Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
A person has ability, will, and choice in his actions. Nevertheless, his choice does not fall outside Allah’s knowledge, will, and decree. Allah knows beforehand what His servant will choose, but He does not force him to do it. The servant is responsible for the actions that he performs by his own choice.
Allah, the Exalted, has given mankind and the jinn ability and will, and has made them capable of choosing faith or disbelief, obedience or disobedience.
Allah says:
“And say, ‘The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills—let him believe; and whoever wills—let him disbelieve. Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose walls will surround them.’”
[Qur’an 18:29]
And He, Glorified and Exalted, says:
“Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluid to test him, and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.”
[Qur’an 76:2–3]
For this reason, a person is held accountable for his actions. Allah says:
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
[Qur’an 99:7–8]
If a person were compelled in his voluntary actions, punishing him for them would be injustice, whereas Allah is far above injustice.
A person also experiences this choice in his daily life: he chooses whether to pray or abandon prayer, whether to obey or disobey, and whether to turn toward good or evil. He does not need to feel that someone is forcing him internally to make his choice.
Allah, the Exalted, is the Creator, and part of the perfection of His knowledge is that He knows what will happen with His servants. He knows who will be happy and who will be miserable, who will obey and who will disobey.
Allah has written this, including what the angel writes for the fetus in its mother’s womb, as mentioned in the hadith:
“When Allah wishes to decree its creation, he says: ‘O Lord, male or female? Miserable or happy? What will be his provision? What will be his lifespan?’ Then that is written while he is in his mother’s womb.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
However, this prior knowledge is hidden from the human being. The servant does not know what Allah has written for him before it occurs, just as the writing does not compel him to perform an action.
To clarify the meaning, one may imagine a student studying a subject while his teacher, being familiar with his abilities and habits, expects him to pass or fail. The teacher’s knowledge or expectation does not force the student to study or neglect his studies. This is merely an example for clarification; Allah is far above all comparison. Allah’s knowledge is more perfect and greater, and He says:
“Does He not know what He has created, while He is the Subtle, the All-Aware?”
[Qur’an 67:14]
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“So Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
[Qur’an 14:4]
And He says:
“And if Allah had willed, He could have made you one nation, but He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and you will surely be questioned about what you used to do.”
[Qur’an 16:93]
Allah’s guidance is of two types:
General guidance: This is the guidance of showing, explaining, and establishing proof. Allah has explained to people the path of good and evil.
Allah says:
“As for Thamud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance.”
[Qur’an 41:17]
And He says:
“Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.”
[Qur’an 76:3]
Special guidance: This is the guidance of success, assistance, and being enabled to follow what is correct. It is the guidance that Allah graciously grants to His believing servants.
Allah says:
“And those who strive for Us—We will surely guide them to Our ways. Indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.”
[Qur’an 29:69]
And He says:
“But Allah has made faith beloved to you and beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience hateful to you. Those are the rightly guided, as a favor from Allah and a blessing. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
[Qur’an 49:7–8]
As for the misguidance mentioned in this context, it includes abandonment and being deprived of the special enabling guidance and assistance that Allah grants to whom He wills.
Imam al-Tahawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“He guides whom He wills, protects and grants well-being by His grace; and He leads astray whom He wills, forsakes and tests by His justice. All of them move within His will, between His grace and His justice.”
Thus, divine enabling is a favor from Allah, while abandonment is part of His justice. He knows best who deserves His favor.
No.
The servant does not know what Allah has written for him before it occurs. Therefore, he may not follow the path of disobedience and then say, “Allah has decreed misguidance for me.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that Allah guides those who are deserving of guidance and misguides those who are deserving of misguidance. He cited the saying of Allah:
“And when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate.”
[Qur’an 61:5]
The servant chooses the path of guidance or misguidance by his own choice, while Allah already knows what the servant will choose and decrees it.
Therefore, a person should not occupy himself with matters of the divine decree that are hidden from him. Rather, he should act according to what Allah has commanded and ask Allah for guidance and success.
Satan seeks to lead man astray and makes disobedience appear attractive to him, but he does not force him to commit it.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“Indeed, he has no authority over those who believe and rely upon their Lord. His authority is only over those who take him as an ally and those who associate partners with Allah because of him.”
[Qur’an 16:99–100]
Satan himself will explain on the Day of Judgment that he had no power to force people; he merely called them, and they responded to him.
Allah says:
“And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, ‘Indeed, Allah promised you the promise of truth, and I promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except that I invited you and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves.’”
[Qur’an 14:22]
Thus, Satan’s role is invitation, whispering, and beautifying sin—not depriving a person of his choice or forcing him to disobey.
A believer should not become so preoccupied with thoughts about divine decree that he abandons action, because this world is a place of action, while the Hereafter is a place of recompense.
The servant should ask Allah for guidance, success, and assistance, just as he recites in every prayer:
“You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.”
[Qur’an 1:5]
Religion is therefore based upon worship and seeking help: the servant worships his Lord and seeks His help in fulfilling that worship.
When Allah grants him success in doing good, he attributes the favor to Him, as the people of Paradise will say:
“Praise be to Allah who has guided us to this, and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us.”
[Qur’an 7:43]
Then Allah says in the same verse:
“And it will be proclaimed to them: ‘This is Paradise, which you have inherited because of what you used to do.’”
Thus, the verse combines two matters: Allah’s grace and guidance, and the servant’s deeds through which he deserved the reward.
A person has will, ability, and choice, and therefore he is held accountable for his voluntary actions. At the same time, he never falls outside Allah’s knowledge, will, and decree.
Allah knew before creating man whether he would be happy or miserable, and He wrote that. However, His prior knowledge does not force a person to do anything. The servant does not know what has been written for him; rather, he knows his own choice when he intends to act and actually acts.
Likewise, Allah’s guidance and misguidance do not mean depriving a person of his will. Allah grants success to whom He wills and abandons whom He wills, and He knows best who deserves His favor. The servant, however, is commanded to follow the path of guidance and seek help from Allah.
As for Satan, the extent of his authority is invitation, whispering, and beautification of sin; he does not force a person to disobey.
Therefore, one should avoid becoming preoccupied with what of the divine decree is hidden from us, and instead turn toward action and obedience, constantly asking Allah for guidance, success, steadfastness, and a good outcome.
And Allah knows best.