BackMachine-translated, not yet reviewed5 views
The ruling on one who curses and reviles al-qadar (divine decree)
Original (Arabic): https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/19/حكم-من-يسب-ويشتم-القدر
Question:
All praise be to Allah alone, and salah and peace be upon him after whom there is no prophet, and thereafter:
I have reviewed what was published in Al-Riyadh newspaper, issue 4887, dated 17/9/1401 AH, under the social story column titled "The Cruelty of Fate," written by Qumasha Al-Ibrahim. In the aforementioned story, the writer stated:
(We in this life have no rights; we are but lifespans with which fate toys, until it grows weary of them, then casts them into the other world, and fate at times toys with our tears and our laughter).
I have reviewed what was published in Al-Riyadh newspaper, issue 4887, dated 17/9/1401 AH, under the social story column titled "The Cruelty of Fate," written by Qumasha Al-Ibrahim. In the aforementioned story, the writer stated:
(We in this life have no rights; we are but lifespans with which fate toys, until it grows weary of them, then casts them into the other world, and fate at times toys with our tears and our laughter).
Answer: This statement is incompatible with the perfection of tawhid and the perfection of iman in divine decree, for divine decree does not toy or trifle, and time does not act in vain, and everything that occurs in this life is by Allah's decree and knowledge. Allah, glorified is He, is the One who alternates the night and day, and He is the One who ordains happiness and misery according to what His wisdom requires, and that wisdom may be hidden from people, because their knowledge is limited and their minds fall short of grasping that divine wisdom. Everything in existence is created by Allah, brought into being by His will and power; whatever He wills comes to be, and whatever He does not will does not come to be. He is the One who gives and withholds, who lowers and raises, who honors and disgraces, who enriches and impoverishes, who leads astray and guides, who grants happiness and misery, who bestows dominion upon whom He wills and takes it away from whom He wills. He has made everything He created excellent, and all the acts of the Creator, His commands and His prohibitions, have a profound wisdom and praiseworthy purposes for which He, glorified is He, is to be thanked, even if human beings do not know it due to the limitation of their understanding.
And it has been narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and elsewhere, from the Prophet ﷺ that he said (in what he narrates from his Lord (subhanahu wa ta'ala)): The son of Adam annoys Me: he curses time (dahr), while I am time (dahr); in My Hand is the matter; I alternate the night and the day. And in another narration: Do not curse time, for I am time. And in a narration: Let not the son of Adam say: O misfortune of time (Dahr), for I am time (Dahr); I send forth the night and the day, and if I will, I seize them both. The Arabs during the Jahiliyyah used to attribute to it the calamities and misfortunes that befell them, saying: "the vicissitudes of time struck them," and "time destroyed them." So when they attributed to time the hardships that befell them, they would curse whoever was doing this, and the reference of that cursing went back to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, since He is in reality the doer of the things they were describing. They were therefore forbidden from cursing time. This interpretation of the hadith with this meaning has been transmitted from al-Shafi'i, Abu Ubaid, Ibn Jarir, al-Baghawi, and others.
As for the meaning of his saying: "I turn the night and day about" — it means that whatever occurs in them of good and evil is by the will of Allah, His management, and His knowledge and wisdom, exalted is He, with no one else sharing in that with Him; whatever He wills comes to be, and whatever He does not will does not come to be. What is obligatory in that regard is to praise Him in both states, to have good thoughts of Him, glory be to Him and praise be to Him, and to turn to Him in repentance and penitence. Allah, the Most High, said:.
The Imam, the reviver, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, may Allah have mercy on him, included a chapter in Kitab al-Tawhid which he titled: (Chapter: Whoever reviles time has thereby harmed Allah), in which he cited this hadith and explained that it comprises several matters: The prohibition against reviling time. Naming it a harm against Allah. Reflection upon His saying: "for Allah is time itself." That one may be reviling [Allah] even without intending it in his heart. In light of this, the writer -may Allah forgive her- erred when she attributed harshness to time in the title of her story, because fate -as previously mentioned- has no agency of its own; rather, Allah, glorified and exalted, is the One who decrees all things for a profound wisdom. Allah, mighty and majestic, is not described with harshness; rather, He, mighty and majestic, is merciful to His servants, and He is more merciful to them than a mother is to her child, as reported in the authentic hadith. Allah is more merciful to His servants than a mother is to her child. It is obligatory that we keep our pens free from falling into such pitfalls, in compliance with the command of Allah and the command of His Messenger, and in order to perfect tawhid, and to keep away from whatever contradicts it or contradicts its completeness. The media outlets—as is well known—have wide circulation and great influence upon the people, and their frequent repetition of such expressions spreads them among the people and makes them lax in using them, especially the youth, given what such usage entails of prohibited consequences.
We ask Allah to guide us to the straight path, and to keep us away from the slips of the pen and the tongue; indeed He is All-Hearing, All-Responsive. And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family and companions.[1].
And it has been narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and elsewhere, from the Prophet ﷺ that he said (in what he narrates from his Lord (subhanahu wa ta'ala)): The son of Adam annoys Me: he curses time (dahr), while I am time (dahr); in My Hand is the matter; I alternate the night and the day. And in another narration: Do not curse time, for I am time. And in a narration: Let not the son of Adam say: O misfortune of time (Dahr), for I am time (Dahr); I send forth the night and the day, and if I will, I seize them both. The Arabs during the Jahiliyyah used to attribute to it the calamities and misfortunes that befell them, saying: "the vicissitudes of time struck them," and "time destroyed them." So when they attributed to time the hardships that befell them, they would curse whoever was doing this, and the reference of that cursing went back to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, since He is in reality the doer of the things they were describing. They were therefore forbidden from cursing time. This interpretation of the hadith with this meaning has been transmitted from al-Shafi'i, Abu Ubaid, Ibn Jarir, al-Baghawi, and others.
As for the meaning of his saying: "I turn the night and day about" — it means that whatever occurs in them of good and evil is by the will of Allah, His management, and His knowledge and wisdom, exalted is He, with no one else sharing in that with Him; whatever He wills comes to be, and whatever He does not will does not come to be. What is obligatory in that regard is to praise Him in both states, to have good thoughts of Him, glory be to Him and praise be to Him, and to turn to Him in repentance and penitence. Allah, the Most High, said:
كُلُّ نَفۡسٖ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۗ وَنَبۡلُوكُم بِٱلشَّرِّ وَٱلۡخَيۡرِ فِتۡنَةٗۖ وَإِلَيۡنَا تُرۡجَعُونَ
Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good, and to Us you will be returned.
Qur'an 21:35 — trans. Hilali & Khan
The Imam, the reviver, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, may Allah have mercy on him, included a chapter in Kitab al-Tawhid which he titled: (Chapter: Whoever reviles time has thereby harmed Allah), in which he cited this hadith and explained that it comprises several matters: The prohibition against reviling time. Naming it a harm against Allah. Reflection upon His saying: "for Allah is time itself." That one may be reviling [Allah] even without intending it in his heart. In light of this, the writer -may Allah forgive her- erred when she attributed harshness to time in the title of her story, because fate -as previously mentioned- has no agency of its own; rather, Allah, glorified and exalted, is the One who decrees all things for a profound wisdom. Allah, mighty and majestic, is not described with harshness; rather, He, mighty and majestic, is merciful to His servants, and He is more merciful to them than a mother is to her child, as reported in the authentic hadith. Allah is more merciful to His servants than a mother is to her child. It is obligatory that we keep our pens free from falling into such pitfalls, in compliance with the command of Allah and the command of His Messenger, and in order to perfect tawhid, and to keep away from whatever contradicts it or contradicts its completeness. The media outlets—as is well known—have wide circulation and great influence upon the people, and their frequent repetition of such expressions spreads them among the people and makes them lax in using them, especially the youth, given what such usage entails of prohibited consequences.
We ask Allah to guide us to the straight path, and to keep us away from the slips of the pen and the tongue; indeed He is All-Hearing, All-Responsive. And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family and companions.[1].
- Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwi'ah li al-Shaykh Ibn Baz (1/146).