01
The comprehensive answer
What is the meaning of belief in the decree?
That you believe that Allah knows everything, wrote the measures of creation, that what Allah wills is and what He does not will is not, and that Allah is the Creator of everything; together with affirming the servant's responsibility, ability and will that Allah gave him.
02
The levels of the decree
Four levels that regulate understanding
KnowledgeAllah's prior knowledge encompassing everything.
WritingAllah wrote the measures of creation.
WillWhat Allah wills is, and what He does not will is not.
CreationAllah is the Creator of everything.
03
Two opposite errors
The decree does not cancel action
The Muslim does not use the decree as an argument for sin, nor does he leave the means relying on the decree. He acts, chooses and is held accountable for what he was charged with, then is content with what occurred after taking the lawful means.
04
The practical effect
What does belief in the decree produce?
- Reassurance after calamity without abandoning the means.
- Humility in success; for the credit is Allah's.
- Distance from despair, envy and objection.
- Striving in work while entrusting the results to Allah.
- The Noble Qur'anAl-Qamar 49, al-Hadid 22–23, al-Hajj 70Original text
- Explanation of al-'Aqidah al-WasitiyyahThe official site of Shaykh Ibn BazSource: the official site of Shaykh Ibn Baz
- Tafsir of Surat al-Nisa' — Lesson 38Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-'Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him — explaining the levels of the decree: knowledge, writing, will and creationOpen the source