Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions.

Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. 

As to what follows:

This is an important question. The topic of qadar in reality is a vast topic which we cannot summarize in a passing answer. However, I firstly advise my brother to not burden his mind much with the issue of qadar, because qadar is Allah’s secret in His creation which He has not shown to a near angel nor a sent prophet, and is among the things that the mind will fail to comprehend its description, like the rest of what Allah Almighty has informed of His attributes. However, we are certain that the qadar of Allah Almighty comes under the statement of Allah Almighty: 

“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [Al-Shura 42:11]

 We also believe, with firm belief, that Allah Almighty does not do any injustice to people:

“And your Lord is never unjust to [His] slaves.” [Fussilat 41:46]

And in the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah Almighty said, ‘O My slaves, I have made injustice unlawful for myself and I have made it unlawful among you.’” [Muslim]

So the believer should fill his heart with the fact that His Lord is Wise and Just; there is no injustice in any of what he has predestined, nor is there any injustice in any of what He has legislated of religious rulings.

Then after that, if any hardship or problem occurs in his heart concerning qadar, he should ask. It is narrated that `Abdullah Bin Fayruz al-Daylami said, “I met Ubay bin Ka`b and said, ‘O Abu Mundhir, something has occurred in my heart concerning this qadar. So narrate something to me that will perhaps cause it to go away from my heart.’ He said, ‘If Allah punishes the people of the heaven and the people of the earth, He punishes them justly, and if He showers them with His mercy, His mercy will be better for them than their deeds. If you spend the weight of Mount Uhud in gold in the cause of Allah, He will not accept it from you until you believe in qadar. You should also know that whatever you receive, you would never have missed it, and that whatever you missed, you would never have received it. And if you die not believing in this, you will enter the Hellfire.’ I then came to Hudhayfah and he told me the same thing, and then came to Ibn Mas`ud and he told me the same thing. Then I went to Zayd bin Tabith and he narrated to me from the Prophet (peace be upon him) which recounted the same.” [Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and graded as Sahih by Ibn Hibban]

Furthermore, qadar consists of belief that Allah had knowledge of everything before it came into being and had written it before its creation. Also, He had willed it and created it. It is a must to believe in these four levels in order for a Muslim to achieve true belief in qadar.

After this, we return to the question, which is: is it permissible to use qadar to justify committing sins?

There is no doubt that this is not acceptable, not on religious nor logical grounds. The evidence for this is that if someone came to you and took something of your possession or transgressed against your body by beating you, and then once he was done, he said, “Please pardon me, for Allah had written that for me,” would this justification be accepted from him, or do you see that this justification warrants multiplying his punishment, as he protested with something which has no justification in it? 

The same thing can be said with what is related to the right of Allah Almighty, for the right of Allah Almighty must be preserved. It is impermissible to use qadar to justify committing faults and evil deeds. This is something that is unanimously agreed upon by the scholars of Islam. The only thing that qadar can be used to justify are calamities. So when a calamity befalls, say, “Allah has predestined, and whatever He willed He has done.”

Finally, I advise my brother and warn him against delving into this topic, for he will never stop at any limit that will come to an end. Furthermore, one must believe that whatever we will is not outside of the will of Allah Almighty. So the will of Allah is high and dominating:

 “And you do not will except that Allah wills.” [Al-Insan 76:30]

We ask Allah Almighty to bless us and you with sound belief and deeds.

Your brother,

Dr. Khalid al-Muslih

5 / 3 / 1430 AH