A Short Treatise On Removing

The Doubts Regarding Qadr Of Allah

(Predestination)
By al Liefy

18/1/2025
 ‫هَّٰلل‬
ِ ‫بِس ِْم ٱ ِ ٱلرَّحْ ٰ َم ِن ٱلر‬
‫َّح ِيم‬

What is Qadar?

Qadar is the belief that Allah Ta’ala decreed everything before their
creation as Allah Ta’ala knows everything. Allah says,

“All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Great, the Most High”
(al-Ra’d 13:9)

Allah also says,

ِ ْ‫ت َو َما فِى ٱَأْلر‬

١٦ ‫ض ۚ َوٱهَّلل ُ بِ ُكلِّ َش ْى ٍء َعلِي ۭ ٌم‬ ِ ‫قُلْ َأتُ َعلِّ ُمونَ ٱهَّلل َ بِ ِدينِ ُك ْم َوٱهَّلل ُ يَ ْعلَ ُم َما فِى ٱل َّس َم ٰـ ٰ َو‬

“Say, “Do you inform Allah of your faith, when Allah ˹already˺ knows
whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth? And Allah has
˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.””
(Surah al Hujurat 49:16)

So, Allah knows everything. Whether it’s in the present, past or future.
Allah has perfect knowledge of All things. This is one of the fundamental
beliefs of Islam, that is, we must affirm this attribute of perfect infinite
knowledge to Allah SWT as He has attributed to Himself.

But Allah SWT did not only possess the knowledge, He decreed the future
too as He willed. It’s in the hadith -

‫ ع َْن‬،َ‫ ع َْن ِإ ْب َرا ِهي َم ب ِْن َأبِي َع ْبلَة‬،‫اح‬ٍ َ‫ َح َّدثَنَا ْال َولِي ُد ب ُْن َرب‬، َ‫ َح َّدثَنَا يَحْ يَى ب ُْن َح َّسان‬،‫َح َّدثَنَا َج ْعفَ ُر ب ُْن ُم َسافِ ٍر ْالهُ َذلِ ُّي‬
‫ك لَ ْم‬ َ ‫ان َحتَّى تَ ْعلَ َم َأ َّن َما َأ‬
َ َ‫صاب‬ ِ ‫ك لَ ْن ت َِج َد طَ ْع َم َحقِيقَ ِة اِإل ي َم‬َ َّ‫ى ِإن‬ ِ ‫ قَا َل قَا َل ُعبَا َدةُ ب ُْن الصَّا ِم‬،َ‫صة‬
َّ َ‫ت ِال ْبنِ ِه يَا بُن‬ َ ‫َأبِي َح ْف‬
َ ‫ل‬ َ َ‫ْت َرسُو َل هَّللا ِ صلى هللا عليه وسلم يَقُو ُل‏"‏" ‏ نِإ وَأ َّ م خ‬ ُ ‫ك َس ِمع‬ َ ‫طَأ‬
ِ ‫ك لَ ْم يَ ُك ْن لِي‬
َ َ‫ُصيب‬ َ ‫ك َو َما َأ ْخ‬
َ ‫يَ ُك ْن لِي ُْخ ِطَئ‬
َ
‫س‬ "‫ ق اَ ربَ َوم اَذ َأكْتُ ق اَ ا كْتُ مَق اَد يِ كلُ َش ْى حتَّ تَق وُ اسلّ اَعَ ‏‏"‏‬.‫‏‬.‫ْالقَلَ َم فَقَا َل لَهُ ا ْكتُبْ ‏‬
َ ِ‫َت ى ر‬ ‫ْن‬ ‫ص ِه ى ه ه ي‬ ‫ر ا‬

Ubadah b. al Samit said to his son: Son! You will not get the taste of the
reality of faith until you know that what has come to you could not miss
you, and that what has missed you could not come to you. I heard the
Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬say: The first thing Allah created was the pen.
He said to it: Write. It asked: What should I write, my Lord? He said:
Write what was decreed about everything till the Last Hour comes. Son! I
heard the Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬say: He who dies on something other
than this does not belong to me.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4700, Sahih

According to this authentic hadith the first thing that Allah SWT did was
create the Pen. What did the Pen do? It wrote down the future of all that is
to come until the day of Qiyamah. Therefore, our fate till that day has
been decreed by Allah long before we came into existence.

Anything we do, for example, I am typing this now, you are probably
sitting in a chair or lying on your bed reading this. There is probably a fan
spinning above you, and there is probably a certain dust particle hidden
somewhere on your forehead. All of that had been predestined. Nothing is
outside the knowledge of Allah, and nothing happens outside of what
Allah has decreed for them.

This is the basic concept of Taqdir/Qadr.

However, now some doubts arise in the hearts of man.

The Doubt in Qadar #1

The first doubt is, Allah already knows everything. So why put us through
all this? In other words, what’s the point of anything if the result has
already been determined? Would you play a match if the result was
already decided?

The Doubt in Qadar #2

The second doubt is, isn’t this evil? Allah Ta’ala created some people
knowing what they will do in this life. Then, Allah will send some of them
to hell for eternity. Since Allah had decreed their future, it means while
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala could save them from hell, He instead decided
to send them to hell by deciding this future for the individual. For
example: If I played a match whose result was predetermined, wouldn’t it
be rude to scold me for losing the match? (You already knew that I would
lose and you could make me win. Instead, you made me lose yourself. In
other words, I lost because you wanted me to lose.)

The Doubt in Qadar #3

If there is any explanation for this, why does Allah keep it secret?

In reality, the three questions are related. So to know what you want to
know, you need to read the answers to all three of the doubts, inshaAllah.
Answer to Doubt #1

Allah SWT answers this question. First of all, Allah says,

٢ ‫ق ْٱل َموْ تَ َو ْٱل َحيَ ٰوةَ لِيَ ْبلُ َو ُك ْم َأيُّ ُك ْم َأحْ َس ُن َع َماًۭل ۚ َوهُ َو ْٱل َع ِزي ُز ْٱل َغفُو ُر‬
َ َ‫ٱلَّ ِذى َخل‬

“˹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 Mulk
67:2)

He is putting us through all this because this life is a test. He wants to see
who among us is the best in deeds, even though He knows who will be
the best in deeds.

Think of it like this. You are a teacher. You taught in a class. Now, you
have perfectly known which of your students understood your lessons
properly. You also know who will score highest in the exam if you take a
test. But if you give results only based on what you know, wouldn’t the
other students call you ‘unjust’? You did not even let them have the test.

Similarly, if you are going to hell, wouldn’t it be unjust to directly send

you to hell instead of allowing you to give the test first? After you have
given the test, and recognised that you have failed the exam, now you
understand that you are deserving to become a ‘failed student’. Or in the
other context, deserving to go to hell.

So the answer to “Would you play a match if the result was already
decided?” is yes! Would you rather not play the match and accept your
defeat which you have lost anyways or play the game and understand that
you would have really lost the game anyways? The question is deceptive.

Think about it with the example of the teacher again. If your coach
perfectly knew the outcome of the match, should you not play the match?
Will you say, “Coach, you already know whether I will win or lose. So why
does it matter?” and not play the game? Now if you lose the game will you
blame the Coach that you didn’t win because he knew that you are so
arrogant that you wouldn’t even play the game?

Notice how in this example you didn’t know that you would lose
beforehand. But your Coach knew. He probably gave you some advice on
how to not lose, but you ignored them and lost just as He knew. Is it your
fault that you did not obey the coach or the coach’s fault that you did not
obey him? In truth, you, by your own free will, chose to disobey your
Coach just as it was predestined for you.

We can summarise the answer to the first question like this, ‘It’s so that
we can’t say that we didn’t even have a chance. And that we don’t deserve
this.’

If this doesn’t convince you, the question is, but the Coach had the power
to not make me lose. Why didn’t he? So, the Coach is evil. Is that right?

This brings us to the second question.

Answer to Doubt #2

There are two ways to answer this. I find both of them valid.

First Approach: It is Allah who determines what is good or evil to begin

with. Our standards for morality cannot be trusted because our
knowledge is finite, and our understanding is limited. Thus, the only
objective standard to determine good or bad is the All-Knowing,
Unlimited entity since He has perfect knowledge of all possible
perspectives. So, only Allah can determine good or bad. And since Allah
says He is Just, whatever He does is good by necessity.

Look up divine command theory for further justification of this approach.

Second Approach: Certain ‘sensitive’ people try to sugarcoat the truth

regarding this. That is, Allah Ta’ala created some people to send them to
hell.

But the question is, how is that ethical?

Allah says,

ٌۭ ‫ت َو ْٱل ُكفَّا َر نَا َر َجهَنَّ َم َخ ٰـلِ ِدينَ فِيهَا ۚ ِه َى َح ْسبُهُ ْم ۚ َولَ َعنَهُ ُم ٱهَّلل ُ ۖ َولَهُ ْم َع َذ‬
٦٨ ‫اب ُّمقِي ۭ ٌم‬ ِ ‫َو َع َد ٱهَّلل ُ ْٱل ُمنَ ٰـفِقِينَ َو ْٱل ُمنَ ٰـفِقَ ٰـ‬

“Allah has promised the hypocrites, both men and women, and the
disbelievers an everlasting stay in the Fire of Hell—it is sufficient for
them. Allah has condemned them, and they will suffer a never-ending
punishment.”
(Surah at Tawbah 9:68)
Look at the verse. It explicitly confirms one thing. Them being sent to
hell is a ‘punishment’. So, we can refine the question now. Why did Allah
create some people just to punish them for eternity?

Now look, when is someone deserving of a punishment? The answer is

quite… simple. It is when the person is deserving of the punishment.

But how would these people become deserving of the punishment if they
did not do anything? Think of it like this.

Adolf Hitler is now 10 years old. After he grows up he will kill millions of
people, which we believe is evil. So, should we kill Adolf Hitler before he
grows up? In this case, that will be something evil too. Why would you kill
an innocent little boy? He has not committed any crime (yet).

Because he will commit the crimes in future, if we kill him now we will
save millions of people. But it will be unjust to him, because he doesn’t
know nor understand why he is deserving of getting killed.

The situation of the people who will go to hell is similar. Let's say, you will
go to hell. Because if you lived, you would have committed crimes so bad
that you would become worthy of going to hell. So will it be just to send
you to hell without even giving you the chance? No. You are deserving of
going to hell, after you have committed the crimes that make you deserve
that.

Let me put it in other words.

Allah created the dwellers of hell in such a way that they are already
deserving of going to hell (because they are people who will commit the
crimes if they live). But just as it would be wrong to kill the infant who
would become a bad criminal later on, it is ‘unjust’ to send the person to
hell before letting him understand that he is indeed deserving of going to
hell.

Having failed the test in this life, they will have no excuse remaining.
They will understand that they deserve to go to hell, as Allah knew, and
willed.

Why did Allah will/decide to send them to hell? Because they will commit
crimes. They are created as criminals. They are created in such a way that
they are deserving of getting punished.

Now the same question can be asked again. Why did Allah will/decide
that? The answer will be the same again. The true wisdom behind this is
known to Allah alone.
Answer to Doubt #3

The question is, Allah has the wisdom behind the wisdom of qadar. Why
does He not allow us to know it?

Well, first of all, Allah is not obligated to act according to your desires.
When Allah decided to create humans, the angels asked Allah that why
would Allah do so even though the humans will do this and that.

Allah narrates the story in the Quran,

ُ ِ‫ض َخلِيفَ ۭةً ۖ قَالُ ٓو ۟ا َأتَجْ َع ُل فِيهَا َمن يُ ْف ِس ُد فِيهَا َويَ ْسف‬
‫ك ٱل ِّد َمٓا َء َونَحْ ُن نُ َسبِّ ُح‬ ِ ْ‫ك لِ ْل َملَ ٰـِٓئ َك ِة ِإنِّى َجا ِع ۭ ٌل فِى ٱَأْلر‬
َ ُّ‫َوِإ ْذ قَا َل َرب‬
٣٠ َ‫ك ۖ قَا َل ِإنِّ ٓى َأ ْعلَ ُم َما اَل تَ ْعلَ ُمون‬ َ َ‫ك َونُقَ ِّدسُ ل‬
َ ‫بِ َح ْم ِد‬

“˹Remember˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to place a

successive ˹human˺ authority on earth.” They asked ˹Allah˺, “Will You
place in it someone who will spread corruption there and shed blood
while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?” Allah
responded, “I know what you do not know.”” (Surah al Baqarah 2:30)

Allah’s answer is: “I know what you do not know.”

While an understanding of the verse is that the answer was given later in
the Quran by teaching Adam AS names of everything and thus proving to
angels that Adam AS was worthy of becoming the khalifa by virtue of his
knowledge, the other understanding takes the answer of Allah by its face
value.
Allah has wisdom and knowledge that we do not. In fact we only know
what Allah allows us to know. When Allah did not allow the angels to
know the reasoning behind why Allah placed us as khalifa over earth, will
He allow us to know why He will place us in hell? Or in Jannah? Two
places that are of superior importance than earth?

Perhaps He will, when the time comes.

And perhaps, it is not the time. Perhaps it is better that we do not know.
Or perhaps, we would not be able to comprehend it.

The wisdom is unknown. Allah knows what we do not. And this is one of
such wisdom.

Allahu ‘Alam.

Salam. Inserting this message much later after I finished this. If something here seems
confusing, I urge you to read through it again and ponder upon it. I tried to keep the
explanation short and simple. That will help insha’Allah. You must be patient and
sincere in your willingness to understand. This is a famous question about Islam, and
actually, most religions. But only Islam has the perfect answer. This is the answer that
removed my queries, and insha’Allah it will remove yours too.
Our Lord has written a great story.
The Ideal Approach of the Muslims Regarding This Matter

In short, we must not delve deep into this matter. That will misguide us.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be

upon him, came to us while we were arguing about the divine decree.
Then, the Prophet became angry until his face was red, as if a
pomegranate were bursting from his cheeks. The Prophet said, “With this
I have commanded you? With this I was sent to you? Verily, the people
before you were destroyed when they argued over this matter. I am
determined for you not to argue over it.”

Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2133, Hasan

So, our duty is to believe in it. Allah has the wisdom behind it, and He has
kept it as a secret. So we must not probe into it. It is, a mystery.

Imam al Ghazali says,

“(it is) a mystery which puzzles the majority, and those who are granted
insight into it are prevented from revealing it. One may conclude that
good and evil have been decided, and what has been decreed is bound to
happen as it has been wished [by the Divine]. There is no objection to His
judgement or obstacle to His Decree (qaḍāʾ) and Command.”

(Iḥyāʾ ‘ulūm al-dīn, vol. 4, p. 200.)

And this quote of him I find, the most succinct summary of the discussion.
The Misguided Sects’ Opinion On Taqdir/Qadr

By misguided sect I mean the Qadriyyah and the Murjiah.

The Qadriyyah believe that there is no qadr while the Murji'ah believe that
there is no free will.

The Qadriyyah have taken the matter of qadr in such a way that it doesn’t
really bind us and decide our fate. Instead, we have free will to do
everything and qadr is just a record.

Again, the Murji’ah believe that the qadr is so binding that we have no free
will. Therefore they think that their actions don’t really matter (it is all
decided by God and God will guide us however He wants).

Both of these groups are heretics according to the opinion of Ahlus

sunnah wa’l Jama’ah.

Islam is in the middle of these two extremes.

Allah has decided our fate. But we, by our free-will reach that fate. It is
rightly said that over our will is the Will of Allah. So we do have free-will
but we are also bound by qadar. May Allah allow us to have the correct
understanding of Islam.

Lastly, here’s a naseeha. We must always look between the two extremes,
because that is where Islam is.

“And so We have made you ˹believers˺ a middle community so that you

may be witnesses over humanity and that the Messenger may be a witness
over you…”

(Surah al Baqarah 2:143)

May Allah strengthen our Iman and keep us steadfast in the straight path.
May Allah allow us to become martyrs in His path. May Allah allow us to
become residents of Jannatul Firdaus.
Amin.

Finished at 10:37PM; 18/1/2025