The Divine Will Is Predestination

Question

What is the meaning of: [ar]وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ[/ar] “And you do not will unless Allah wills” (Surah al-Insan, 76:30)? And then it is also said: [ar]فَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ ۚ إِنَّآ أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ نَارًا[/ar] “So whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve. Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire…” (Surah al-Kahf, 18:29). Why, then, do reward and punishment follow, when everything happens only by the Divine will?

Answer

This is the question of predestination; to believe in it is fard, and probing and inquiry into it are not permitted: [ar]دامن تر مکن هشیار باش[/ar] “Do not wet your hem — be on your guard.”

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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