BELIEF IN DESTINY AND DECREE

Destiny (Qadar) is God's eternal knowledge and predetermination of the time, place, and characteristics of everything that has happened and will happen. Decree (Qada) is the creation of events in accordance with His eternal knowledge when the time comes. Destiny is a manifestation of the attributes of knowledge and will, while decree is the work of the attribute of creation. Everything is created according to a plan and program.

Allah is the creator of both good and evil. Goodness is universal and primary, while evil is particular. The creation of evil is so that the beauty of goodness may be revealed, according to the principle that 'everything is known by its opposite.' For example, without illness, health would not be valued; without darkness, light would not be understood; without evil, the virtue of goodness would not be comprehended. If particular evils were not created, many good things could not come into being.

Because humans are selfish and superficial, they can judge any event contrary to their interests as evil. Missing a plane for an important job seems evil at first; however, if the plane crashes, it turns into good. As Ibrahim Hakkı of Erzurum said: 'God turns evil into good / Do not think otherwise / The wise man observes this / Let us see what God will do / Whatever He does, He does well...'

There are many verses in the Quran stating that fate is predetermined by God: * “There is no calamity that befalls you on earth or in yourselves that was not written in a book (the Preserved Tablet) before We created it...” (Al-Hadid 22-23). * “...Everything is with Him in measure.” (Ar-Ra'd 8). * “We have created everything in measure.” (Al-Qamar 49). * “Say: Nothing will befall us except what Allah has decreed for us...” (At-Tawbah 51).

The Prophet Muhammad included belief in destiny among the principles of faith in the Hadith of Gabriel: “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His prophets, the Day of Judgment, and destiny, both good and evil.” He also forbade his companions from debating this issue as it is a divine mystery, stating: “The nations before you perished when they engaged in such discussions.” (Tirmidhi, Al-Qadr 1).

When Quranic verses and hadiths are examined, it is understood that man is bound to a fate determined by Allah, but people also play important roles in the manifestation of fate through their will and choices. The Prophet warned those who used destiny as an excuse to deny responsibility for their actions (as in Ali's answer regarding Tahajjud), establishing that people are accountable for their deeds.

God Almighty knows and creates all our actions, both good and bad. However, this does not absolve us of responsibility. For God gave humans the freedom to distinguish and choose between good and evil (free will). Allah creates whatever the person chooses with this ability. While it is Allah who creates evil in a person's actions, it is the person who desires and acquires it. For this reason, responsibility belongs to the person.

God's eternal knowledge of something does not have a coercive effect on the servant. Knowing a lunar eclipse in advance does not mean the moon is eclipsed because we knew it. Similarly, God knows in advance which way a person will use their will and creates it in that direction when the time comes. A person does not act because God knows it; rather, God knew it in eternity because the person would act that way.

Destiny is included among the fundamentals of faith to save the soul from pride and arrogance ("You are not the one doing it, it is Allah"), and free will is included to prevent escaping responsibility ("You act with your will, therefore you are responsible"). It is contrary to the wisdom of this belief for a person to cling to destiny to escape responsibility or to cling to will to be proud of their deeds.

The will in human hands is called 'partial free will,' and God's creative power is called 'absolute free will.' God creates everything that happens in the universe: 'And Allah created you and what you do...' (As-Saffat 96). However, in these actions, there is an aspect that belongs to you, which is acquisition and working. This is a simple but responsible cause, like pressing the switch of a giant electrical grid.

God established the electrical mechanism in the mosque and illuminates it with His light. Human intervention is merely touching that button. Allah is the one who creates the light; but since you are the one who pressed the button, it cannot be said that the work is entirely yours, nor can it be said that you have no involvement. Allah accepts this small human involvement as a condition and builds what He will create upon it.

Bediüzzaman says: If you take a child in your arms at his request and take him where he wants, and he gets sick there and asks, 'Why did you bring me here?', you say to him, 'You asked for it!' Here, you are the one who took the child there, and Allah is the one who caused the illness; however, the child's request (will) cannot be denied. We look at destiny and human will with this understanding: the one who caused the illness, the one who took him there, and the one who requested the deed are separated.