SOME BENEFITS OF BELIEF IN DIVINE PREORDAINMENT
1.
Contentment, firmness in Faith, and hope of compensation.
Allah said: "No calamity befalls, but with the Leave
[i.e. Decision and Qadar (Divine Preordainments)] of Allah …. "
(V. 64:11)
Ibn Abbas r.a. said: His
Leave or Permission means His Command and Decree.
And Allah said:
" … And
whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart [to the true Faith
with cretainty, i.e. what has befallen him was written for him by
Allah from Qadar (Divine Preordainment)] … " (V.
64:11)
Ibn Kathir said in his commentary:
"It means that when a person who is beset by misfortune and
knows that it occurred by the Order and Decree of Allah, remains
patient, seeking thereby reward, in submission to Allah's Decree.
Allah guides his heart, and compensates him for his heart to
conviction in Faith; he knows what occurred to him was unavoidable,
and what did not occur, could not have occurred. Alqamah said:
It refers to a man beset by a calamity and he knows it is from
Allah.
2. The expiation of sins. The Prophet
s.a.w. said:
"A believer is not beset by
any hardship or fatigue or illness or grief or even worry except that
Allah will expiate thereby his sins." (Agreed upon).
3.
Great reward. Allah said: " … and give
glad tidings to the patient ones.
Who,
when afflicted with calamity, say: ' Truly! To Allah we belong
and truly, to Him we shall return'. They are those on whom are
the Salawat (i.e. blessings etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and
will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive
His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones."
(V.2:155-157)
4. Self-contentment. The Prophet
s.a.w. said:
"If you are satisfies with
what Allah has apportioned for you, you will be the wealthiest of
people." (Ahmad and Tirmidhi)
He
s.a.w. also said: "To be well off is not through
possessing of transitory goods rather true well-being comes from a
contented soul." (Agreed upon).
We see that many who possess massive wealth are not satisfied with
what they have, they are disturbed, their souls are impoverished;
whereas one whose material possessions are few yet is content with
what Allah apportioned for him after his efforts, he is a satisfied
soul.
5. Lack of happiness and grief. Allah
a.w.j. said: "No calamity befalls on the earth or in
yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh
Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is
easy for Allah. In order that you may not be sad over matters
that you fail to get, nor rejoice because of that which has been
given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters."
(V. 57:22,23)
Ibn Kathir said: Don't
act haughty towards people because of what Allah has blessed you
with, because it didn't come to you through your affort, but by the
Decree of Allah and so don't take the blessings of Allah arrogantly
and wantonly and He is your Sustainer.
Ikramah said: There is none who does not get happy or sad.
Hence make your happiness gratitude, and your grief patience.
(See Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 4/314).
6. Courage and
boldness. The person who believes in Qadar becomes bold, and is
not in awe of anyone except Allah, because he knows his life span is
preordained and what whatever he misses could not have occurred to
him and what happened to him could not have been avoided, and that
victory comes with patience, and that after every affliction there is
relaxation and along with hardship comes ease.
7. No
fear of the harm of human beings. The Prophet s.a.w. said:
"And know that if the whole world were to join hands in order to
benefit you with something, they couldn't benefit you except by what
Allah already wrote for you. And if they join together to harm
you, they wouldn't be able to harm except what Allah has ordained or
you. The pens are lifted and the ink has dried on the pages (of
the Preserved Tablet)." (Tirmidhi)
8.
No fear of death. The following is the import of the couplets
attributes to Ali r.a.:
"Which of my two
days will I flee from death ?
The day it
was not decreed or the day it was decreed ?
The
day it was not decreed, I fear it not and from what is written, even
the cautious will not escape."
9. No remorse for what
has missed. The Prophet s.a.w. also said:
The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than a weak
believer, though both are good; word hard for that which is
beneficial for you and seek Allah's help, and do not give up.
If you are stricken by misfortune do not say: 'If only I has done
differently …", rather say: 'That is what Allah decreed, He
does as He wills." 'If only' opens the door to Satan's
works." (Agreed upon).
10. Good is in what
Allah has decided. We can understand this by an example:
If a believer's hand is wounded, he should praise Allah that it
wasn't fractured; but if it got fractured, he should praise Allah
that it wasn't cut off, or that he didn't fracture his back which is
more serious. Once a businessman was waiting for a plane to
close an important business deal. When the Adhan was called for
Salat, he went for Salat (prayer). When he came back, the plane
has already departed, so he sat down, sad about missing it.
Shortly after that the news came that the plane had caught fire in
mid-air. He prostrated in gratitude to Allah for his safety
as a result of being delayed by Salat and he remembered
Allah's Statement:
"… and it may be
that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you
like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but
you do not know."
(V.2:216).
DO NOT USE FATE AS AN EXCUSE
A Muslim
must have the belief that all that is good and bad exists by Allah's
Decree, Knowledge and Will. But at the same time every person's
actions of good and evil, happen by his own choice. The
observation of Allah's Commands and Prohibitions are mandatory on
believers and it is not lawful to disobey Allah and then say: "That's
what Allah decreed for me." Allah sent His Prophets and
revealed to them His Books to make clear the path of happiness and
misery, and blessed the human being with faculty and the ability to
think. He made known to mankind the difference between guidance
and error. Allah a.w.j. said: "Verily, We showed him the
way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful."
(V.76:3)
So if a person abandoned Salat or drank liquor, he
deserves the penalty for his transgression against Allah's Order and
Prohibition and he must repent and regret for it. He will not
get off by using Qadar as an excuse.
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