Subj Ected To Rational Analysis

Abu al-Mu�affar as-Sam'aani said, lbn I:Iajar al-'Asqalaani narrated: "The way to understand this matter is to stop at what has been said in the Quran and Sunnah, without referring to analogy and reason. Whoever is not contented to stop at this point will be misled and lost in a sea of confusion, and will not find anything to put his mind at rest, because qadar is one of the secrets of Allah which is known only to the All-Knowing, All-Aware. He has put a veil around it and has concealed it from the minds and knowledge of His creation, for reasons that are known only unto Him, so it is not known by any Prophet who was sent or by any angel who is close to Allah . " 1 At-Tal;iaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The qadar is a secret of Allah concerning His creation. No angel who is close to Allah or Prophet and Messenger has any knowledge of it. Delving into the matter in depth means that one will be forsaken by Allah and lost in confusion, deprivation and transgression. So beware of examining it and thinking about it, and (exposing oneself to) insinuating whispers. Allah, the All-High, has withheld knowledge of qadar from His creation, and has forbidden them to seek to understand it. Allah (�), says: ,.( � /. t:::. \-:� �-;.·>, '] � "'\ � '-.:...) • "': l.e"' � 1' �He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they 1 Fat}J al-Baari, 1 1 /499. See also Sharl; Al-Nawawi 'ala Muslim, 1 6/ 1 96. will be questioned) (Qur 'an 2 1 : 23) . " 2 Al-Aajurri said: "It is not proper for the Muslims to enquire in depth into the matter of qadar, because qadar is one of the secrets of Allah, and it is obligatory to believe in all the decrees of Allah, good and evil alike. Moreover, there is no guarantee that a person's inquiries into the matter of qadar will not cause him to reject the decrees of Allah concerning His slaves, and thus be misguided from the path of truth. "3 Imam Al)mad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is a part of the well-known Sunnah to believe in qadar, both good and evil, to accept the a�aadeeth on this topic and to believe in them, and not to ask why or how. The correct way is to accept it and believe in it. If a person does not know the explanation of a hadith or understand it in a rational sense, he does not have to; but he still has to believe it and accept it, like the a�aadeeth of the Prophet (�) and other reports about qadar. " 4 'Ali ibn al-Madeeni said something similar to what Imam Al)mad said about qadar. 5 Some Important Principles About Qadar What the scholars have said about qadar (predestination) sets out a number of principles which are of the utmost importance: 1 . It is obligatory (waajib) to believe in qadar.