Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Allah’s decree in this hadith refers to what He decrees by His command, including His speech and revelation that the angels receive. This does not conflict with the prior writing of the decrees in the Preserved Tablet, because divine decree and predestination have several levels and meanings, including knowledge, writing, will, and creation. Allah, Most High, continues to do whatever He wills, create, provide, give life, and cause death.
Among the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, does whatever He wills, and is never inactive with regard to action, as He says:
{Ever-Doer of what He wills} [Al-Buruj: 16].
And He says:
{Every day He is bringing about a matter} [Ar-Rahman: 29].
The commentators have mentioned that among Allah’s affairs each day are giving life and causing death, creating and providing, honoring some people and humbling others, healing the sick, relieving the distressed, answering the one who supplicates, giving to the one who asks, forgiving sins, and other actions that He performs among His creation.
Allah, Most High, has always been and continues to do whatever He wills according to His wisdom and power.
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated from the Prophet ﷺ:
“When Allah decrees the matter in heaven, the angels strike their wings in submission to His words, like a chain dragged over a smooth stone. When the fear is removed from their hearts, they say: ‘What has your Lord said?’ They say: ‘The truth,’ and He is the Most High, the Most Great.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (4701).
What is meant by this decree here is the speech of Allah, Most High, and His revelation that the angels receive.
It has also been reported in a hadith narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him:
“When Allah speaks through revelation, the inhabitants of the heavens hear something. When the fear is removed from their hearts and the sound becomes still, they know that it is the truth, and they call out: ‘What has your Lord said?’ They say: ‘The truth.’” Narrated by Abu Dawud (4738).
This indicates that Allah, Most High, speaks through revelation whenever He wills, and that the angels hear His speech when He speaks it.
This decree, which is connected to Allah’s actions and commands, is renewed according to what He wills, and it is not necessary that everything related to divine decree occurred once and then ended.
Allah, Most High, creates one creation after another, provides for them, gives and withholds, lowers and raises, gives life and causes death, and does whatever He wills with His creation.
This is part of the meaning of His saying:
{Every day He is bringing about a matter} [Ar-Rahman: 29].
The verse indicates the continual occurrence of Allah’s actions among His creation according to what His wisdom and will require.
There is no contradiction between the two, because belief in divine decree includes several levels, the most important of which are four:
This means believing that Allah, Most High, encompasses everything with His knowledge. He knew all of His creation before creating them, and He knew what they would do.
He says:
{He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed} [Al-Hashr: 22].
And He says:
{And that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge} [At-Talaq: 12].
This means believing that Allah, Most High, wrote the destinies of creation in the Preserved Tablet.
Allah says:
{Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed, that is easy for Allah} [Al-Hajj: 70].
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah wrote the destinies of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.” Narrated by Muslim (2653).
This prior writing encompasses what will occur of the decrees.
This means believing that everything that occurs in the universe occurs only by Allah’s will and decree. Whatever Allah wills occurs, and whatever He does not will does not occur.
Allah says:
{And never say of anything, “Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,” except [when adding], “If Allah wills.”} [Al-Kahf: 23–24].
And He says:
{And you do not will unless Allah wills, Lord of the worlds} [At-Takwir: 29].
This means believing that Allah, Most High, is the Creator of everything, including the actions of His servants.
Allah says:
{Allah is the Creator of all things} [Az-Zumar: 62].
And He says:
{While Allah created you and what you do} [As-Saffat: 96].
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah creates every maker and what he makes.” Narrated by al-Bukhari in Khalq Af‘al al-‘Ibad (25).
The writing in the Preserved Tablet concerns what will occur, whereas the occurrence of events and actions at their appointed times is another matter.
Allah, Most High, knew and wrote the decrees before they occurred. Then things occur at their appointed times according to His will, and He creates them when their time comes.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between an event having already been written in the Preserved Tablet and Allah decreeing a matter in heaven, creating something, providing for a servant, giving life and causing death, answering a supplication, or bringing about an event among His creation.
The prior writing does not mean that all actions have already occurred and ended. Rather, it means that Allah, Most High, already knew and wrote everything that would occur.
The Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “When Allah decrees the matter in heaven,” refers to Allah’s decree that takes place through His command, speech, and revelation, and the angels hear whatever He wills them to hear from His command.
This does not conflict with the writing of the destinies in the Preserved Tablet. The Preserved Tablet contains the destinies that will occur, while Allah’s actions among His creation continue to occur and are renewed at their appointed times, according to His prior knowledge, writing, will, and power.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted, has always been All-Knowing, has written the destinies, and continues to do whatever He wills, creating, providing, giving life, and causing death. All of this is encompassed by His prior knowledge and writing.
And Allah knows best.