The Meaning of Believing in Predestination

Question

What is the correct meaning of believing in predestination (taqdir)? Is it that all matters have already been written before birth, as is established by the hadiths? If so, what is the meaning of the hadith in “Mishkat al-Masabih” (p. 95), in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that there are two groups of my Umma who have no share in Islam: one of them is the Murji’a, who say that everything is by God’s predestination and the servant is like a stone; and the other is the Qadariyya, who deny predestination?

Answer

The meaning of believing in predestination is precisely this: the Pure God, even before creating this world, had already decreed that such-and-such a person would do such-and-such a deed, and such-and-such a thing would happen in such-and-such a way. Yet despite this, God Most High made man responsible (mukallaf) and sent down a law for him.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.