Question
Selamun aleykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I have 2 Questions which are taking over my mind the last days:
1. I have a problem in understanding the following and because of that, I am scared that my Iman is not valid since believing in Qadr correctly is necessary to be a Muslim. My Question is:
I understand that Qadr is of 4:
1. Allah’s (SWT) Knowledge
2. Him (SWT) having written everything
3. His (SWT) will that it takes place like that
4. Him (SWT) creating it (I.e creating us and moving our muscles and body to give us the possibility to do as we decide)
Now I also understand that we still have free will. We have been given the free eill to decide what we want to do and Allah Ta’ala creates it for us.
But my problem of Understanding is in the following: Allah creates our actions, bit did he also create our decisions itself? I.e if we decide that we want to take up a pencil. Where did this decision itself come from? Is Is it soley from us and Allah has nothing to do with it besides him creating the action which follow it? Or Did Allah also Create this decision itself? I would always answer this with: Yes He (SWT) created it, since he created everything and there is nothing which is not created by him, so this also includes pur decisions in life. But now I’m not sire of that anymore since I read more about it and this would in my understanding now imply that the decision wasn’t really decided by us since Allah created it in the first place and gave it to us.
So in short: What is the answer to the Question: “Did Allah Ta’ala create the decisions we make or are they not part of “everything” in the statement “Allah created everything””?
2. Allahs speech is without letters and Words (Kalam nafsi) and when He (SWT) communicates with his creation he creates and indication to it with letters and sounds (Kalam lafsi). Is this understanding correct?
If yes: Is this how Allah Ta’ala spoke to Musa (as) through the tree and to Rasulullah (saw) on Miraj? Then why do we say that he talked directly to Musa (as) and to Rasulullah (saw) on Miraj, if he didn’t really talk himself but created a voice? I read that in the case of Musa (as) he created the voice in the tree. Isn’t this the same as using an intermedery like Jibril (as) but only that in this case the intermedery is not an living being but a voice which He (SWT) created to speak for him? Or is my understanding wrong? Can Allah Ta’ala speak to his creation without creating a voice? Can his Kalam nafsi which is without letters and sounds be heared by his creation if he so wishes? Or is it really just an internal talk like we have when we are thinking but in His (Allah Ta’ala) case without letters and order? Does Allah have a personal “voice” or is his only method of communicating to others by creating one?
These 2 Question are really bothering me latley
Jazkallahlu Khairan for always helping me out with your answers
Answer
Before responding to your question it is important to highlight that as Muslims we only have to believe in the divine decree (taqdir) of Allah the Almighty. It is not necessary to understand every detail of it. In fact it is not even within the scope of the human intellect to be able to fully comprehend it. We must have faith in the divine decree, but there will only be a certain extent to which we will be able to understand it. Once we reach that stage we then have to leave the rest to Allah the Almighty whilst having faith in it.
The question that you have posed is of this stage. Scholars have attempted to understand and explain the will of a person in relation to the divine decree, however, ultimately it is something beyond the human mind. Therefore, if you were to at this stage say that you believe in the divine decree and also accept that you do not fully understand this point, it will not have any impact on your faith.
As you have been looking into this discussion we will provide some insight into the scholarly discussion on this issue.
Some scholars have argued that the will is created by Allah the Almighty. However, this then leaves a question around the level of freedom a person has as Allah has also created the will. Other scholars have stated that the will is free, however, this too is not without objection. The outcome of this option would mean that something exists in this world which is not created by Allah the Almighty. To overcome this, they suggest a state that is not within the realm of the creation but also not outside of it. Rather, there is a third category which the divine decree belongs to. This would allow for a level of freedom in relation to the will but also ensuring it does not conflict with the issue of being created.
As you can see the discussions start to become very technical and each solution comes with certain objections which then require further clarification. It is for this reason we state that the safest position is to believe in the concept of divine decree and leave the detailed understanding to Allah the Almighty.
As for the issue of the kalam nafsi and lafzi, Allah the Almighty’s kalam nafsi is without sounds or letters and is non-created. The representation in this world in a language, with sounds and letters is the kalam lafzi which is created.
There are two opinions regarding whether or not the kalam nafsi in and of itself can be heard. Some scholars state that in can be whereas others state that it cannot be heard.
As for the Prophet Musa (may Allah bless him and give him peace), he heard the kalam lafzi of Allah the Almighty as it was created sounds. The reason for referring to Him as kalimullah when he had just heard the kalam lafzi and not nafsi is because he heard the kalam lafzi without the normal intermediaries which Allah the almighty uses to communicate such as an Angel or a revealed book.
سنن الترمذي ت بشار (4/ 19)
عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لاَ يُؤْمِنُ عَبْدٌ حَتَّى يُؤْمِنَ بِالقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ، حَتَّى يَعْلَمَ أَنَّ مَا أَصَابَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُخْطِئَهُ، وَأَنَّ مَا أَخْطَأَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُصِيبَهُ
سنن الترمذي ت بشار (4/ 20)
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لاَ يُؤْمِنُ عَبْدٌ حَتَّى يُؤْمِنَ بِأَرْبَعٍ: يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللهِ بَعَثَنِي بِالحَقِّ، وَيُؤْمِنُ بِالمَوْتِ، وَبِالبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ، وَيُؤْمِنُ بِالقَدَرِ
See Sharh al-‘Aqa’id of Taftazani
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel