Faith and Belief

Al-Qasim b. Muhammad said that a man told him he was greatly distressed by wandering thoughts while he was engaged in prayer. He told him to persevere with his prayer, explaining that he would not be free from that till he said when he finished his prayer, “I have not performed my prayer perfectly.” Malik transmitted it.

‘Abdallah b. 'Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “God recorded the fates of all creatures 50,000 years before creating the heavens and the earth, and His throne was upon the water.” Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “Everything is decreed, even backwardness and shrewdness.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported that God’s messenger told of Adam and Moses holding a disputation in their Lord’s presence and of Adam getting the better of Moses in argument. Moses said, “You are Adam whom God created with His hand, into whom He breathed of His spirit, to whom He made the angels do obeisance, and whom He caused to dwell in His garden; then because of your sin you caused mankind to come down to the earth.” Adam replied, “And you are Moses whom God chose to deliver His messages and to address, to whom He gave the tablets on which everything was explained, and whom He brought near as a confidant. How long before I was created did you find that God has written the Torah?” 1 Moses said, “Forty years.” Adam asked, “Did you find in it, ‘And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred’?” 2 On being told that he did, he said, “Do you then blame me for doing a deed which God had decreed that I should do forty years before He created me?” God’s messenger said, “So Adam got the better of Moses in argument.” Muslim transmitted it. 1 At-Taurat, a general name for the first five books of the Old Testament. 2 These words are in Quran, xx, 121.

Ibn Mas'ud said that God’s messenger who spoke the truth and whose word was believed told them the following: The constituents of one of you are collected for forty days in his mother’s womb in the form of a drop, then they become a piece of congealed blood for a similar period, then they become a lump of flesh for a similar period. Then God sends to him an angel with four words who records his deeds, the period of his life, his provision, and whether he will be miserable or blessed: thereafter He breathes the spirit into him. By Him other than whom there is no god, one of you will do the deeds of those who go to paradise so that there will be only a cubit between him and it, then what is decreed will overcome him so that he will do the deeds of those who go to hell and will enter it; and one of you will do the deeds of those who go to hell so that there will be only a cubit between him and it, then what is decreed will overcome him so that he will do the deeds of those who go to paradise and will enter it. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Sahl b. Sa’d reported God’s messenger as saying, “One man does the deeds of those who go to hell but is one of those who go to paradise, and another does the deeds of those who go to paradise but is one of those who go to hell, for judgment is given according to one’s final actions.” (Bukhari and Muslim).

‘A’isha said: God’s messenger was invited to the funeral of a boy who belonged to the Ansar and I said, “Messenger of God, this one is blessed; he is one of the young ones1 in paradise, for he has done no evil, being too young for that.” He replied, “It may be otherwise, ‘A’isha, for God has created some to go to paradise, doing so when they were still in their fathers’ loins; and He has created others for hell, doing so when they were still in their fathers’ loins.” Muslim transmitted it. 1 Lit. small birds or sparrows.

‘Ali reported God’s messenger as saying, “The place which everyone of you will occupy in hell or in paradise has been recorded.” When his hearers asked him whether they should not trust simply in what had been recorded for them and abandon doing good deeds, he replied, “Go on doing them, for everyone is helped to do that for which he was created. Those who are among the number of the blessed will be helped to do appropriate deeds, and those who are among the number of the miserable will be helped to do appropriate deeds.” Then he recited, “As for him who gives, shows piety, and considers what is best to be true, We will help him to prosperity.” 1 (Bukhari and Muslim.) 1 Quran xcii, 527.

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, “God has decreed for man his portion of fornication which he will inevitably commit. The fornication of the eye consists in looking, and of the tongue in speech. The soul wishes and desires, and the private parts accord with that or reject it.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version by Muslim he said, “Man’s share of fornication which he will inevitably commit is decreed for him. The fornication of the eyes consists in looking, of the ears in hearing, of the tongue in speech, of the hand in violence, and of the foot in walking. The heart lusts and wishes, and the private parts accord with that or reject it.”

‘Imran b, Husain told of two men of Muzaina who said, “Messenger of God, tell us whether what men do to-day and strive over is something which has been destined for them and has previously been decreed for them, or whether it is something their prophet has brought them with which they are encountered and which has become binding upon them.” He replied, “No, it is something which has been destined for them and previously decreed for them.” The verification of that is found in God’s Book which says, “By a soul and Him who formed it and implanted in it its wickedness and its piety.” 1 Muslim transmitted it. 1 Quran, xci, 7f.

Abu Huraira said: I told God’s messenger that I, being a young man, was afraid of committing fornication, and I had no means to enable me to marry a wife. (It was as though he was asking permission to have himself made a eunuch.) He gave me no reply, so I repeated what I had said, but he gave me no reply. I repeated it again, but he gave me no reply. I repeated it once more and the Prophet said, “Abu Huraira, the pen has written all it has to write1 about your destiny, so have yourself made a eunuch on that account, or leave things as they are.” Bukhari transmitted it. 1 Lit. “the pen dried up”

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “The hearts of all men are between two of the Compassionate’s fingers as if they were one heart which He turns about as He wills.” Then God’s messenger said, “O God, who turnest the hearts, turn our hearts to Thy obedience!” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Everyone is born a Muslim, but his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian; just as a beast is born whole. Do you find some among them maimed?” Then he was saying, “God’s pattern on which He formed mankind. There is no alteration of God’s creation. That is the true religion.” 1 (Bukhari and Muslim.) 1 Quran, xxx, 30. It is not quite clear whether these words were recited by the Prophet or by Abu Huraira.

Abu'Musa said : God’s messenger stood up among us and made five statements, saying, “God does not sleep, as it is unfitting that He should do so; He lowers the scale and raises it up; the deeds done by night are taken up to Him before the day’s deeds are done; the deeds done by day before the night’s deeds are done; His veil is light, if He were to remove it His majesty would burn up all His creation which was reached by His glance.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “God’s hand is full, undiminished by any expenditure, bountiful night and day. Have you seen what He has expended since He created the heaven and the earth, for what His hand holds has not decreased? His throne was upon the water, and in His hand the scale which He lowers and raises.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) A version by Muslim says, “God’s right hand is full.” Ibn Numair said, “Full and pouring out blessings night and day, being decreased by nothing.”

He also reported that when God’s messenger was questioned about the offspring of polytheists he said, “God knows best about what they were doing.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘Ubada b. as-Samit reported God’s messenger as saying, “The first thing God created was the pen. He told it to write and when it asked Him what it should write He told it to write what was decreed, so it wrote what had taken place and what would take place to all eternity.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying that this is a tradition whose isnad is gharib.

Muslim b. Yasar said that when ‘Umar b. al-Khattab was questioned about the verse, “When your Lord took their offspring from the backs of the children of Adam...” 1 he replied that he had heard God’s messenger say when he was questioned about it, “God created Adam, then passed His right hand over his back and brought forth from it his offspring, saying, ‘I have created these for paradise and they will do the deeds of those who go to paradise.’ He then passed his hand over his back and brought forth from it his offspring, saying, ‘I have created these for hell and they will do the deeds of those who go to hell’.” A man asked, “What is the good of doing anything, messenger of God?” to which God’s messenger replied, “When God creates a man for paradise He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to paradise, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to paradise, for which He will bring him into paradise. But when He creates a man for hell He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to hell, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to hell, for which He will bring him into hell.” Malik, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr said: God’s messenger came out with two books in his hands and asked, “Do you know what these two books are?” We replied, “No, messenger of God, unless you tell us.” Of the one in his right hand he said, “This is a book from the Lord of the universe containing the names of those who will go to paradise, as well as the names of their fathers and their tribes. It is completed to the last man, so there will never be any increase or diminution in their numbers.” Of the one in his left hand he then said, “This is a book from the Lord of the universe containing the names of those who will go to hell, as well as the names of their fathers and their tribes. It is completed to the last man, so there will never be any increase or diminution in their numbers.” His Companions asked, “What then, messenger of God, is the good of doing anything if the matter is already decided?” He replied, “Follow a right course and keep as near to it as you can, for the last act of one who is to go to paradise will be an act appropriate for those who go to paradise no matter what he may have done; but the last act of one who is to go to hell will be an act appropriate for those who go to hell no matter what he may have done.” God’s messenger then made a gesture with his hands throwing the books away and said, “Your Lord has decided everything about mankind; a section will be in paradise and a section in the blaze.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Khizama said that his father asked God’s messenger, “Tell me whether invocations we invoke, medicine we apply and caution we practise can avert anything God has decreed.” He replied, “They are a part of God’s decree ’ Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.