How Should Predestination and Free Will Be Understood Together?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
How should the hadith in Sahih Muslim 2650 about predestination be understood? It seems to imply that everything happens because it was written in the Preserved Tablet, which suggests that humans have no free will.
How does this hadith align with the belief that Allah wrote everything because He knows it will happen, not that it happens because it was written?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Allah’s eternal knowledge and will do not negate human free choice. Allah knew and knows what each person will choose, and His divine decree (qadar) is based on that knowledge, not force. What unfolds and occurs over time is known to Allah, but we make real choices during our lives and are judged on those choices.
Qadar and Qada’
Qadar is the action of Allah, the determination of destiny in exact, foreseen, due measure, the blueprint of all events as known and determined by Allah.
Qada’ is event-based. It occurs when what has been decreed becomes reality in time, space, and causality.
Hadith in Question
Abu Aswad (Allah be pleased with him) reported that ‘Imran ibn Husayn asked him,
“What is your view of what the people do today in the world, and strive for, is it something that had already been decreed for them and had passed over them from the previous divine decree, or is it something they will encounter in the future as a result of what their Prophet brought to them, after the proof has been established against them?”
I said: “Of course, it is something which is predetermined for them and preordained for them. He (further) said: Then, would it not be an injustice (to punish them)? I felt greatly disturbed because of that, and said: Everything is created by Allah and lies in His Power. He would not be questioned as to what He does, but they would be questioned; thereupon, he said to me: May Allah have mercy upon you, I did not mean to ask you but for testing your intelligence.
Two men of the tribe of Muzayna came to Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace). They said: “O Allah’s Messenger! What is your opinion of what people do in the world and strive for? Is it something that had already been decreed for them and had passed over them from the previous divine decree, or is it something they will encounter in the future as a result of what their Prophet brought to them, after the proof has been established against them?
Thereupon, he said: “Of course, it happens as it is decreed by Destiny and preordained for them, and this view is confirmed by this verse of the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious: ‘And by the soul and (the One) Who fashioned it, then with ˹the knowledge of˺ right and wrong inspired it!’ [Quran, 97, 7-8]” [Muslim]
Everything Belongs to Allah
Injustice (zulm) means taking or using someone else’s property. Since everything belongs to Allah—He created it and owns it—He cannot be unjust. Allah is beyond wrongdoing, as the Quran says:
“He is not questioned about what He does” [Quran, 21:23]
Even if everything happens according to divine decree, it does not mean humans are forced in a way that eliminates responsibility. Human beings still make choices (kasb) for which they are rewarded or punished. The relationship between divine decree and human choice is ultimately beyond human understanding; however, both exist simultaneously, and Allah knows best. [‘Usmani, Takmilat Fath al-Mulhim]
In Islam, Allah’s eternal knowledge and will do not negate human free choice. Allah already knows what every person will freely choose, and His decree is based on that timeless knowledge, not on compulsion. Pharaoh (Fir’awn) was not forced to disbelieve; instead, Allah eternally knew and willed the world in accordance with Pharaoh’s own freely chosen actions. Thus, divine decree and human accountability coexist without contradiction.
The difficulty arises only because we perceive time in a humanly limited way. Allah is not bound by past, present, or future. He created time and is outside it. All events of creation are equally present to Him; His knowledge never increases or changes. What unfolds for us gradually is already known to Allah eternally, yet we still choose within our lifetime and are judged on those real choices.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. Insha’Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.
Related
- Free Will and the Divine Decree: A Reader
- Destiny and Human Responsibility in Islam
- Divine Decree, Contentment, and Lessons From the Prophet’s Life
- Can Supplication Change Destiny?
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Currently, he resides in the UK with his wife and is interested in reading and gardening.
