Everyone’s Will Is Subject to the Will of Allah

Question

According to the noble verse: [ar]وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ[/ar] “And you do not will except that Allah wills” (Surah al-Insan, 76:30), for every deed there is first the divine will (mashi’a), after which comes the servant’s intention (irada); and the practical form of the intention is called ihtimam (diligent observance).

Answer

This very difficulty, with exactly the same reasoning, applies to sins as well: just as denying ihtimam of non-obligatory, recommended acts of obedience and devotion is denying the intention, and denying the intention is denying the divine will, in the same way denying ihtimam of sins is denying the intention, and denying the intention is denying the divine will.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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