Al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid — Volume 3 (القول المفيد على كتاب التوحيد) — Page 168

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

تَعَالَى: ﴿يَسْأَلُهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ﴾ فَهُوَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ يُغْنِي فَقِيرًا، وَيُفْقِرُ غَنِيًّا، وَيُوجِدُ مَعْدُومًا، وَيَعْدِمُ مَوْجُودًا، وَيَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ وَيَقْدِرُهُ، وَيُنْشِئُ السَّحَابَ وَالْمَطَرَ وَغَيْرَ ذَلِكَ.

The Almighty says: 'All those who are in the heavens and the earth ask Him; every day He is in a state.' Thus, every day He enriches the poor, impoverishes the rich, brings the non-existent into existence, causes the existing to cease, expands and restricts provision, and creates clouds, rain, and other things.

فَإِنْ قِيلَ: هَلِ الْإِيمَانُ بِالْقَدَرِ يُنَافِي مَا عُلِمَ بِالضَّرُورَةِ مِنْ أَنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ يَفْعَلُ الشَّيْءَ بِاخْتِيَارِهِ؟

If it is asked: Does belief in the Divine Decree contradict what is known by necessity, which is that a human performs an action by their own choice?

الْجَوَابُ: لَا يُنَافِيهِ لِأَنَّ مَا يَفْعَلُهُ الْإِنْسَانُ بِاخْتِيَارِهِ مِنْ قَدَرِ اللَّهِ، كَمَا قَالَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَمَّا أَقْبَلَ عَلَى الشَّامِ، وَقَالُوا لَهُ: إِنَّ فِي الشَّامِ طَاعُونًا يَفْتِكُ بِالنَّاسِ فَجَمَعَ الصَّحَابَةَ وَشَاوَرَهُمْ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: نَرْجِعُ فَعَزَمَ عَلَى الرُّجُوعِ فَجَاءَ أَمِينُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ عَامِرُ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ فَقَالَ: نَطَقْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوقُ: ﴿إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ الْمَلَكَ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ وَيُؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ يُكْتَبُ رِزْقُهُ وَأَجَلُهُ وَعَمَلُهُ وَشَقِيٌّ أَوْ سَعِيدٌ﴾ مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ.

The answer is: It does not contradict it, because what a human does by their own choice is part of God's decree, just as the Commander of the Faithful, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him), said when he approached the Levant and they told him: 'There is a plague in the Levant that is killing people.' He gathered the Companions and consulted them, and some of them said: 'Let us return.' He decided to return, but then the trustee of this nation, Abu Ubaidah Amir ibn al-Jarrah, came and said: 'We heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), and he is the truthful and believed one, say: "Indeed, the creation of one of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days, then he becomes a clinging clot for a similar period, then he becomes a chewed-like lump for a similar period, then God sends an angel to him who breathes the soul into him and is commanded with four words: his provision, his lifespan, his deeds, and whether he will be wretched or happy are written."' (Agreed upon).

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Vocabulary · المفردات (46 verbs · 71 nouns)

• تَعَالَى — to be exalted
• سَأَلَ — to ask
• أَغْنَى — to enrich
• سَمَاء — sky
• أَرْض — earth
• يَوْم — day