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The Islamic Worldview

Explain qadr

Conclusion

Qadr is the Islamic belief that Allah has complete prior knowledge of, and has predetermined and recorded, everything that will happen — good and evil, great and small — before creating it; nothing occurs outside this decree. A Muslim is required to affirm this as part of iman and submit to it, while still acting, striving and taking ordinary means, since the decree describes what will occur rather than forcing a person's choices, and leaves room for genuine responsibility.

Sources

Qur'an & Tafsir

Summary

The Qur'an teaches that Allah created and measured everything, and that nothing — including calamities — happens except as already recorded in a Book before creation; this decree is paired with commands to trust Allah. Q1T1Q2T2Q3

Key points

  • "We have created every thing according to (Our) predestination": classical tafsir explains qadar here as both the wise measuring of every created thing and, per most commentators, Allah's predetermination (taqdir) known and decreed before creation. Q1T1
  • "No calamity befalls the earth or your own selves, but it is (pre-destined) in a Book before We bring it into being"; the tafsir calls this clear evidence against the Qadariyyah, who denied Allah's foreknowledge and decree. Q2T2
  • "Allah has set a measure for every thing" is tied to trusting Allah (tawakkul): "whoever places his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him." Q3

References

  • Q1Al-Qamar 54:49 · The Moon
  • Q2Al-Hadid 57:22 · The Iron
  • Q3At-Talaq 65:3 · The Divorce
  • T1Maarif-ul-Quran on 54:49
  • T2Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 57:22

Sunnah

Summary

Hadith make belief in qadr — both its good and evil — one of the six articles of iman, and teach that although deeds are already recorded by the Pen, each person is nonetheless "facilitated" toward what he was created for. H1H2

Key points

  • In the hadith of Jibril, faith (iman) is defined to include belief "in the Divine Decree about good and evil"; Ibn Umar declares he has nothing to do with those who deny qadr, saying even charity equal to Mount Uhud would not be accepted from such a person. H1
  • Asked whether deeds fall under what is already decreed or what is yet to come, the Prophet said it is what the Pen has already recorded, "and each person is facilitated for what he has been created," reconciling decree with personal effort. H2

References

  • H1Sahih Muslim 93 · The Book of Faith
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih Muslim)
  • H2Sunan Ibn Majah 91 · The Book of the Sunnah
    Authenticity
    • Sahih Al-Albani
    • Sahih Muhammad Fouad Abd al-Baqi
    • Sahih Zubair Ali Zai

Hanafi Fiqh

Summary

Hanafi-linked fatwas define taqdir as Allah's complete prior knowledge and decree of all the good and bad that befalls a person, to which a believer must submit, while stressing that this decree describes rather than compels what happens, so ordinary effort and worldly means remain required. F1F3F4

Key points

  • Taqdir means every good and bad that afflicts a believer comes from Allah, who has prior knowledge of it; one should submit fully to His decree. F1
  • Quoting Imam Abu Hanifa's Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, nothing occurs except through Allah's will, knowledge and decree as written in the Preserved Tablet, "yet His writing entails descriptions, not commands" — decree is knowledge-based, not compulsion. F3
  • Because people still work, eat and take precautions in worldly life while trusting in decree, a Muslim should likewise follow religious commands without needing to know the decreed outcome in advance. F4

References

  • F1For the past weeks i have religious dreams which i end up crying in every - IslamQA · islamqa.org
  • F3Qadr (Predestination) - IslamQA · islamqa.org
  • F4Allah's Knowledge of Our Choices: Predestination or Free Will? - IslamQA · islamqa.org

Hanafi ijtihadFrom the Hanafi fatwas cited

What the evidence establishesBelief in qadr — that Allah has complete prior knowledge of, and has decreed, everything good and evil before it occurs — is established as qat'i (definitive) and forms part of iman itself; it is a matter of creed rather than a practical fiqh ruling carrying a hukm like wajib or haram. Only outright denial of it is treated, per the tafsir, as taking one outside Islam.

Legal reason (ʿillah)Imam Abu Hanifa, in Al-Fiqh al-Akbar as quoted in F3, gives the reasoning that Allah's decree and writing in the Preserved Tablet are descriptions of what will occur, not commands compelling it — this is offered as the reason decree does not erase human choice and accountability. F3

  1. The Qur'an

    Repeated general verses stating that Allah created and measured everything and recorded all events, including calamities, before creation are qat'i (definitive) as to the existence of a universal divine decree covering everything. Q1Q2Q3

  2. The Sunnah, graded by transmission

    A Sahih hadith listing belief in decree — both good and evil — among the six articles of iman is treated as doctrinally binding rather than merely probable, reinforced by the Companions' severe treatment of its denial; a second Sahih hadith reconciles prior decree with each person being "facilitated" toward what he was created for, preserving room for individual action. H1H2

  3. Consensus (ijma')

    The tafsir records that Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a hold affirmation of qadr as a settled article of faith: outright denial removes one from Islam, and distorted denial makes one a sinner (fasiq). T1

The Hanafi method — its sources in the order the school consults them — applied to the evidence above.

Expert Opinions

Summary

Expert Opinions present two classical Sunni attempts to reconcile total divine decree with human responsibility: Al-Ghazali's occasionalism, where God alone truly causes events and humans merely "acquire" (kasb) their acts, and Ibn Taymiyyah's secondary causality, where God as first cause grants creation real causal power. N1

Key points

  • Expert Opinions argue Quranic and Hadith language about rain producing fruit and guidance supports Ibn Taymiyyah's model of real secondary causes over Al-Ghazali's occasionalism. N1
  • It closes by asking where the divine plan ends and genuine human responsibility begins, even under Ibn Taymiyyah's view, since human choices remain links in a chain traced back to God. N1

References

  • N1Free Will vs Causality · Personal Awareness

The decree describes what will occur rather. please explain

Conclusion

Qadr is Allah's prior knowledge and writing of what will occur, but this record describes rather than compels: only deeds done through real intent and choice are attributed to a person and judged, and the Prophet's answer to "why act if destiny is fixed" was to act, because everyone is facilitated toward what he intends. Scholars add that the decree can never be invoked to excuse a sin, and that Allah decrees even sinful acts to occur while remaining displeased with them, keeping reward and blame intact.

Reflection & guidance

  1. Meaning

    The decree is prior knowledge already written down — "the pens are lifted and the pages are dried" — rather than a force exerted on a person at the moment of choice; only deeds done with intent and choice are what a person "earns" or "incurs" and so are judged. H1Q5T5

  2. Guidance from the Qur'an

    The Qur'an treats each person as a real chooser — "whoever wills, let him believe; whoever wills, let him disbelieve" — while placing that will within Allah's own will, "you cannot intend unless Allah wills"; the reader is called to exercise genuine intention rather than treat the decree as removing choice. Q4T4Q1Q2T1T2

  3. Guidance from the Sunnah

    When asked why act if fate is already fixed, the Prophet did not say choice is meaningless; he said to act, because everyone is facilitated toward what he intends and toward what he was created for — guidance to keep striving rather than fall into fatalism. H6H7

  4. Guidance from the scholars

    Ibn Hajar reports that a person may never cite the prior decree to excuse a sin they commit; Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, citing Sharh al-Sunnah, adds that Allah decrees even evil deeds to occur while remaining displeased with them, so blame and reward attach to the deed as the person's own. C5C6

Sources

Qur'an & Tafsir

Summary

The Qur'an addresses each person as a real chooser — "whoever wills, let him believe; whoever wills, let him disbelieve" — while also affirming that no one wills to go straight except that Allah wills it, and that only deeds done with intent and choice, not involuntary ones, are held to account. Q1Q2Q4Q5T1T2T4T5

Key points

  • At-Takwir 81:28-29 pairs a real call to "go straight" with the reminder that no one wills it except by Allah's will; Al-Jalalayn reads willing to follow the truth as possible only because Allah wills it. Q1Q2T1T2
  • Al-Kahf 18:29 lets each person choose belief or disbelief, which Ibn Kathir reads as a stern warning tying real consequence (the Fire prepared for wrongdoers) to that choice. Q4T4
  • Maarif-ul-Quran explains 2:286 as holding a person to account only for voluntary deeds done with intent and choice, not for involuntary ones that simply occur without volition. Q5T5

References

  • Q1At-Takwir 81:28 · The Overthrowing
  • Q2At-Takwir 81:29 · The Overthrowing
  • Q4Al-Kahf 18:29 · The Cave
  • Q5Al-Baqarah 2:286 · The Cow
  • T1Al-Jalalayn on 81:28
  • T2Al-Jalalayn on 81:29
  • T4Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 18:29
  • T5Maarif-ul-Quran on 2:286

Sunnah

Summary

When questioners objected that destiny was already fixed, the Prophet did not tell them to stop acting; he told them to act, because everyone is "facilitated" toward what he intends and toward what he was created for — the decree working through a person's own choices rather than around them. H1H6H7

Key points

  • Ibn Abbas reports the Prophet teaching "the pens are lifted and the pages are dried" — the decree is already recorded, not something enacted at the moment of choice. H1
  • Asked what use good deeds are if the pens have already dried, the Prophet answered: "Act, for everyone is facilitated what he intends to do." H6
  • The Prophet said acts are "facilitated in that which has been created for him," then recited a verse tying ease toward good or evil to a person's own giving, guarding and belief. H7

References

  • H1Jami At Tirmidhi 2516 · Chapters on the description of the Day of Judgement, Ar-Riqaq, and Al-Wara'
    Authenticity
    • Sahih Ahmad Muhammad Shakir
    • Sahih Al-Albani
    • Hasan Sahih Bashar Awad Maarouf
    • Isnaad Hasan Zubair Ali Zai
  • H6Sahih Muslim 6735 · The Book of Destiny
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih Muslim)
  • H7Sahih Muslim 6731 · The Book of Destiny
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih Muslim)

Hadith Commentaries

Summary

Ibn Hajar reports that the prior decree may never be cited to excuse a sin, and Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi (quoting Sharh al-Sunnah) explains that Allah decrees even sinful acts to occur while remaining displeased with them and promising punishment for them — so reward and blame stay attached to the deed as the person's own. C1C5C6

Key points

  • Al-Mubarakfuri explains "the pens are lifted and the pages are dried" as everything already inscribed in the Preserved Tablet with nothing further written afterward — a metaphor for the decree preceding events, not a live compulsion at the time of acting. C1
  • Ibn Hajar reports that no one may say to someone who blames them for a sin such as murder, adultery or theft, "this was already decreed for me before I was created, so you have no right to blame me" — the decree is not a licit excuse for sin. C5
  • Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, quoting Sharh al-Sunnah, states that Allah is the Creator of the servants' deeds, good and evil, all by His decree and will, except that He is pleased with faith and obedience and displeased with disbelief and sin — which preserves the basis for reward and blame. C6

References

  • C1Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi on Jami' al-Tirmidhi 2516 · al-Mubarakfuri, vol. 7 p. 184
  • C5Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari 6614 (part 5 of 8) · Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 11 p. 504
  • C6Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi on Jami' al-Tirmidhi 2070 (part 31 of 33) · al-Mubarakfuri, vol. 6 p. 197

Expert Opinions

Summary

Expert Opinions lay out the classical debate between Al-Ghazali's occasionalism, where God alone truly causes events and humans merely "acquire" their acts, and Ibn Taymiyyah's secondary causality, where God as first cause empowers created things with real causal power — and leave open where the divine plan ends and human responsibility begins. N2

Key points

  • Al-Ghazali holds God alone truly causes events, like fire burning cotton, while humans merely "acquire" (kasb) the actions they are judged for. N2
  • Ibn Taymiyyah's model, motivated by rejecting an infinite chain of causes, holds that God as first cause empowers created things, including humans, with real causal power. N2
  • Expert Opinions close by asking where the divine plan ends and genuine human responsibility begins, since human choices remain links in a chain traced back to God. N2

References

  • N2Free Will vs Causality · Belief
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