1 - From the pillars of eemaan is to have faith in Pre-Decree and Pre-Destination (al-qadr), and that its good and evil outcomes are from Allaah. And this encompasses believing in all the texts that are connected to al-qadr and its [four] levels:

That Allaah has absolute and perfect knowledge of everything (al-'ilm), That Allaah wrote this all in the Preserved Tablet (al-kitaabah), That nothing can occur except by the Will of Allaah (al-mashee'ah), That Allaah is the creator of everything (al-khalq).

It is also obligatory to have faith in the fact that none can repel Allaah's Decree, or amend His Judgment.

2 - Allaah's Will (iraadah) and Command (amr) that occur in the Book and the Sunnah are of two types: -

i. A Universal Will (iraadah kawniyyah qadariyyah); meaning that whatever He Desires and Commands will occur [and none of the creation escapes this type of Will].

ii. A Legislative Will (iraadah shar'iyyah); meaning that Allaah desires that His legislations should be complied with [so some choose to comply whilst others choose to disobey]. Even though created beings do possess both a desire and a will to choose what to do, their desire and will are subordinate to the Desire and Will of Allaah.

3 - It is solely in Allaah's Hand whether the servants of Allaah are either guided or left to stray. There are those whom Allaah guides from His grace and there are those who deserve to be led astray due to His justice.

4 - Both the slaves and their actions are created by Allaah the Most High, besides Whom there is no other Creator. Although Allaah alone is the Creator of man's actions, yet man is the true and literal performer of his own actions.

5 - To affirm that Allaah's Actions are due to wisdom; and to affirm that the causal effects exist by Allaah the Exalted's Will.

6 - The life-spans of all people are pre-written and their provisions are pre-apportioned. Likewise, the joys and miseries of people have been written down before they were created.

7 - Whilst the occurrence of calamities and harms may justifiably be from the Decree (qadr) of Allaah, it is not permissible to justify one's faults and sins by it. Rather, it is obligatory to repent from one's sins and the blame for it falls upon its perpetrator.

8 - Depending solely upon the means (asbaab) actually amounts to shirk in one's tawheed. To totally turn away from the means is actually belittling the Sacred Law. Indeed, to deny the outcomes and consequences of the causes contradicts both the Sacred Law and the sound intellect. Trusting and relying upon Allaah (tawakkul) does not negate utilising the relevant causes and necessary means.

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