment of that qada; the annulment of that judgment by Allah is called ata.   

We can explain the annulment of the law of qada by ata and the annulment of qadar by ata as follows: A king has general laws and the law of pardon and ata that he applies on certain dates. The king forgives some of the criminals on that day and alleviates the punishments of others; he promotes some of his officers and increases their salaries. The punishments, promotions and salaries that have been imposed by the general law are annulled by that law of ata.   

Suppose that a criminal was given an imprisonment of ten years for a certain crime that he committed. If that punishment is forgiven by the law of ata, the punishment is not carried out and the law of qada is changed. Since the punishment is not carried out, the law of qadar is changed; that is, the punishment given to him for his crime is annulled.    

As it is seen in the example above, the otherworldly punishments ordained by God Almighty for the sins that people commit are pardoned by His law of ata; that is, due to His pardoning and grant, qada is annulled; thus, the law of ata annuls the law of qada. Similarly, with the annulment of qada, the law of qadar is also annulled and the punishment that has been imposed is changed.  

Let us give another example: a slave leaves home with the intention and inclination of going to a place of sins. Since the slave pushes the button of will, Allah will create the result of his inclination and took him to the place where willed. However, a nice state of that person, for instance, the tears he sheds in the middle of the night, or driving one or two friends to a religious talk, may stir the Divine Mercy; Allah sends him a friend who will take him to a nice place not to a place of sin; thus, He changes the judgment due to the will of that person. That Allah changes a decree or a qada about a person with or without any reason is an ata belonging to Him. 

On the other hand, it is stated that ata is an exception to the scope of the law of qada. It can be explained as follows: the punishment imposed for a sin originates from a general law. That is, the decree stating that a person who commits a certain crime is given a certain punishment is a general law. If that person who commits that crime repents and if his sins are forgiven an exception to the scope of the law takes place. It also means an exception to the generality of the law qadar.

The rule we have tried to explain above brings to the mind the question whether qadar changes or not. We should state that it is impossible for the Divine Knowledge to change. All of the events that took place and that will take place, including the application of the law of ata, are included in that knowledge. That qadar does not change. The changes take place in Lawh al-Mahw wa Ithbat (the Tablet of Erasure and Confirmation), which is a changeable board of the fixed and deep Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet) in the scope of possibility. Many punishments that are preordained are forgiven through repentance and the law of ata; and they are erased from Lawh al-Mahw wa Ithbat. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a verse in the Quran:   Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth: with Him is the Mother of the Book. (ar-Ra'd, 39)

What is belief in Qada and Qadar?

The partial free will is a compulsory element for man who was sent for divine testing. Otherwise, it is impossible to talk of the justice of Allah. It is contrary to Islamic belief.

In the Quran, sometimes the universal will of Allah and sometimes man’s partial free will is emphasized depending on the context. This emphasis is a reflection of the style that shows the eloquence of that statement. The universal will is implicitly present where the partial free will is mentioned and the partial free will is implicitly present where the universal will is mentioned.

For instance, Allah stated the following in order to console Hazrat Prophet (pbuh), who was very disturbed by the attitudes of the deniers, and to emphasize that guidance and aberration, the good and the bad can only take place by the creation of Allah:

Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing And on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur). (al-Baqara, 2/7).

That position is a position of consoling; the absolute power, majesty and will of Allah are emphasized due to the weakness and sorrow of His messenger. The reason why Allah punished them like that is not explained. The reason is the fact that they insisted on denying using their own free will. The statement, “they will not believe” at the end of the previous verse gives some clues about the reason. That is, Allah knows that they will continue not believing using their partial free will and punishes them accordingly.

Allah’s universal will is implicitly present where man’s partial free will needs to be placed to the forefront. For instance, after reminding that the Quran is a book that teaches the truth, Allah states the following in order to emphasize that His messenger has no responsibility except conveying the message:

Say "The Truth is from your Lord": let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject (it). (al-Kahf, 18/29).

In fact, nobody can do anything unless Allah wills. The creation points of both denial and belief belong to Allah. Man wants unbelief or belief and Allah creates it. Here, the universal will of Allah is not emphasized unlike the first example because that is what eloquence necessitates.

When the slave uses his partial free will to do something, the universal will steps in and that deed is created. For instance, a person can only want to speak; the one that makes him speak is Allah. A person wants to study but the one that creates the deeds of seeing, understanding and writing for his study is Allah. Therefore, the partial free will of man is limited to wanting only. The one that creates the deeds that we want is God Almighty. Thus, it is not appropriate for man to attribute the good deeds that he committed to himself, that is, to say, “I did them.”

To sum up, man wants and Allah creates.

Allah (SWT) did not ask anyone while He was creating the universe and He did not take anybody’s free will into consideration. “Doer (without let) of all that He intends.” (Surah Al-Burooj, 85/16)

 “But ye will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.” (Surah Al-Insan, 76/30)

Allah (SWT) is the creator of all things. What we call as “thing” belongs to Him and is His creature. We too also belong to Him with our deeds. That is why the following is stated in the Qur’an: "But Allah has created you and your handiwork!" (Surah As-Saaffat, 37/96).

Even though man has free will, the command and the decision belong to Allah. Unless an order comes from Him, nothing happens. Unless He wills, nothing comes into existence! If He had not wished, there would not have been anything such as time and place at the moment. If he had not sustained the things that He created, everything would have been destroyed.

While creating the Universe, Allah arranged it not according to our small brains’ engineering, but according to His infinite wisdom. It is normal that our brains cannot comprehend everything.

“I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me” (adh-Dhariyat, 51:56). The verse indicates the reason of our creation.

The concept of justice is determined according to practices, not according to opinions. In this sense;

Imagine a teacher. He enrolls two new students, one named A and other named B. While enrolling them, he says “B will fail and A will pass and rank first”, depending on his former experience. Although he knows it, can he suggest those students to give up education saying “as the result of it is obvious, you do not need to come to school”? It is clear that the suggestion would not be appreciated by the students. What should be done is to provide those students with equal opportunities so that justice can be done. If the student, who fails at the end of the year, objects to the teacher by saying; “Teacher! I failed because you knew it”, of course the teacher’s answer is easy: “Knowing is not like causing; it cannot force someone to do something. That is, you did not fail because I knew it, but I knew that you would fail. Knowledge is known by what is obvious. Something is known the way it will happen. For instance, if I had not known, you would have still failed. I did not force you to fail with my knowledge. I provided you with the same opportunities as everyone. It is a great insolence to put the blame of ignorance and laziness on the teacher…”

Time of death does not change. Some people claim that one’s lifespan can be lengthened and hence time of death can change acting upon the following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh):

"Sadaqa drives trouble away and lengthens life." (see Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, III/63)

We should first say that whether sadaqa lengthens life or not, man is bound to die; it is known by the pre-eternal knowledge of Allah. From this viewpoint, the time of death and hence lifespan of a person is determined by Allah and it is impossible to change it. For instance, suppose that the life of a person lengthens with the sadaqa he gives for two years. Let us think that the lifespan of that person called ajal muallaq (suspended time of death) is fifty years if he gives sadaqa and forty-eight years if he does not. Allah Almighty determines his lifespan as fifty years because He knows that he will give sadaqa. That time of death does not change. 

The Prophet (pbuh) encourages believers to do charity with the hadith above and strengthens the bonds of love among them with sadaqa. Sadaqa’s driving trouble away is a grace and grant of Allah. We do not know what kind of trouble sadaqa drives away. We cause a lot of trouble to be driven away thanks to the sadaqa we give and charities we do. Those troubles, which we do not know because they do not take place are blessings for us; those blessings are expressed as negative blessings. The positive aspect of sadaqa is making believers attain good deeds and thawabs.

Taftazani, one of the great scholars of the science of kalam, explains sadaqa’s lengthening life from various viewpoints in his book called Sharhu Aqaid. He states the following regarding the issue:

"What is meant by lengthening life is making life blessed. Lengthening of human life, which is a capital for the hereafter in terms of good deeds and charity, means gaining more profits with that capital. Accordingly, the lifespan does not change but products increase through sadaqa, which means lengthening of life. Let us try to explain it with an example: Suppose that a tree yields four thousand fruits every spring. If Allah Almighty makes it yield eight thousand fruits instead of four thousand in one of the springs with His grace and grant, it means the lifespan of the fruit is spiritually lengthened for a year. Sadaqa is a means of increasing the productivity of man’s life. It lengthens lifespan in that sense."

Taftazani explains the fact mentioned above as follows:

"Sadaqa increases the most important purpose in lifespan. It is attaining perfection with righteous deeds. For, people can make their souls perfect and attain bliss in both realms through righteous deeds."

Another meaning of sadaqa’s lengthening lifespan is increase in sustenance and peace and tranquility in one’s life. 

Another meaning is as follows: Lengthening of life means the book of good deeds and charity of a person remaining open after his death. As it is known, along with wealth, sadaqa is possible through knowledge. The book of good deeds of a scholar who publishes a book that is useful for believers does not close. It means his life lengthens. Thus, a person who will continue doing good deeds and charities as he lives can do the same thing after his death; it means he is alive spiritually.

According to Islam, nobody is held responsible due to the crime of others. Therefore, the saying, "The privacy of crime is essential" is a general rule. As a matter of fact, Hz. Noah's son did not believe in his father and died as an unbeliever. His father is not held responsible for it.

However, mothers and fathers need to bring up their children in a nice way and set good examples; similarly, states and nations need to bring up their citizens in accordance with Islamic principles. If they do not bring up their citizens and set bad examples with their bad deeds, they will be held responsible for not bringing up their citizens in a nice way and due to their bad deeds.  

Accordingly, the nations that come afterwards are not held responsible for the crimes and sins committed by their ancestors.However, if they do the same bad deeds as their ancestors did and support them, they will be held responsible too.

As for those who are suffering now due to the mistake of their ancestors, their situations will be regarded as a test. Those who fulfill the test in the best way under the current circumstances will be rewarded.

It cannot be guaranteed that they would be better Muslims if they lived under different circumstances; therefore, they are responsible for acting in accordance with the circumstances they live under. That is, a Muslim will not be accounted for where and when he lived; he will be accounted for how he lived.

- The penalty of the oppression of great oppressors are postponed to the great court in the hereafter; that is why, their penalty is not executed fully in this world.  

Let us quote from Badiuzzaman Said Nursi to clarify the issue:

“Just as the penalties of those perpetrating small crimes are delivered locally and serious crimes are sent to the high courts, so too, according to the rules, the small errors of believers and close friends are punished swiftly and in part in this world, in order to quickly purify them. But the crimes of the people of misguidance are so great that since their punishments exceed this brief worldly life, as required by justice they are referred to the Supreme Tribunal in the eternal realm, and mostly they do not receive any punishment here.” (see Lem'alar, p. 48)

“...For generally the oppressor leaves this world while still in possession of his might, and the oppressed while still subjected to humiliation. These matters are therefore deferred for the attention of a supreme tribunal; it is not that they are neglected. It sometimes happens too that punishment is enacted in this world. The torments suffered by disobedient and rebellious peoples in previous centuries show that man is not left to his own devices, and that he is always subject to the blows that God’s splendor and majesty may choose to inflict on him.” (see Sözler, p. 65)

- The acceptance of a prayer is dependent on Allah’s wisdom. We cannot know what will be good or bad for us and how. This fact is underlined in the following verse:

“But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.” (al-Baqara, 2/216)

The following statement of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi sheds light on the issue:

“...Therefore, although for thirty years I have offered supplications to be healed and apparently my prayer has not been accepted, it has not occurred to me to give it up. For illness is the time for supplication. To be cured is not the result of the supplication. If the All-Wise and Compassionate One bestows healing, He bestows it out of His abundant grace. Furthermore, if supplications are not accepted in the form we wish, it should not be said that they have not been accepted. The All-Wise Creator knows better than us; He gives whatever is in our interests. Sometimes he directs our prayers for this world towards the hereafter, and accepts them in that way. In any event..."

"A supplication that acquires sincerity due to illness and arises from weakness, impotence, humility and need, is very close to being acceptable. Illness makes supplication sincere. Both the sick who are religious, and believers who look after the sick, should take advantage of this supplication.” (Lem'alar, 215)

- Cursing/damning is different from prayer. In principle, “cursing/damning” is not something that gains man thawabs; on the contrary, it helps the penalty of the oppressor to be commuted. As a matter of fact, according to a narration, Hz. Aisha damned a thief that stole her quilt; the Prophet (pbuh) said, “You will commute his penalty by damning him.” (see Abu Dawud, h. no: 1497)

- It is necessary to be careful about the following points while damning:  

a) The damnation must not be more than the wrong committed by the oppressor. For instance, it is not appropriate to say, “May Allah kill him or blind his eyes” for a person who steals or grabs your pen. For, the value of a life or two eyes is much higher than a pen. In that case, the oppressed might turn out to be an oppressor.

“The prohibited month for the prohibited month,- and so for all things prohibited,- there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, Transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.” (al-Baqara, 2/194)

The criterion for getting or demanding one’s right is indicated in the verse above.

b) It is appropriate to damn the oppressor but it is not appropriate to damn his family and relatives. Something like that will make an oppressed person an oppressor. This fact is underlined in the following verse: “Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another.” (an-Najm, 53/38)

c) Making peace and forgiving one’s enemy make a person attain the consent of Allah.

“The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree): but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah: for (Allah) loveth not those who do wrong.” (ash-Shura, 42/40)

It is emphasized in the verse above that forgiving and making reconciliation are better than taking revenge.  

The phrase “those who do wrong” included in the last sentence of the verse “for (Allah) loveth not those who do wrong” is related to both the person who does wrong and the person who gets more than his due in retaliation. (Nazmud-Durar, the interpretation of the verse in question)

This shows that when a wronged person damns an oppressor more than what he deserves, he will be an oppressor.

- Mutazilites are famous for denying Allah’s attributes. However, the following statement of Mutazilites is significant:

“Allah is knower, alive and powerful since pre-eternity but He does not resemble those who are knowers, alive and powerful. He does not resemble any being.” (Ash’ari, Maqalat, 1/130-135)

Mutazilites agree on the issue above but they disagree about whether Allah knew the things in eternity before they existed.

However, it is seen that there are interpretations aiming to preserve Allah’s oneness behind that disagreement. For instance, Hisham b. Amr al-Futi, one of the imams of Mutazila stated the following regarding the issue:

“Allah is knower, alive and powerful since pre-eternity”. However, when it is said to him, “Allah knows things since pre-eternity”, he says, “No!”; I say “Allah is knower since pre-eternity” but I do not say “Allah knows things since pre-eternity because to say that means to accept other beings along with Allah since pre-eternity.” I do not say, “‘Allah knows the beings that will come into being in the future’ because it means to indicate something that does not exist. In fact, I indicate only what exists/is available.” (see Maqalat, ibid)

As it is seen, the subtleties considered here aim to prevent Allah’s oneness from being harmed.

- Some Mutazilites say, “Allah knows deeds, people, things, essences, knowledge, everything since eternity” but they avoid saying, “Allah knows creatures since eternity.” According to them, the word “makhluq (creature)” means existent, what exists. It means “to accept the existence of other beings along with Allah in pre-eternity”. (see Maqalat, ibid)

- According to some other Mutazilites, “Allah knows all knowledge and all beings that will come into being. He knows that essences will be creatures in the future. …” (see Maqalat, ibid)

- We understand the following from the information given by Abul-Hasan al-Ash’ari, who is one of the imams of creed of Ahl as-Sunnah and who explains the views of Mutazila in 6-7 items in a similar way:

Mutazilites do not say Allah does not have knowledge about the future or that He does not know trivial issues. They avoid saying that the beings in the future exist in His pre-eternal knowledge in terms of Allah’s oneness. In fact, they understand that it is a necessity of Allah’s pre-eternal and infinite knowledge that everything that took place and will take place exist in His pre-eternal knowledge. However, they avoid saying it because they regard it contrary to the creed of oneness, which is the first one of their five principles.

As a matter of fact, as it is seen in some of the examples above, a Mutazila imam states the following: “I say ‘Allah is knower since pre-eternity’ but I do not say ‘Allah knows things since pre-eternity’.”

As it can be seen, he does not say, “Allah does not know things since pre-eternity.” He says, “I do not say ‘Allah knows things since pre-eternity’.”

- From this point of view, Mutazila has the belief of oneness. The interpretations they make regarding the issue and attributes in general aim to preserve the belief of oneness. Probably because of this intention of theirs, Ahl as-Sunnah do not generally accuse them of unbelief. However, some scholars accused some Mutazilites of unbelief.  

- In our opinion, the point that Mutazila is wrong about Allah’s knowledge is that they confuse “the external beings of things with their beings related to knowledge”. In fact, the existence of things in the pre-eternal knowledge of Allah is their existence related to knowledge; it has nothing to do with the real external being.

Previous scholars, especially Sufis used the phrase “ayan thabita (latent realities)” for the beings “that have existence related to knowledge”.

The reason why the word “ayan” is modified with the word “thabit” is to show that they are free from absolute non-existence in terms of their existence related to knowledge because pre-eternal knowledge, which is infinite, does not allow the existence of absolute non-existence.

Yes everything (every being) has two aspects. One is its nature and essence and the other is its external being and appearance (shape). What forms the essence of everything is essence and nature. It exists in Allah’s pre-eternal and post-eternal knowledge in terms of meaning and knowledge. It is also called knowledge of existence.

If God Almighty gives with His pre-eternal will and power an external existence to those natures and essences, which are latent in His knowledge, they exit from the realm of knowledge and meaning, and go to the realm of beings and the visible realm.   

That some scholars who are experts of the issue say, “Latent realities have not even felt existence” (Markazul-Abhathil-Aqaidiyya) is due to their state in that existence related to knowledge; it does not mean that some of them will not assume an external existence with the creation of Allah.

The spiritual programs and projects of the beings that exist in Allah’s knowledge are very different from the nature of the beings that assume external existence with the manifestations of God Almighty’s attributes of Creation and Power. One of them is related to knowledge and the other is related to existence. One of them is a dimension related to meaning and knowledge, which can be understood only through the mind, and the other is a material structure, which is tangible (concrete).

Additional Information:

a) One meaning of qadar is Allah’s knowing the life programs of the beings He creates with His pre-eternal knowledge. That is, everything about man, from his conception in the womb to coming to the world and the breaths he takes, exists in his qadar (predestination) and is known by Allah.  

b) Qadar is a program arranged with knowledge and will. Qada is the name of the phase of practice of that program. Qada is the occurrence of Allah’s power. Qadar is a reflection of Allah’s knowledge. From this point of view, when qadar is mentioned, knowledge comes to mind. As a matter of fact, the following verse shows that qadar means Allah’s knowing everything:

“And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures.” (al-Hijr, 15/21)

c) Since qadar is a program emerging from knowledge, it does not have an aspect that compels man related to his deeds. As a matter of fact, the statement, “knowledge is based on what is known”, which is a rule of the science of kalam related to qadar, explains the issue more clearly.

We can explain it with an example: That we know what time the sun will rise and set tomorrow does not affect its rising and setting. The sun does not rise and set at that time because we know it; we know it because the sun will rise and set at that time.

Similarly, Allah’s knowing who will go to Hell and who will go to Paradise with His pre-eternal knowledge is a divine attribute of Him. Man has characteristics that are suitable for doing deeds that can make him a person of Paradise or Hell. Man can do deeds that can make him a person of Paradise or Hell with the free will given to him. The responsibility regarding the issue belongs to him.

d) Qadar has two aspects: The first is the one that happens outside man’s will, such as coming to the world, who will be his parents, when he will die, etc. Man is not held responsible because of them since he cannot decide regarding the issue based on his will.   

However, he is held responsible for the deeds that he decides to do based on his own will. Everybody knows that it is based on man’s own will to go to the mosque and to go to the pub. There is no compulsion regarding the issue.

Allah’s having a universal will that is valid everywhere is a prerequisite of His being the Creator, Lord and a deity. It is Allah who creates both the good and the evil in terms of qadar. However, those who are tested are not puppets. They have an important share in the occurrence of those evil deeds.

e) What matters here is to understand the fact that Allah’s knowledge does not compel anyone to go to any direction. Indeed, the attribute of knowledge is different from the attribute of power. Power has the force of getting something done. Knowledge does not have the force of getting something done; it has no characteristic of compelling. It knows something in the way that it will happen. Allah is just; He does not oppress people. It is something that is included in belief in Allah in the first place. In that case, Allah definitely gives His slaves, whom He tests, free will along with things like heart, mind and feeling. His knowing the result of the test does not mean an intervention in that free will.

For instance, if there is an illness, its creator is Allah. However, its aspects that do not include invention belong to man. For example, drinking water when one is sweaty is a wrong deed; man is responsible for its consequences. If his tonsils swell up or if he catches cold, man himself is responsible. However, it is Allah who creates the illness. A person who has good manners thinks like Hz Ibrahim that a bad deed belongs to himself in terms of being a means and that a good deed belongs to Allah in terms of creation and states the following:

“And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me.” (ash-Shuara, 26/80)

MU’TAZILA MADHHAB

It is the name of a big kalam school that emerged first and tried to base creeds by explaining them in the light of the mind. Mu’tazila is a plural noun that is derived from the verb “i’tizal”, which lexically means “to go away, to leave, to retire”. Its singular form is “mu’tazili”. The word is used almost in the same sense in the Quran: “If ye believe me not, at least keep yourselves away from me.” (ad-Dukhan, 44/21); “And I will turn away from you (all) and from those whom ye invoke besides Allah” (Maryam, 19/48; see also al-Kahf 18/16, an-Nisa, 4/90).

There are various views about why Mu’tazila was given that name:

The most common view regarding the issue is based on the following incident between Hasan al-Basri (d. 110/728), who is regarded as the greatest scholar of his age, and Wasil b. Ata (d. 131/748), the founder of Mu’tazila. While Hasan al-Basri was teaching in Basra Mosque, somebody came and said that a person who committed a major sin was regarded as an unbeliever by some scholars and that such a person was regarded as a believer by some other scholars who claimed that sins would not harm belief. Then, he asked Hasan al-Basri what his view regarding the issue was. While Hasan al-Basri was thinking about the answer he would give, Wasil b. Ata, one of his students, intervened and said a person who committed a major sin would be neither a believer nor an unbeliever and added that he would be in a position between them; that is, he would be a fasiq. However, Hasan al-Basri held the view that a person who committed a major sin would be a munafiq. After that incident, Wasil b. Ata left the assembly of Hasan al-Basri (according to another narration, he was dismissed by his teacher) and went to another corner of the mosque with his friend Amr b. Ubayd (d. 144/761); he formed a new assembly of knowledge and started to teach people his views.  Thereupon, Hasan al-Basri said, “Wasil left us (Qad i’tazala anna Wasil)”. Thus, that group, which was led by Wasil, was given the name Mutazila. (Abdulkarim ash-Shahristani, al-Milal wan-Nihal, Beirut 1975, I/48; Abdulqahir al-Baghdadi, al-Farq Baynal-Firaq, Transl. E. Ruhi Fığlalı, Istanbul 1979, p. 101, 104)

According to those who attribute the name Mu’tazila to that view, that name was given to them by their opponents because “they left Ahl as-Sunnah and the first great scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah, and differed from them related to the view of the religion on a person who commits major sins (murtakib kabira). The name given to them showed that attitude.” (Irfan Abdulhamid, Dirasat fil-Firaq wal-Aqaid al-Islamiyya, Transl. M. Saim Yeprem, Istanbul 1981, p. 94)

According to some scholars who divide Mu’tazila madhhab into two as political and religious and regard the latter as the continuation of the former, that name existed much earlier. According to them, those who remained impartial and did not take part in fighting in the battles of Jamal and Siffin, which took place after Hz. Uthman was martyred, were the first representatives of Mu’tazila. Some people like Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas, Abdullah b. Umar, Muhammad b. Maslama and Usama b. Zayd did not support either party in the wars that took place and preferred staying away (i’tizal) from the incidents. Therefore, they were called Mu’tazila in the sense of “those who left, who retired, who took a back seat”.

According to another view, since Wasil b. Ata opposed the consensus of the ummah related to murtakib kabira, he and his followers were given that name. Some other scholars hold the view that they were given the name Mu’tazila because they stayed away from worldly things and led an ascetic life. (I. Abdulhamid, ibid., p. 94 ff; Kemal Işık, Mu’tezile’nin Doğuşu ve Kelâmî Görüşleri, Ankara 1967, p. 52 ff.)

Mu’tazila madhhab is also mentioned with some other names in the resources. They are mentioned as al-Qadariyya because they attribute will and choice to man and regard man as the creator of his deeds, as al-Jahmiyya because they agree with the views of Jahm b. Safwan related to the issues such as Ru’yatullah, Allah’s attributes and the creation of the Quran, and as Muattila because they do not accept some attributes of Allah. However, they do not accept those names and call themselves Ahlul-Adl wat-Tawhid. (Bekir Topaloğlu, Kelâm İlmi, Istanbul 1981, p. 170; Kemal Işık, ibid, p. 56 ff.)

Factors Preparing the Emergence of Mu’tazila Madhhab and the Historical Course:

There are various factors that cause the issues of creed to become a current issue and to be discussed and hence lead to the emergence of madhhabs related to creed. The same factors also caused Mu’tazila madhhab, which is a madhhab related to creed and which is a new way of thinking, to emerge.

The leading factors are the disagreements and conflicts occurring among Muslims. As a result of those disagreements, which assumed very serious dimensions, some new issues emerged and they started to be discussed. The solutions offered for those issues caused the emergence of madhhabs related to creed. One of the heated debates among the Muslims was the issue of the state of murtakib kabira. Kharijites claimed that murtakib kabira was an unbeliever while Murji’ites claimed that such a person was a believer. Wasil b. Ata and his followers proposed a new way of solution for the issue with the principle “al-manzila baynal-manzilatayn (a position between the two positions)”. According to a common narration, Mu’tazila madhhab emerged with that offer of solution. Thus, Mu’tazila introduced a new viewpoint to the new issues emerging among Muslims.

One of the factors that prepared the ground for the emergence of Mu’tazila is related to the conquest policy of the religion of Islam. The Muslims crossed the Arabian Peninsula and annexed many countries to their land in a very short time. With the annexation of those countries belonging to different cultures and religions, some new problems emerged. Among the people of those countries, there were those who accepted Islam and also those who did not. While those who did not accept Islam defended their religion, those who accepted could not completely get rid of the influence of their previous cultures. Religions and views such as Judaism, Christianity, Thanawiyya (Dualism), and Zoroastrianism, which have a deep-rooted history, became institutionalized over time and developed a certain defense mechanism. There had been no such mechanism for Islam yet. Before long, a strong dialectical method was needed to deal with the foreign elements that got into arguments with Muslims. The first scholars who felt it and tried to develop methods in that direction were the Mu’tazilites. Benefitting from foreign cultures too, Mu’tazila brought the Kalam method to the Islamic thought. The laudable efforts of Mu’tazilite to defend Islam against non-Muslims and evaluating the creeds on a rational platform gave a new color to the Islamic thought.

The basic principle of Mu’tazila thought is to place Islamic creed on the basis of rational contemplation and to interpret the verses of the Quran and hadiths in accordance with reason (mind/intellect) when they conflict reason. It is natural that rational thought formed in the course of time in addition to the dogmatic thought and that a group that regarded rational thought as their guide emerged. It is a natural and compulsory stage in the normal course of religions. The first people who played an active role in that stage of the Islamic thought and hence who showed interest in philosophical thought and new branches of science were Mutazilites. (Irfan Abdulhamid, ibid, p. 121 ff.; Bekir Topaloğlu, ibid, p. 171; Kemal Işık, ibid, p. 28; Muhammed Ebu Zehra, İslam’da Siyasi ve İtikadi Mezhepler Tarihi, Transl. E.Ruhi Fığlalı, Osman Eskicioğlu, Istanbul 1970, p. 180 ff.)

Under those circumstances and similar ones did the movement of Mu’tazila emerge at the end of the first century and the beginning of the second century of the Migration under the leadership of Wasil b. Ata and Amr b. Ubayd in Basra. According to the generally accepted thought, the movement of Mu’tazila emerged as a result of the debate between Wasil b. Ata and Hasan al-Basri.

About one century after the Mu’tazili thought emerged in Basra, the Baghdad school of Mu’tazila was formed under the leadership of Bishr b. al-Mu’tamir (d. 210/825). Although the members of those two schools have the same view in terms of basic principles, there are many differences between them related to details. Mutazilites such as Wasil b. Ata, Abul-Hudhayl al-Allaf (d. 235/850), Ibrahim an-Nazzam (d. 231/845), Abu Ali al-Jubbai (d. 303/916) and al-Jahiz (d. 225/869) belong to Basra school, and Mutazilites such as Bishr b. al-Mu’tamir, Thumama b. al-Ashras (d. 213/828) and al-Khayyat (d. 298/910) belong to Baghdad school.

Along with the new books that joined the world of the Islamic culture through the translation activities, the movement of Mu’tazila, which got stronger gradually also with the effect of the political factors, soon started to attract the statesmen too; it was accepted by the caliphs even in the period of the Umayyads.

Mu’tazila madhhab developed in the period of Abbasids as a thought movement and became widespread. The attitude of the Abbasid caliphs toward Mu’tazila was generally positive. Mu’tazila thought, which entered the palace during the caliphate of Harun ar-Rashid (170-193/786-808), experienced its golden age during the caliphates of al-Ma’mun (d. 218/833), al-Mu’tasim and especially al-Wathiq. During the periods of those caliphs, Mu’tazila thought became the official madhhab of the state, and Mu’tazila scholars were shown respect by the statesmen as the most respectable people. Mu’tazila scholars guided the caliphs according to their own thoughts and views in those periods, and they themselves attained high posts in state administration.

This period, which included the years 198-232/813-846, when Mu’tazila became the state authority and the official madhhab, was a period when agony was dominant in terms of Ahl as-Sunnah scholars and people. Al-Ma’mun, al-Mu’tasim and al-Wathiq, the sultans of the period who adopted Mu’tazila doctrine as the official view of the state, did not regard it sufficient and forced people to accept that view by using official elements. That period, in which the state tried people to accept the Mu’tazila view of khalq al-Quran (the view that the Quran was created) by force, is known as “mihna (ordeal)” in the history of madhhabs. Many Islamic scholars, primarily Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 241/855), who opposed the official view, were imprisoned and tortured because of their attitudes.

“Mihna”, which means a kind of inquisition, continued by increasing its severity also in the periods of al-Mu’tasim and al-Wathiq after al-Ma’mun. (Majid Fakhry, A History of Islamic Philosophy, Transl. Kasım Turhan, Istanbul I987, p. 54).

Mu’tazila, which occurred as an advocate of a thought in the beginning, assumed an opposite attitude to it during the periods of those caliphs. The golden age of Mu’tazila and hence “mihna” ended when al-Wathiq died and al-Mutawakkil (d. 247/861) succeeded him. Mu’tazila thought had been punished during the caliphates of al-Mahdi and al-Amin before but they received the real blow from al-Mutawakkil. Mu’tazila was expelled from the state organization when al-Mutawakkil became the caliph and started to regress gradually. Mutazila became a bit popular again in the following centuries during the Buyid dynasty and the period of the Seljuk Sultan Tugrul but it never regained its previous prestige. (Kemal Işık, ibid, p. 59 ff; Bekir Topaloğlu, ibid, p. 183; M. Ebu Zehra, ibid, p. 182).

The resources of the history of madhhabs list the incident of “mihna”, Mu’tazila’s giving extreme importance to the mind (rationalism) and the emergence of the kalam science of Ahl as-Sunnah led by al-Ash’ari and al-Maturidi among the reasons that paved the way for the decline of Mu’tazila. (Irfan Abdulhamid, ibid, p.125; B. Topaloğlu, ibid, p. 183).

Mu’tazila’s Method and Its kalam Views:

The first thinkers who evaluated the principles of creed in Islam in the light of the mind and tried to find solutions to problems based on the criteria of the mind are Mu’tazila and its successors Qadariyya and Jahmiyya. Unlike the previous scholars, Mu’tazila scholars did not regard revealed knowledge enough to solve issues of creed; they gave importance to reasoning; moreover, they regarded reasoning (the mind) the only authority and preferred interpretation related to the issues about which revealed knowledge was not clear and the previous Islamic scholars preferred keeping silent. The name of that new approach, severely criticized by Salafiyya, is Kalam method. Mu’tazilites evaluated creeds in a way peculiar to themselves through the method of Kalam, which they adopted, and concluded views different from the doctrine of Ahl as-Sunnah. Therefore, Mu’tazila is mentioned among the groups of the people of bid’ah. (al-Baghdadi, ibid, p. 100)

There are five basic principles (al-usul al-khamsa) that form the basis of Mu’tazila doctrine and that are adopted by all Mu’tazila scholars:

1-Tawhid (Oneness): The understanding of oneness, which is the first basic principle of Mu’tazila, forms the basis of the whole Islamic thought too. It is an important principle according to not only Mu’tazila but all Islamic madhhabs; it means Allah is one; There is nothing like Him; He is pre-eternal and post-eternal. What makes Mu’tazila differ from others emerges in the discussions about Allah’s attributes. According to Mu’tazila, the two most important attributes of Allah are “oneness (tawhid)” and “pre-eternity (qidam)”. Mu’tazila accepts Allah’s attributes but does not accept other beings to share those attributes. According to them, it is appropriate to say “Allah is knower” but it is wrong to say, “Allah has knowledge” because the acceptance of the attributes of meaning like knowledge, hearing and sight indicates the multitude of pre-eternal beings. However, the only pre-eternal being is Allah.

While Mu’tazila named itself Ahl at-Tawhid related to attributes, Ahl as-Sunnah scholars described Mu’tazila as Muattila (deniers of Allah’s attributes).

2- Adl (Justice): According to Mu’tazila, man has a completely free will and is solely responsible for his deeds. Both the good deeds and bad deeds he does belong to Him. Therefore, he will be rewarded for his good deeds and punished for his bad deeds. If there were Allah’s intervention in a slave’s deeds, the slave would not be responsible for his deeds because compulsion would be in question in that case. It is cruelty to hold man responsible for the deeds he does under compulsion. It does not comply with Allah’s justice because Allah is the most just being.

3- Al-Wa’d wal-Wa’id (rewarding of those who do good deeds and punishing of those who do bad deeds): It is inevitable that good deeds be rewarded and bad deeds be punished. Therefore, Allah states that He will reward His slaves who do good deeds with Paradise and punish those who do bad deeds with Hell, as a necessity of His justice. It is impossible for Allah to do the opposite and to break His promise. A believer will definitely go to Paradise and a person who commits a major sin and dies before repenting will definitely go to Hell. That is Allah’s justice. With that view, Mutazila rejects intercession (shafa’ah).

4- Al-Manzilatu baynal-Manzilatayn (a position between two positions):

This principle states that a person who commits a major sin is in a place between belief and unbelief, that is, such a person is a fasiq. This view is a moderate view between the view of Kharijites, who regard those who commit major sins unbelievers, and madhhabs of Murji’a, which regard them believers.

5- Al-amru bil-ma’ruf wan-nahyu anil-munkar (enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil): Mutazila regards it necessary for every Muslim to enjoin what is good and to forbid what is evil so that justice will be established in society and the ethical structure will be healthy. (al-Baghdadi, ibid, p. 100 ff; Kemal Işık, ibid, p. 67 ff; M. Abu Zahra, ibid, p. 174 ff; B. Topaloğlu, ibid, p. 174 ff; I. Abdulhamid ibid, p. 105 ff; ash-Shahristani, ibid, I, 43).

Yaşar K. AYDINLI

ASH’ARI

The full name of Abul Hasan Ash’ari, who is the representative of the school of Ash’ariyya is Ali b. Ismail b. Abi Bishr Ishaq b. Salim b. Ismail b. Abdullah b. Musa b. Bilal b. Abi Burda b. Musal-Ash’ari. As it is understood from his full name, he is a descendant of the Companion Abu Musal-Ash’ari (d. 44/664-65). He is called Abul-Hasan and his nickname is Nasirud-din.

His year of birth is mentioned as 260, 266, 270 and 275 H in various resources but according to the widespread view, he was born in Basra in 260 H, 873-74 AD. For, it is known that he left Mu’tazila madhhab in 300/912-13. Since it is known that he was forty years old then, it is accepted more commonly that he was born in 260/873-74.

It is possible to deal with the life of Ash’ari in three period as from his birth to the age of ten, from the age of ten to the time when he left Mu’tazila madhhab and his remaining life.

1. The period from his birth to the age of ten:

This period is the period of his childhood and first education; he learned various subjects and was generally trained and educated by his father in terms of ethics and knowledge.

2. The period from the age of ten to the time when he left Mu’tazila madhhab:

This period, which covers a period of thirty years, is the period when he was educated by his stepfather Abu Ali al-Jubbai (d. 302/914-15). He learned the science of kalam from Jubbai. Ash’ari, who followed Hanafi madhhab in fiqh, became an ardent supporter of Mu’tazila in creed with the influence of his teacher.

It is known that he left Mu’tazila and adhered to the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah in 300 H. However, various reasons are mentioned in various resources about why he left Mu’tazila. The most famous one is said to be a debate with his teacher Abu Ali al-Jubbai but it is not regarded as appropriate by reliable resources. Another reason is said to be Ash’ari’s seeing the Prophet in his dream and hence giving up Mu’tazila thought. According to another view, when Ash’ari reached a certain maturity in knowledge, the thoughts of Mu’tazila did not satisfy him and hence he left Mu’tazila. When the three views are evaluated together, the probability that the last reason, that is, making that decision after reaching a certain maturity in science with the contribution of the first two reasons, outweighs.

According to what is narrated, after Ash’ari made that decision, he remained at home for fifteen days and then ascended the pulpit in the Basra Mosque on Friday and addressed the congregation as follows: “O people! Those who know me already know me. I want to introduce myself to those who do not know me. I am Abul Hasan Ash’ari. I used to say that the Quran was created, that Allah could not be seen by the eyes and that we committed bad deeds ourselves. I have repented and given up those thoughts. O people! I remained at home for a certain time and thought about the evidences about those thoughts. None of them sounded as preferrable to me. I asked Allah to guide me. He guided me related to these things, which I wrote. Thereupon, I have given up all those thoughts.”

3. The period from the age of forty to his death:

Having left Mu’tazila madhhab and continued his life in accordance with the creed of salaf, Ash’ari wrote a lot of books in about twenty-five years and spent his remaining life defending the creed of salaf. He gained a lot of supporters through his defense of Ahl as-Sunnah and became the founder and representative of the school of Ash’ariyya, which developed more after his death. Besides, according to a view, Ash’ariyya madhhab emerged as an antithesis to Mu’tazila.

According to Subki’s narration, Ash’ari who was known to have devoted his life to asceticism and taqwa along with science, performed the morning prayer (fajr) with the wudu he made for the night prayer (isha) for twenty years. (Subki, Tabaqatush-Shafi’iyya, 2/248).

Just ss there are different views about the year Ash’ari was born, so too are there different views about the year he died but according to the preferred view, he died in Baghdad in 324/936-37 suddenly.

It is written in some resources that the number of Abul-Hasan Ash’ari’s books is about three hundred; some of them belong to the period when he adopted Mu’tazila views. However, none of them has reached today.

It is possible to categorize Ash’ari’s books based on their topics mentioned in the resources as follows:

a) The books that are about the science of kalam and that targets rejecting Mutazila.

b) The books that reject philosophers, naturalists, atheists, Brahmans, Jews, Christians, etc.

c) Books of maqalat that give information about the views of Islamic and non-Islamic groups without rejecting their views.

d) Books written on Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh and other Islamic sciences (Bekir Topaloğlu, Kelam İlmi, 137).

It is possible to say something about Ash’ari’s books: It is known that there are two periods in his life. Which book belongs to which period? That question comes to mind. However, there is something known well: In many books Ash’ari wrote, he shows the wrongness and harmful parts of his previous madhhab and hence rejects what he wrote previously. Besides, the number of books that belong to Ash’ari and that has reached today is not very much; all of them were written in his last period. According to what Ibn Asakir (d. 571/1176) mentions, Ash’ari states in his book titled al-Umad the names of his books that he wrote until the year 320/935 and what they are about. (Subki, Tabyinu Kadhibul-Muftari, 135 ff)

We will list Ash’ari’s books in two groups here. First, we will mention his books that we have today and then will list some of his books whose names we learn from resources.

I. His Books That Exist Today:

1. Al-Ibana ‘an Usulid-Diyana: It is the book that he wrote first after rejecting Mu’tazila thoughts. He first summarizes the creed of salaf and then deals with other topics except prophethood. Along with its impressions without critical editions, its version with a critical edition by Dr. Fawqiya Husayn Mahmud was printed in Cairo in 1977. In that edition, the author added about 200 pages of extra information and explanations, which made the book more useful. The book was translated into English, German and French. It has not been translated into Turkish yet.  

2. Al-Lum’a fir-Reddi ‘Ala Ahliz-Zaygha wal-Bid’a: This book, written with a Kalam style, consists of ten chapters. It deals with the issues of kalamullah, will, qadar, Kader, ru’yatullah, wa’d, waid and imamah. There are various editions and translations of it. The critical edition that is used the most is the one prepared by Dr. Hamuda Ghuraba and printed in Egypt in 1955. This edition consists of 136 pages and was printed as a small size book.

3. Maqalatul-Islamiyyin: As it is understood from its name, this book is a book of Maqalat (essays). It mentions the views and structures of Islamic groups without criticizing them. It also mentions the subtle disagreements related to the topics of kalam, Allah’s names and attributes, and the views on the Quran. The critical edition of the book prepared by H. Ritter was printed in Istanbul in 1928 and 1933; several impressions of them were made afterwards.  

4. Risala fi Istihsanil-Khawd fil Kalam: The issues of nazar and istidlal are defended in this eleven-page booklet.

5. Risalatul-Iman: This booklet, which includes information on belief, was translated into German.  

6. Risala Kataba Biha Ila Ahl as-Saghr Bi Babil-Abwab: Ash’ari explains salaf creed in this booklet. This booklet was published by Kıvamuddin Burslân together with its Turkish translation. (İlâhiyat Fakültesi Mecmuası, Issue: 7, pp. 154-176; Issue: 8, pp. 50-108)

II. His Other Books:

In this group, we want to list the names of about twenty books that we learn from resources to belong to Ash’ari. The number of those books is given in various books and the names of about a hundred books are mentioned. (see al-Ibana, Dr. Fawqiya Husayn Mahmud Muqaddima pp. 38-71).

We will list twenty of them:

1. Kitabu fi Khalqil-Amal

2. Kitabu fil-Istitaa

3. Kitabu fi Jawazi Ru’yatullah bil-Absar

4. Kitabu fir-Raddi Alal-Mujassima

5. Kitabu fil-Jisim

6. Kitabu fil-Istihshad

7. Kitabu fir-Ru’yah

8. Kitabu fir-Raddi Alal-Falasifa

9. Kitabu fil-Imama

10. Kitabu fi Mutashabihil-Quran

11. Kitabu fi Af’alin-Nabi

12. Kitabu fihi Bayani Madhhabin-Nasara

13. Kitabun Kabir fis-Sifat

14. Kitabu Alad-Dahriyyin

15. Kitabur-Radd Ala Maqalatil-Falasifa

16. Izahul-Burhan fir-Raddi Ala Ahliz-Zaygh wat-Tughyan

17. ash-Sharh wat-Tafsil fir-Raddi Ala Ahlil-Ifk wat-Tadlil

18. al-Muhtasar fit-Tawhid wal-Qadar

19. an-Nawadir fi Daqaiqil-Kalam

20. Kitabu Tafsiril-Quran: It is said that it consists of seventy volumes.

Abdurrahim GÜZEL

First of all, we should say that anyone who has beauty and perfection wants to show his beauty and perfection. Allah willed to see and show His own beauty and perfection on the beings He created. He created the universe and the creatures for His names and attributes to appear in the universe.

Although everything was available in the divine knowledge pre-eternally, they needed to emerge and appear on reflecting mirrors of existence. That is only possible with the creation of beings.

For example; the creation of smiling flowers and plants needed to be created for His name “al-Jameel (the most Beautiful)” to appear. That makes the creation of the world necessary.

As for the question ““If Allah knows everything, why did He create the things He already knew in order to see them?”

We can summarize the answer as follows:

“Divine Determining (destiny) is a sort of knowledge. Knowledge is dependent on the thing known. That is, it knows it as it is. The thing known is not dependent on knowledge. That is, the principles of knowledge are not fundamental so that the knowledge directs the thing known with regard to its external existence. Because the essence of the thing known and its external existence look to will and are based on power. (Nursi, Sözler, 26. Söz, 2. Menba - The Words | 26th Word 2nd topic)

Divine Determining is only to know, i.e. something related to knowledge. This divine knowledge is related to the declaration and purpose of our will. That is, destiny knows it as where and how the slave will use his tendency and will. The slave does not use his will because destiny knows it.  If the action of the slave were not created, there would not be any knowledge about his doing it in his destiny.

Accordingly, the question “Why did He create the things He already knew in order to see them” is asked due to not understanding the issue fully. If the issue is understood fully and correctly, it will be clear that such a question will not be asked.

Allah knows what and how His slaves will desire and do with His pre-eternal knowledge. That is what we call destiny. If something is not going to happen, that is, if it is not going to be created, on what basis will it be knowledge?

Thus, the information of something exists because it will happen. If it is not going to be created, there will be no knowledge about its existence, but there will be knowledge about its non-existence.

For instance, suppose that a Muslim will perform the morning prayer tomorrow, and that Allah knows with His pre-eternal knowledge that His slave will perform that prayer with his free will. Allah's knowledge about it is relevant to that slave's performing the prayer. Such knowledge exists because he will pray. If we assume that the slave does not perform the prayer, and that prayer was not created, there would be no knowledge about his performing the prayer. For, the knowledge that he would perform the prayer was dependent on his performing the prayer. So there was knowledge that he would perform the prayer because he was going to do so.

Therefore, Allah's divine knowledge appear in accordance with how something is going to happen. If we suppose that that thing did not happen, there would be knowledge that it would not happen. If there is knowledge that something will happen, it is unthinkable that it will not take place and will not be created.

To sum up, to know beforehand how something is going to happen does not prevent it from being created; on the contrary, it increases the will to create it.   

For instance, if a person designs a beautiful painting in his mind, his enthusiasm to paint will increase. The enthusiasm and pleasure of a person who knows how to write poems is more than other people.   

He who does not know them will not want to do and write such things.   

Besides, creation is not only about seeing them, Allah's will to witness the manifestations of His names and attributes is in question. It is possible to understand this from the following sacred Hadith: “I was an unknown treasure and I wished to be known. So, I created the creatures.” (Ajluni, Kashful-Khafa II, 132 )

We should also remember that humans and jinn were created to worship Allah. “I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.”  (adh-Dhariyat, 51/56)

- For the relevant hadith, see Muslim, al-Musafirin, 771.

- According to what Islamic scholars state, the creator of both good and evil is Allah.  It is due to decency that evil is not attributed to Allah in the hadith. While praising Allah, it is not appropriate to attribute evil to Him. As a matter of fact, although Allah is the creator of all things, saying, "O creator of pig" is not permissible.

The scholars, who emphasize that Allah is the creator of everything and that it is a necessity of the belief of oneness, point out that the expression “evil is not attributed to You” in the hadith should be interpreted. So, they made different comments on the interpretation of hadith. It is possible to summarize them as follows:

a) No one will be close to You by doing a bad/evil deed.

b) Evil alone is not attributed to You. For example: It is not permissible to say, “O Lord of apes! O Lord of evil things!”

c) Evil does not rise to You. Only good words rise to You; righteous deeds make them rise to You.

d) Evil is not evil in terms of You/your wisdom. It is evil is in terms of creatures. (see Nawawi, Sharhu Muslim, 6/59, al-Ayni, Sharhu Sunani Abi Dawud, 3/368; Tuhfatul-Ahwadhi, Sharhu Sunanit-Tirmidhi, 9/267)

- However, there are many evidences that Allah is the creator of both good and evil. Some of them are as follows:

1) “Allah Who created you and whatever you do.” (Surah as-Saaffat, 37/96) It is stated in the verse above that Allah creates the deeds of people. Human deeds could be either good or bad.

As Ibn Taymiyyah and Sad Taftazani state, the expression of this verse rejects the understanding of Muʿtazila that attributes the creation of evil to man. (see Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, 13/531)

2) As Bayhaqi points out,

a) “Whether you speak secretly or openly—He surely knows best what is hidden in the heart. How could He not know His Own creation? For He alone is the Most Subtle, All-Aware.” (Surah Mulk, 67/13-14) In the verses above, it is stated that Allah knows all the secret or explicit words of people and it is emphasized that the creator of everything knows everything. Since evil is within the scope of Allah's knowledge, it must be accepted that it is Allah who creates evil too.

Moreover, what is meant in the expression of the verse " Whether you speak secretly or openly" is the words in the form of evil because people do not hesitate to reveal their good words, but they hide their bad/evil words.

Thus, it is clearly indicated in the verse that evil is also created by Allah. (see Ibn Hajar, ibid)

b) “He is the One Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.” (Surah al-Mulk, 67/2) It is emphasized in the verse above that it is Allah who creates death as well as life. Although death is something good for believers - in terms of its result -, it is itself evil. Allah also creates death which, which is also evil. (see Ibn Hajar, ibid)

c) “He created all things and has perfect knowledge of everything.” (Surah al-An’am, 6/101) In that verse, Allah praises Himself by stating that "He created everything and knows everything".

So, all of these issues with which Allah praises himself them are real. That is, Allah created everything just as He knows everything. (see Ibn Hajar, ibid)

3) Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak, from the evil of whatever He has created’ (Surah al-Falaq, 114/1-2) It is indicated in the verse above that the evils are also created by Allah.

As a matter of fact, Islamic scholars generally consider the concept of evil here as follows, “Hell, Satan/Iblis, or any evil that will happen in the world and the hereafter.“ (see Mawardi, Razi, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir,  interpretation of the relevant verse)

According to these three interpretations, the creator of evil is also Allah because Iblis/ Satan is -in a way- evil. Hell is - in a way - evil. The other interpretation is already clear. Allah has Satan and Hell.

- Members of Mutazila do not attribute evil to Allah in order to free Him from it, but on the other hand, they commit shirk (polytheism) by accepting other creators.

4) “Every soul shall taste death, and We will test you with good and evil by way of test, and to Us you will be brought back.” (Surah al-Anbiya, 21/35) It is indicated in the verse above that Allah creates evil.

The sealing of the heart is defined as a heart’s becoming hardened and blackened by unbelief and rebellion, making it unable to accept belief.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following:

“With every sin, a black spot occurs in the heart.” (see Ibn Majah, Zuhd, 29)

The following is stated in a verse:

“Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth...“ (an-Nisa, 4/48)

According to what we understand from the hadith and verse above, the biggest blackness that darkens the heart is shirk (polytheism), that is, associating partners with Allah. If a person advocates shirk and engages in a struggle with believers on the issue, the blackness in his heart gets darker and larger day by day. It envelops the whole heart. It becomes almost impossible for that person to accept belief and tawhid (oneness). As Nursi puts it, “He becomes incapable of reform and unreceptive to good.”

The verse in question was revealed about the polytheists (mushriks) who opposed the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and struggled against him. The complete domination of shirk in the hearts of those polytheists and leaving no room for tawhid is expressed as “sealing of the heart”.

Those for whom the door of guidance has been closed are the polytheists who reach that point. Otherwise, the door of guidance is closed for every person who commits sins, oppresses others, or engages in polytheism. Then, how can we explain the conversion of tens of thousands of people who used to worship idols to Islam in the Age of Bliss?

If the heart of every person who committed shirk had been sealed, no polytheist would have been able to embrace Islam. That is, those whose hearts are sealed are those whose return to tawhid has become impossible.

And they fall into that pit by misusing their own will.

We would like to mention a very important point briefly: In the Nur Collection, unbelief is examined in two parts: non-acceptance and denial. Regarding non-acceptance, that is, “not accepting the realities of belief” the following is stated: “It is indifference, a closing of the eyes to something, an ignorant absence of judgement.” In denial, on the other hand, it is a matter of advocating unbelief and trying to prove the wrong creed is in question. This second group is on the side of unbelief and fights against the people of belief. The sealing of the heart is generally in question for such people. We say “generally” because there are those who attained the right path and choose Islam among those people, though a few.

* * *
Not everyone knows that the heart is sealed. A person who conveys the message of Islam cannot act with that prejudice.

Even if a person exits Islam or is an unbeliever, it is possible for him to become a Muslim as long as he lives in the world.

- First of all, we should say that we cannot diagnose such issues in a certain way and present a cure as human beings.  "We cannot understand the reason for everything.”

- However, it is possible to state the following – with the consciousness of belief and meditation:

A person’s being successful or unsuccessful, things going well or badly for him can be evaluated from two viewpoints: 

Firstly, predestination of Allah, which holds the reign of everything.

Secondly, whether a person acts in accordance with the system of causes existing in the universe, each of which is a divine law, or not.

- We should believe that Allah’s grace exists behind the successful things that we do and that our souls exist behind the successful things that we do.

The meaning of it is as follows:

It is Allah who creates the good and the evil, the good deeds and the bad deeds.  

However, the power behind every success depends on the predestination of Allah. For, the existence of successful things is based on the realization of several causes, not one cause. It is impossible for man to control all of those causes. In that case, the real owner of that success is Allah, who is the creator and controller of all causes. It is He who creates the causes and who uses them.

The role of people is very important in the issues that we are unsuccessful. This role appears in two ways: material and spiritual:

Material role: A person not doing what he himself needs to do properly, not acting in compliance with the system of causes, not following the way that enables success, and taking similar wrong steps.

Spiritual role: Disrespect to Allah by disobeying His orders and prohibitions. The penalty for this disrespect sometimes occurs with this kind of negative things in this world. This penalty can sometimes occur as a warning and sometimes as a punishment.

“"Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!" If some good befalls them, they say, "This is from ALLAH"; but if evil, they say, "This is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from ALLAH." But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact? Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul. and We have sent thee as a messenger to (instruct) mankind. And enough is Allah for a witness.” (an-Nisa, 4/78-79)

This fact is underlined in the verse above.

- We, as human beings, have to listen seriously to those lessons given by the Quran.

We should not attribute the failure that is a consequence of our material or spiritual mistakes to the predestination of Allah in order to feel relieved. 

However, it is possible to console oneself by remembering the role of predestination in order to relieve one’s bad situation in the past.

“He who believes in qadar (predestination) gets rid of grief.” (Munawi, Faydul-Qadir, 3/187) 

The hadith above allows us to refer to predestination “related to the problems and misfortunes in the past”. 

However, to refer to predestination related to the plans and programs about the future is a non-Islamic understanding of predestination.

The existence of qadar (destiny/predestination) is definite based on the Quran, the Sunnah and the consensus (ijma) of the ummah.

The issue of qadar is indicated in the verses below:

“There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what Allah has indicated to him as a duty. It was the practice (approved) of Allah amongst those of old that have passed away. And the command of Allah is a decree determined.” (al-Ahzab, 33/38; see Tabari, Mawardi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the verse in question)

“Remember ye were on the hither side of the valley, and they on the farther side, and the caravan on lower ground than ye. Even if ye had made a mutual appointment to meet, ye would certainly have failed in the appointment: But (thus ye met), that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted; that those who died might die after a clear Sign (had been given), and those who lived might live after a Clear Sign (had been given). And verily Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).” (al-Anfal, 8/42; see Abus-Suud, Alusi, Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the verse in question)

“Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.” (al-Qamar, 54/49)

The word qadar (proportion and measure) mentioned in the verse above is interpreted as “qadar/predestination” by scholars. It is emphasized in verses 52 and 53 of the same chapters that this qadar is written as follows: “All that they do is noted in (their) Books (of Deeds): Every matter, small and great, is on record.” (see Shawkani, the interpretation of the verse in question)

According to what Ibn Kathir states, Ahl as-Sunnah scholars show the verses “al-Furqan, 25/2; al-Qamar, 54/49; al-A’la, 87/1-3” and similar ones as evidence that everything existed in the knowledge of Allah before they were created and as evidence for the existence of “qadar”, which means everything is recorded in Lawh al-Mahfuz (The Preserved Tablet). (Ibn Kathir, the interpretation of verse 49 of the chapter of al-Qamar)

The word “ajal”, which determines the lifespan of both individuals and ummahs, indicates qadar clearly.  (see Aal-i Imran, 3/145; al-Araf, 7/34; Yunus, 10/49, al-Hijr, 15/5; al-Muminun, 23/43; ash-Shura, 42/14)

The claim that qadar included in Bukhari and Muslim hadiths was added later by Umayyads has no scientific basis.

That the same sources accept the narrations that do not include “qadar” and do not accept those that include “qadar” is a subjective and arbitrary act of the soul.

For, as it is known by those who know hadith methodology, it is acceptable for reliable narrators to include something extra – different from other narrations. For instance, according to Imam Nawawi, the hadith narration reported by Ibn Masud accepted by Hanafi scholars related to the issue of tashahhud in prayer is the soundest one. However, that the word “al-Mubarakat” is mentioned as extra in the hadith narration accepted by Shafiis caused this narration to be accepted because this narration is also sound and “the addition by a reliable person” is acceptable. (see Nawawi, al-Majmu’, 3/457)

“QADAR” is mentioned in the Jibril hadith too:

Yahya Ibn Ya'mar narrates:

"The first person to speak about qadar (to say that qadar does not exist) (Khattabi, the explanation of the hadith) in Basra was Ma'bad al-Juhani. I set off with Humayd Ibn Abdirrahman al-Himyari for umrah or hajj. We wished to meet someone from the Companions and to ask him about the statements uttered by that person about qadar. God Almighty enabled us to meet Abdullah Ibn Umar in Masjid an-Nabawi. We approached Umar, one of us from the left and the other from the right. I guessed that my friend wanted me to speak and I started to talk:

"O Abu Abdirrahman! Some people emerged in our hometown. They read the Quran and try to deduce some very subtle issues." I added the following to describe their thought: "They claim that there is no qadar and everything happens on its own and that Allah does not know them beforehand." Abdullah said:

“When you happen to meet them again, say to them that I have nothing to do with you and they have nothing to do with me. Abdullah Ibn Umar completed his statement by strengthening it with a vow: ”I swear by Allah that if any one of them had with him gold equal to the bulk of the mountain Uhud and spent it in the way of Allah, Allah would not accept it unless he affirmed his faith in qadar.”

Then, Abdullah said, “My father Umar Ibnul-Khattab told me this. And he narrated the hadith known as the Jibril hadith. According to what is mentioned in that hadith, Jibril asked the Prophet (pbuh),

- "What is belief?" he answered as follows:

- "To believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His prophets, the Day of Judgment and in qadar with the good and evil." (see Muslim, "Iman", 1; Abu Dawud, "Sunnah", 15; Ibn Majah, "Muqaddima", 9).

Bukhari himself had a chapter called “Qadar” in his book. He proved the existence of qadar in that chapter through various narrations. We can give the following hadith as an example:

Abdullah ibn Umar narrates: “The Prophet forbade vowing and said, ‘In fact, vowing does not prevent anything (from qadar), but it makes a miser to spend his property.’“ (Bukhari, Qadar, 6)

A mind that has the consciousness of belief also witnesses the existence of qadar. For, belief in Allah includes believing in His names and attributes. One of Allah’s attributes is His infinite, pre-eternal knowledge. The existence of this attribute makes it necessary to encompass everything that happened in the past, is happening now and will happen in the future.  Qadar is a type of knowledge. In that case, to believe in Allah’s pre-eternal and infinite knowledge also means belief in qadar. Muslims believe that Allah knows everything that is in the past according to us, at present and in the future.

The meaning of Qada and Qadar

Qadar lexically means “amount, quantity and to do something based on a certain measure and to determine it”. As a term, it means “Allah’s, knowing, limiting and predestinating with His pre-eternal knowledge what will happen and when, where and how they will happen from pre-eternity to post-eternity”. Qadar, which is a concept related to Allah’s attribute of knowledge and will, expresses the divine law that arranges all beings and incidents in the universe based on a certain system and measure.

Qada, which lexically means “command, decree, ending and creating”, is God Almighty’s creating the things that He had willed and predestinated in pre-eternity when their times are due in accordance with His pre-eternal knowledge, will and predestination. Qada is a concept related to Allah's attribute takwin (creating).

Belief in Qada and Qadar

Belief in qadar and qada means belief in Allah's attributes of knowledge, will, power and creation. In other words, a person who believes in those attributes believes in qadar and qada too. In that case, to believe in qada and qadar means to believe that everything, goodness and evil, good and bad, hard and sweet, living and non-living, useful and harmful, occurs based on Allah's knowing, willing, power, predestination and creation, and that there is no creator other than Allah.

Everything that happened and that will happen in the world occur based on Allah's knowledge, will, predestination and creation. Everything has a qadar. Its meaning is as follows: Allah Almighty knows what humans will choose with their freewill where and how with His pre-eternal knowledge, that is, His absolute knowledge that is not limited with time and He wishes based on this knowledge; Allah determines based on this will and creates things in accordance with the choice of the slave when its time is due. In that case, Allah's knowledge is based on the preference of the slave; Allah's knowing something pre-eternally has no compelling effect on the will and choice of the slave.

In fact, people are unaware of the knowledge that Allah has about them and they act with their will without being under the effect of that knowledge in daily life. In other words, we do things not because Allah knows. He knows pre-eternally and absolutely that we will do those things. Allah created the slave as a being who chooses and is held responsible for what he chooses; He made the slave responsible for the commands and prohibitions. In addition, Allah Almighty determined a divine law that the deed would be created based on the choice of the slave.

Another point to be known about the issue of qadar is as follows: Qadar is a divine secret whose inside can be known only by Allah and that is not possible to solve absolutely and exactly. Human mind, which is subject to the concepts of time and space, does not have the power and talent to understand the divine knowledge, will and power, about which the dimensions of time and space are not in question. To try to solve the issue of qadar definitely for a person means to force his capacity and to demand what is impossible.   

To believe in qadar and qada are among the principles of belief. However, people cannot get rid of the responsibility by using qadar as an excuse. A person cannot commit a sin by saying, "Allah wrote it like that. That is my fate. Allah predestinated it like that. What can I do?" He cannot declare himself innocent after committing a crime and cannot present qadar as an excuse. For, such deeds were created by Allah because people preferred them. In addition, the inside of qadar, which is a secret, can be known by nobody but Allah.

Thus, it does not comply with Islam’s understanding of qadar to give up working by relying on qada and qadar, not to act in accordance with causes and not to take measures in order to attain a positive result or to prevent negative results. Allah attributes everything to some causes. If man acts in accordance with those causes, Allah will create the results (effects) of those causes. That is a divine law and qadar.   

Man’s deeds based on his will and their creation

a) Allah's will and man’s will

Will (iradah), which lexically means "to choose, to want, to turn toward, to prefer and to decide" is terminologically defined as "Allah's or man’s choosing one of the alternatives and determining it".

Allah's will is pre-eternal, infinite and boundless; it is not related to anything and it is absolute. Man’s will is finite, limited and related to things like time and space. Every incident and being that occur in the universe occur based on Allah’s will of creation. The slave chooses his deed within the boundaries determined for him by Allah. The slave’s being free means believing in his freedom and accepting that he is not under any pressure when he does a deed.  

Ash’aris and Maturidis, which are two important branches of Ahl as-Sunnah, basically hold the same view related to man’s will and the role of this will in deeds. However, Ash’aris calls Allah's will universal (general) considering that it encompasses everything; they wanted to distinguish it from man’s will by describing it like that. Maturidis call Allah's will divine and pre-eternal will and they use the terms universal will and partial will in order to describe the two aspects of man’s will. Universal will is the ability to choose to do or not to do something, given to the slave by Allah. Partial free will is the universal will’s turning toward one side actively. Therefore, Maturidis also name partial free will as final decision, choosing and turning toward.

b) Man’s will and its role in deeds

Man has a real freedom of will because he feels this reality inside him all the time and feels that he is free in what he does.

Allah Almighty determined and predestinated that man would be a being with a will and could do whatever he wished; He created man with the power to do so. Therefore, man has the power to do or not to do something based on his own request and will; he can choose one of them. Man deserves reward and penalty and is held responsible for certain deeds due to his free will.  

The free will of man has a role in the occurrence of a deed but the creator of deeds is Allah Almighty. Allah creates the deeds of the slaves related to will based on their will. Allah is not obliged to do so but He arranged the divine law called adatullah or sunnatullah, that is, qadar in this way. In that case, man chooses the deed and Allah creates it. Allah creates whatever the slave chooses and wills, whether good or bad. The slave has the responsibility since he has freedom to choose. If he does a good deed, he will be rewarded and if he does a bad deed, he will be punished.

There are verses indicating that man has a free will and that he will be held responsible due to that will:

"By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right." (ash-Shams, 91/7-8)

"We showed him the Way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will)." (al-Insan, 76/3)

"Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His Servants." (Fussilat, 41/46).

In that case, people should know their responsibilities as slaves of Allah, do good and righteous deeds and avoid wrong, bad, ugly and evil deeds; thus, they should try to attain nice rewards in the hereafter.  

c) The creation of man’s deeds

Man’s deeds are divided into two as obligatory deeds and voluntary deeds. Compulsory and reflex deeds like breathing, beating of the heart and digestion in the stomach are called obligatory deeds. Man’s will has no role in the formation of them. Therefore, man is not held responsible for those deeds.

The deeds that man makes based on free will like writing, sitting, standing, performing prayers or not performing prayers and doing good or bad deeds are voluntary deeds. Man is not under any pressure or compulsion in the formation of voluntary deeds. No matter what kind of deeds we do, it is Allah who creates both kinds of deeds since He creates us and what we do.  

According to Ahl as-Sunnah, since it is Allah who creates the deeds of the slaves based on their will, the attribute of creation cannot be ascribed to any being other than Allah. Therefore, it cannot be claimed that a slave creates his own deed. For the following is stated in a verse: "Allah is the Creator of all things..." (az-Zumar, 39/62). Man’s deed is also included in "thing". "Thing" means the concrete being. Then, the creator of man’s deed is Allah Almighty.

Accordingly, man chooses a deed with his free will and makes an effort; Allah knows with His pre-eternal knowledge what he will choose. He wills and determines based on that knowledge and creates it based on that will.  

d) Tawakkul (Reliance on Allah)

Tawakkul, which lexically means "to rely on; to depend on, to refer a task to someone else, etc., terminologically means "to depend and rely on Allah after taking all material and spiritual measures and leave the rest to Allah when there is nothing else to do."

For instance, a farmer first should plow the field on time and prepare it for sowing; then, he should spread seeds, remove the weeds and use pesticides; after that he should sprinkle fertilizer if necessary and then rely on Allah for good crops; he should expect the result from Allah. If a person does not do any of them and say, "Whatever is written in qadar will take place" is nothing but laziness; it does not comply with Islam’s understanding of tawakkul.

Tawakkul is a natural result of the Muslims’ belief in qadar. A person who practices tawakkul is a person who surrenders to Allah unconditionally. However, to believe in qadar and to rely on Allah do not mean laziness and sluggishness and they do not prevent working and development. For, every Muslim is aware of the fact that incidents take place within the framework of the divine system and laws and in accordance with cause-effect relationship. That is, crops are not harvested without sowing seeds. Treatment without medication is not in question. Allah’s consent and hence Paradise is not attained without righteous deeds. In that case, tawakkul means to work hard, not to forget that Allah is with us while working hard and to leave the result to Allah.

Allah Almighty states the following in a verse:  

 "... Then, when thou hast Taken a decision put thy trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him)." (Aal-i Imran, 3/159)

Thus, He orders believers to rely only on Him, not any other beings, and states that Allah is enough for a person who relies on Him. (see Aal-i Imran, 3/122, 160; al-Maida, 5/11; at-Tawba, 9/51; Ibrahim, 14/11; at-Taghabun, 64/13; at-Talaq, 65/3). When a Bedouin said, he relied on Allah by releasing his camel, the Prophet (pbuh) said to him,

 "First tie you camel, then rely on Allah." (Tirmidhi, "Qiyamah", 60)

Thus, he warned the Bedouin to take measures before tawakkul.

Hz. Umar gave the best answer to that question.  

Hz. Umar set off for Damascus. When he stopped somewhere to rest, he was informed that there was an epidemic in Damascus. He gave up his intention to go there and got on his mount to return. The people with him asked him, “O leader of the believers! Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?” He answered as follows:

“Yes, we are running from what Allah had ordained to what Allah had ordained. Do you not agree that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green one only if Allah had ordained that, and you would graze them on the dry one only if Allah had ordained that?” (Bukhari, Tibb, 30; Muslim, Salam 98)

So, it is also qadar to take measures in order to be protected from epidemics.

The answer the Caliph Umar gave to the question "Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?" is a clear analogy showing that returning does not mean changing what Allah had ordained but that acting cautiously is Allah's command. For, man has to avoid anything that harms and destroys him.

However, everything happens based on Allah's qada and qadar. Nevertheless, man will be held responsible by Allah if he does not take measures. Returning or not returning is included in what Allah had ordained.

Thus, all deeds of a person take place within the framework of qadar but it does not mean he should give up taking precautions and act unwarily.   

As a matter of fact, the Prophet (pbuh) states the following: 

"If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a country, do not go there; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place." (Bukhari, Tibb 30; Muslim, Salam 100)

Accordingly:

- It is necessary not to enter a place where there is an epidemic and not to exit such a place in order to escape from that disease. That is one of the important rules of our religion related to preventive medicine. It is called quarantine in modern medicine. 

- It is mustahab to consult scholars (scientists) and people with the feeling of responsibility related to the issues concerning a country and the people living there. It is necessary to act in accordance with the decisions that are made.

- It is permissible to make analogies and to act accordingly. 

- It is one of the duties of the administrators to avoid things that will cause the destruction of individuals and the society and to take precautions to prevent it.

- It is a necessity of our religion to act in accordance with the decisions that are made by a committee of experts and authorities related to the issues that affect public health like epidemics.

Belief in qada and qadar is the greatest remedy for man’s desperation, hopelessness and grief. Thanks to his belief in qadar, man sees the troubles and misfortunes he faces as the preordainment of Allah and consoles himself. Man consents to His preordainment. He feels that he is under the control of the Almighty Lord. Since he knows that troubles and misfortunes come from Allah, he takes shelter only with Him and prays only Him in order to be saved. He thinks that the trouble he is suffering will be kaffarah and a reason for forgiveness for him, and shows patience and endurance.

Therefore, the following adage is well-known. “He who believes in qadar becomes free of grief.” Belief in qadar relieves the soul of man of burdens as heavy as the world because man is in relation with the whole universe. His aims and desires, his ideals and targets are endless. However, his power, will and freedom are limited and constricted. Sometimes, he cannot realize even one in one thousand of his aims, desires, thoughts and ideas.

In this case, the unrealized desires, ideals and thoughts of man keep him under pressure, crush his spirit, and wring his heart and conscience. They make him hopeless. For such a person, belief in qadar is the greatest source of consolation, enthusiasm and effort, and a gleam of light; it is also a strong fulcrum that can carry the heavy burden on him. Qadar saves man from pride and conceit. It prevents the soul and ego from making man conceited and deviate from the right path, and making him like a Pharaoh. It makes man modest and humble. (Mehmet Dikmen)

***

Belief in qadar is the greatest source of peace for man. A true believer thinks that systems and rules which he sees both in his own body and in the universe are full of so much wisdom and that all of them result in mercy. He says “Everything is nice about qadar” and seeks for mercy and wisdom in everything that happens to him.

He does anything that is necessary both happiness in this world and afterlife and eventually trusts in Allah’s mercy and kindness, and finds peace. He does not feel sorry when he loses. He does not regret for the opportunities he missed in the past. He knows that saying “If it had been like that, it would not have been so” or “If it had not been like that, it would have been better” does not provide him with any benefits but just causes sorrow to his soul. He gets rid of the burden of the past off his back. He sets out to the future, having trust in Allah, and finds peace…

He does not boast about the boons, wealth and skills Allah has endowed upon him and does not behave arrogantly. He knows that everything that is good is a blessing from Allah, and finds peace…

What do those who do not believe in qadar suggest to humankind?

Do they suggest not working and spending days lazily? Or do they suggest depending on causes and then not consenting to outcomes and grieving? What do they expect from it apart from giving people sorrow? What a heavy burden they place on the back of poor people with a sensitive spirit and impatient body! Or is there something that they expect from the restless, aggressive and rebellious souls in order to realize their devastating goals?

(Prof. Dr. Alaaddin BAŞAR)

Good: Legitimate deed, useful deed. Good deed.  Evil: Bad deed. wrong.

Good and evil are from Allah. He is the one who creates the good and the evil. However, he consents to good, but not to evil. Moreover, what we call good and evil is about whether the deed is in accordance with Allah's orders and consent. That is, it is not related to the deed itself, but to its attribute.

That is to say, speaking, seeing, hearing, walking… They are all deeds. Allah is the creator of all those deeds, whether good or evil. If the deed is in accordance with Islam, it will be called as good; otherwise, it will be called as evil. Does a person who believes in the oneness of Allah not regard Him as the sole creator of all those deeds?

A person only desires to do something and uses his partial will to do it. And Allah is the creator of the outcome. If the truth is not accepted like that, the following contradiction will arise: When the same deed is good, it is created by Allah, otherwise... otherwise... How do we end the sentence?

Let us give only one example: Allah is the creator of the deed of seeing. The factory of eye belongs to Him. So does the factory of light... Moreover, He is the owner of all the visible things. So, no matter what a person looks at, it is Allah Who creates the deed of seeing. If the thing he looks at is halal, this glance becomes "good", if the thing he looks at is haram, it becomes "evil".

He is the creator of both good and evil.

No one knows what he will do tomorrow. Indeed, what a person will do in the future is regarded as ghayb (unknown). No one can say something definite about the future. One cannot say anything about what he will do tomorrow, whether something good or bad. This fact is pointed out in the Quran and the following is stated regarding a person’s decision to do something tomorrow depending on Allah’s will:

“Nor say of anything, ‘I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow’ without adding, ‘So please Allah (inshaallah)’” (al-Kahf, 18/24)

Man does things based on his own free will. However, if Allah Almighty does not bestow success and does not put causes under his command, he cannot do them. In other words, although man has a partial will, it cannot be certain that he will perform a task in the future. As a matter of fact, we decide to do something many times and we attempt it, but we cannot realize it. Therefore, man does not dominate the future. The time he has is the present time. It is also a very short ephemeral moment. The future is not in the hands of man. Therefore, he cannot know what good or bad things he will do in the future.

Yes, some of the work that a person will do depends on his own will. He can do the things that are based on his own free will. There are also many things that are not based on his will.

“It is not possible for man to know with certainty the things that he does not like; similarly, what he is determined to do often does not happen at unexpected times.” (Tecrid-i Sarih Tercemesi, 3/311)

There are many examples of the occurrence of an unexpected obstacle when we decide to do something and think we will certainly do it. It is stated with the tongue of the Messenger of Allah in the Quran that a person cannot know what he will face in the future:

“…Nor do I know what will be done with me or with you.” (al-Ahqaf, 46/9)

Elmalılı states that a person cannot have definite knowledge of what he will do in the future, whether good or bad things:

“Because the will of man is not a sufficient reason for the occurrence of something.” (Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, V / 3243)

Therefore, one cannot say with certainty what he will do tomorrow. The information, decisions and opinions he puts forward about what he will do tomorrow can be nothing but guesses; they cannot express certainty.

What a person will earn and how much property he will possess are certain in Allah’s knowledge. On the other hand, tawakkul (reliance on Allah) does not mean not to work. Tawakkul means to work in accordance with causes, take all necessary measures and then to consent to what Allah Almighty gives. Such a person lives in peace; he does not cause pain to his spirit by worrying about his livelihood. The following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) becomes a hope of source for him:

“If you relied on Allah truly, He would give you sustenance as He gives sustenance to birds.”

Tawakkul never prevents one from working and acting in accordance with causes. Allah Almighty states the following in the Quran:

“That man can have nothing but what he strives for.” (an-Najm, 53/39)

Once, a man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said, “Should I tie my camel and rely on Allah, or should I leave it untied and rely on Allah?” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Tie your camel and then rely on Allah.” (Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 60) Thus, he showed the criterion of tawakkul in the best way.

Time of death does not change. Some people claim that one’s lifespan can be lengthened and hence time of death can change acting upon the following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh):

“Sadaqah drives trouble away and lengthens life.” (see Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, III/63)

We should first say that whether sadaqah lengthens life or not, man is bound to die; it is known by the pre-eternal knowledge of Allah. From this viewpoint, the time of death and hence lifespan of a person is determined by Allah and it is impossible to change it. For instance, suppose that the life of a person lengthens with the sadaqah he gives for two years. Let us think that the lifespan of that person called ajal muallaq (suspended time of death) is fifty years if he gives sadaqah and forty-eight years if he does not. Allah Almighty determines his lifespan as fifty years because He knows that he will give sadaqah. That time of death does not change. 

The Prophet (pbuh) encourages believers to do charity with the hadith above and strengthens the bonds of love among them with sadaqah. Sadaqah’s driving trouble away is a grace and grant of Allah. We do not know what kind of trouble sadaqah drives away. We cause a lot of trouble to be driven away thanks to the sadaqah we give and charities we do. Those troubles, which we do not know because they do not take place are blessings for us; those blessings are expressed as negative blessings. The positive aspect of sadaqah is making believers attain good deeds and thawabs.

Taftazani, one of the great scholars of the science of kalam, explains sadaqah’s lengthening life from various viewpoints in his book called Sharhu Aqaid. He states the following regarding the issue:

“What is meant by lengthening life is making life blessed. Lengthening of human life, which is a capital for the hereafter in terms of good deeds and charity, means gaining more profits with that capital. Accordingly, the lifespan does not change but products increase through sadaqah, which means lengthening of life. Let us try to explain it with an example: Suppose that a tree yields four thousand fruits every spring. If Allah Almighty makes it yield eight thousand fruits instead of four thousand in one of the springs with His grace and grant, it means the lifespan of the fruit is spiritually lengthened for a year. Sadaqah is a means of increasing the productivity of man’s life. It lengthens lifespan in that sense.”

Taftazani explains the fact mentioned above as follows:

“Sadaqah increases the most important purpose in lifespan. It is attaining perfection with righteous deeds. For, people can make their souls perfect and attain bliss in both realms through righteous deeds.”

Another meaning of sadaqah’s lengthening lifespan is increase in sustenance and peace and tranquility in one’s life. 

Another meaning is as follows: Lengthening of life means the book of good deeds and charity of a person remaining open after his death. As it is known, along with wealth, sadaqah is possible through knowledge. The book of good deeds of a scholar who publishes a book that is useful for believers does not close. It means his life lengthens. Thus, a person who will continue doing good deeds and charities as he lives can do the same thing after his death; it means he is alive spiritually.

Since the opportunities given to people in the world are not equal, their responsibilities will not be equal. The life of every man is an independent book; and this book was written for the first time and last time since the world was established. Therefore, it is necessary to consider everybody together with their own conditions, various incidents that happened to them and through which they were tested. The decree made for a person might not be appropriate for another person. The same incident may elevate a person and demean another. What is good for a person may be bad for another. One can desire something that is hated by another.   

Everybody is tested based on their own conditions. What matters is not the difference among those conditions but to be able to pass the test. 

Justice and equality are not the same things. Equality means two things being the same in all aspects. Justice is defined as giving everybody their due and punishing the ones that are wrong.

Everybody will be questioned based on their conditions and the opportunities given to them. For instance, if a person who lives without being aware of Islam is regarded among the people of salvation if he knows – according to Ashari, even if he does not know - the existence of Allah by reasoning.

Gathering Place is awaiting people as a supreme court where even the rights of animals from people and other animals will be taken and even the rights of unbelievers related to Muslims will be reckoned.

That Absolutely Just Being, who weighs even the small rights among animals with delicate scales whose nature we do not know, will definitely judge people with His absolute justice.

Allah creates His servants in this worldly life with their free will, desiring them to be good and evil, believers and unbelievers, righteous and wicked based on their free will.

If He helps His good servant and prevents the evil of His bad servant, He will be like a teacher who allows cheating in the exam.

Due to some actions such as prayer and charity, Allah intervenes exceptionally (as a miracle or karamah), prevents evil and helps the good; but it is not the general rule.

As for your case, if He prevents the oppression of the woman (mother) in order to help you, that mother cannot be cruel even if she wants to, and cannot be bad even if she wants to; however, he who wishes to be good will be good and he who wishes to be bad will be bad; that is the rule.

Continue to be good and pray despite everything.

As for the person who is afflicted, this misfortune will ultimately be a mercy for that person. If he has sins, it will atonement for them. If he has no sins, it will be atonement for the sins he will commit in the future. In addition, the misfortunes that hit him may lead him to Paradise. In other words, Allah will treat His afflicted servant with His mercy and the rewards He will give will reduce that misfortune to nothing.

Since we do not know the low-down of the incidents, we immediately interpret a seemingly bad event as bad and object by asking why it happened and why it happened like that. We definitely do not ask for misfortunes and calamities but when they happen, it is necessary not to rebel, but to be patient and to thank Allah; it is necessary to say, “Both Your wrath and grace are nice” by thinking about the reward, which is the highest level of servitude.

The verses in question are as follows:

"Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight. We showed him the Way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will)." (al-Insan, 76/2-3)

Yes, man was created so that he would be tested. The phrase “We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight” in the verse includes the mind too as many scholars say. For, the most important way of obtaining evidence and true knowledge is through seeing and hearing. What makes seeing and hearing valuable is the ability to understand and reason. What distinguishes man’s seeing and hearing from animals is his mind and reason. (cf Tabari, Razi, Ibn Kathir, Baydawi, Mawardi, Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the verse in question)

The phrase “We showed him the Way” in the verse means giving man mind and reason, the feeling of ethics, conscience, which will warn him when he commits a bad deed, the feeling of belief in Allah, and the things that will enable him to continue living.

Accordingly, children who have not reached the age of puberty and mentally ill people are not subject to testing. The verb “nabtalihi = We (will) test” shows that the test will take place in the future after he reaches the age of puberty. (Mawardi, Ibn Ashur, ibid)

The decree about testing in this verse is general. Decrees are determined based on the majority. The exception of some individuals does not harm the decree. That is, the test of “human beings” is mentioned in the verse. That some human beings do not have the quality to be tested, for instance, some being mad and some dying as children does not harm the content of this general decree. The state of those who have not received the message of revelation is also an exception. Decrees are given based on the majority, not based on exceptions.

However, as it is understood from the expression of the verse, all human beings were created to be tested in principle. As a matter of fact, this decree is valid in the following verse

“I have only created Jinn and men, that they may serve Me” (adh-Dhariyat, 51/56)

and the following verse

“He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed.” (al-Mulk, 67/2)

Those who are not subjected to testing like children, mentally ill people and the people who are regarded as the people of interregnum are not at a loss - due to testing; on the contrary, they win because they do not risk failing the test, which is in question for others. 

Those who are subject to testing are subject Allah’s decree of divine qada (application of the law) and those who are not subject to testing are subject to the decree of divine ata (forgiveness).

The owner of the property has the right to do whatever he wishes in his property. The creation of the basic organs of human beings in a similar way shows Allah’s unity; every organ having a different structure from another shows Allah’s universal will. Similarly, it can be said that people’s being in different categories in testing and having different lifespans aims to indicate Allah’s universal will.

Let us have a look at what Allah says regarding the issue in the Quran:

Both a divine promise and a perfect prayer (dua):

“On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns.”

O believers! Pray as follows:

Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error!’

Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thou didst lay on those before us!

Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear!

“Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith!” (al-Baqara, 2/286)

The answer to the question, “Why are we being tested?”:

“He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving.” (al-Mulk, 67/2)

“I have only created Jinn and men, that they may serve Me!” (adh-Dhariyat, 51/56)

You will definitely be tested:

“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere!” (al-Baqara, 2/155)

“Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested?” (al-Ankabut, 29/2)

“Or think ye that ye shall be abandoned, as though Allah did not know those among you who strive with might and main, and take none for friends and protectors except Allah, His Messenger, and the (community of) Believers? But Allah is well- acquainted with (all) that ye do!” (at-Tawba, 9/16)

The answer to the question, “How will we be patient?”:

“O ye who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer; for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.” (al-Baqara, 2/153)

Glad tidings to those who remember Allah and His divine laws at times of calamity and when patience is needed:

“Those who patiently persevere say, when afflicted with calamity: ‘To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return’: They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.” (al-Baqara, 2/156-157)

If we listen to Allah with our hearts and with unwavering faith, without any doubt or suspicion,

If we surrender to Him and do what He asks of us,

If we attribute help to Him alone and humbly seek help only from Him,

We hope for Allah’s help to remove what we call misfortunes and calamities, but more importantly, we realize that the joys and sorrows of this ephemeral world are temporary, and that we should not be overly affected by either joy or sorrow, but rather concentrate on sowing the seeds here to reap the harvest in our true home, the hereafter.

Otherwise, the worldly life will distract us with its joys and sorrows;

“What is the life of this world but amusement and play? but verily the Home in the Hereafter,- that is life indeed, if they but knew!” (al-Ankabut, 29/64)

“Know ye (all), that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying, (in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children. Here is a similitude: How rain and the growth which it brings forth, delight (the hearts of) the tillers; soon it withers; thou wilt see it grow yellow; then it becomes dry and crumbles away. But in the Hereafter is a Penalty severe (for the devotees of wrong). And Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the devotees of Allah. And what is the life of this world, but goods and chattels of deception?” (al-Hadid, 57/20)

“O men! Certainly the promise of Allah is true. Let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah.” (Fatir, 35/5)

We think everything, even more than enough, has been explained in the Quran. Our duty is to be good servants of Allah, and definitely, to question ourselves with our own conscience, asking, “How worthy of Allah are we as His servants?”

“Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah. but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul…” (an-Nisa, 4/79)

As we mentioned earlier, the most important thing that will ensure our reliance on Allah and patience is strengthening our belief. In this regard, we must strengthen our belief – as long as we are alive – and to do this, we must primarily read the Quran, Quranic commentaries, and the works of scholars that strengthen our belief, learn our religion well, and certainly, teach it as we learn.