The Meaning of Belief in Divine Decree (Qadar) — Its Good and Its Evil
The meaning of Qadar (divine decree) in the narration reported from the Prophet ﷺ is:
“Faith is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and that you believe in divine decree (Qadar), both its good and its evil.”
The good decree refers to things such as:
health and well-being in oneself, family, and children; long life; abundance of provision; rainfall and fertility; the soundness of fruits; security; comfort; peace of mind — and all other similar blessings.
The evil decree refers to things like:
death, sickness, fear, poverty, loss of crops, scarcity of rain, infertility of the land, corruption of fruits, financial hardship, anxiety, distress, and other such afflictions.
However, the meaning of “Qadar, its good and its evil, from Allah” does not mean that wrongdoing, adultery, sodomy, cheating, lying, breaking promises, betraying trusts, disbelief, polytheism, and all other sins are from Allah.
This is not part of the divine decree that must be believed in. Exalted is Allah far above such a notion.
It is not permissible to commit immoral acts and then say, “This is from Allah and by His decree.”
Rather, it is we who disobey by our own choice, acting from our own selves. We are the ones responsible for our disobedience. Allah, exalted be He, is free from what we do; He does not approve of disbelief for His servants, nor does He love corruption.
As He says:
“Indeed, Allah commands justice, kindness, and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and transgression.”
(An-Nahl 16:90)
And He also says:
“Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due, and when you judge between people, to judge with justice.”
(An-Nisā’ 4:58)
Furthermore, there is nothing in the Book of Allah to indicate that the commission of sins is by the decree of Allah.
Rather, Allah says:
“Say, nothing will befall us except what Allah has written for us.”
(At-Tawbah 9:51)
He does not say, “What Allah has written against you.”
How excellent is the saying of one who said:
“Whatever you seek forgiveness from Allah for — that is from you; and whatever you praise Allah for — that is from Him.”
There is a clear difference between ‘what befalls us’ and ‘what you befall’.
In a narration reported by Imām Abū Ṭālib (peace be upon him) and also by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ from the Prophet ﷺ, it is stated at the end:
“Whoever finds good, let him praise Allah; and whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.”
Thus, the one responsible for committing sins is the human being himself, and divine decree and predestination have no involvement in such actions.
In another ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ, it is said:
“And evil is not to be attributed to You.”
Narrated by Muslim.
Therefore, it is impermissible to ascribe evil to Allah, the Exalted.
We seek refuge in Allah from a people whom Satan has overpowered, making them his followers — they call with his call, beautify the disobedience of the Most Merciful, and make obedience to the accursed devil seem easy.
You will see them at times saying that intercession is for those who commit the most destructive sins, attributing this to the Prophet ﷺ — far be he from that!
At other times, they claim that the Prophet said:
“Whoever says lā ilāha illā Allāh (there is no god but Allah) will enter Paradise, even if he steals or commits adultery,”
and that the people of this statement will never abide eternally in Hell.
Then you see them exonerating themselves and even Satan from their own sins — while claiming these acts are from their Lord, who allegedly created them, willed them, decreed them, and predestined them.