Fath al-Rabbani

Yahya bin Ya’mar (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I said to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them): We travel to different regions and meet people who say that there is no destiny. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: Now when you meet them, tell them that Abdullah bin Umar is free from them and they are free from him. He said this three times. Then he narrated this hadith. He said: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when a man came, then he described his condition. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: “Come closer.” So he came closer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then said: “Come even closer.” He came even closer, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Come even closer.” So he came so close that his knees began to touch the knees of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then this man said: “O Messenger of Allah! Tell me what is faith?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Faith is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and destiny, whether good or bad.” He said: “What is Islam?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “To establish prayer, to give zakat, to perform Hajj to the House of Allah, to fast in Ramadan, and to perform the ritual bath of major impurity is Islam.” Each time he replied: “You have spoken the truth, you have spoken the truth.” The people said: We have not seen anyone who honored the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) more than this man, but it seemed as if he was teaching the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Anyway, he then said: “O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about ihsan (excellence),” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Ihsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then (know that) He sees you.” Each time we said: We have not seen a man who honored the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) more than him. Then he said: “You have spoken the truth, you have spoken the truth. Well, now tell me about the Hour (the Day of Judgment),” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “About that, the one being questioned knows no more than the questioner.” He said: “You have spoken the truth,” he said this several times. We found this man to be the one who honored the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the most, then he left. Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I have also received this information that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Look for him.” But the Companions could not find him. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “That was Jibreel (peace be upon him), he came to teach you your religion. Previously, when he used to come in a certain form, I would recognize him, except in this form (today I did not recognize him).”

(Second chain) Yahya bin Ya’mar (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I said to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them): Among us are such people who think that the matter is in their own hands, so if they wish, they act, and if they wish, they do not act. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) replied: Inform them that I am free from them and they are free from me. Then he said: Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Muhammad! What is Islam?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “You worship Allah, do not associate anything with Him, establish prayer, pay zakat, fast in Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House of Allah.” He said: “If I do these things, will I become a Muslim?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “Yes.” He said: “You have spoken the truth.” Then he asked: “What is Ihsan?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “Fear Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you.” He said: “If I do so, will I become a person of Ihsan?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “Yes.” He said: “You have spoken the truth.” Then he said: “Well, tell me, what is Iman (faith)?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “You believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, resurrection after death, Paradise, Hell, and all of destiny.” He said: “If I do so, will I become a believer?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “Yes.” He said: “You have spoken the truth.”

In one narration, this additional statement is found: And Jibreel (peace be upon him) used to come to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the form of Sayyiduna Dihyah (may Allah be pleased with him).

(Third Chain) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that Jibreel (peace be upon him) asked the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "What is faith (iman)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "To have faith in Allah Almighty, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Hereafter, and in good and bad destiny." Upon hearing this, Jibreel (peace be upon him) said: "You have spoken the truth." We were greatly astonished that he asks questions and also affirms them. Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This was Jibreel (peace be upon him) who came to teach you the signs of the religion."

Yahya bin Ya’mar, may Allah have mercy on him, and Humaid Himyari, may Allah have mercy on him, say: We met Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, and discussed the topic of predestination (Qadr) and also mentioned the views of the people. He said to us: When you return to those people, say to them three times that Ibn Umar is free from you and you are free from him. Then he said: Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated to me that he was sitting with the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when suddenly a man came walking. He had a beautiful face and beautiful hair, and he was wearing white clothes. The people looked at each other and said that neither do we know this man nor does he look like a traveler. Then he said: “O Messenger of Allah! May I come to you?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Yes.” So he came and placed his knees next to the knees of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and placed his hands on the thighs of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Then he said: “O Messenger of Allah! Tell me what is faith (iman)?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Faith is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in predestination (Qadr), its good and its evil.” He said: “What is Islam?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “To establish prayer, to give zakat, to perform Hajj of the House of Allah, to fast in Ramadan, and to perform the ritual bath of janabah is Islam.” He said: “O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about ihsan.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Ihsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then (know that) He sees you.” He said: “Well, now tell me about the Hour (Day of Judgment).” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The one being questioned knows no more about it than the questioner.” Then he left. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Bring that man to me.” The people went out to look for him, but they saw nothing. Then they waited for two or three days. Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “O Ibn Khattab! Do you know who the one was who asked about such and such things?” He said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “That was Jibreel (Gabriel), peace be upon him, who came to teach you your religion.” Then a man from the tribe of Juhaynah or Muzaynah asked: “O Messenger of Allah! According to what are we acting? Is it according to what has already passed, or according to something new?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “According to what has already passed.” That man or someone else said: “O Messenger of Allah! Then what is the point of action?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The actions of the people of Paradise are made easy for those destined for Paradise, and the actions of the people of Hell are made easy for those destined for Hell.” Yahya said: It is exactly as you have narrated to me.

Ibn Daylami (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I met Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Abu Mundhir! A kind of doubt about Qadar (Divine Decree) has arisen in my heart. Tell me something by which this state of my heart may be removed." He said: If Allah Almighty wills to punish the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, He will punish them, and He will not be unjust to them; and if He shows mercy to all of them, His mercy will be better for them than their deeds. And if you were to spend gold equal to the mountain of Uhud in the way of Allah, He would not accept it from you until you believe in Qadar, and know that whatever has been decreed to reach you will never miss you, and whatever has been decreed to miss you will never reach you. If you die without this belief (about Qadar), you will enter Hell. Then I went to Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), and he narrated to me something similar. Then I went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he also said something similar. Then I went to Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), and he also narrated to me something similar from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Everything has a reality, and a person does not attain the reality of faith until he firmly knows that whatever is destined to befall him (according to Allah’s decree) cannot pass him by, and whatever is destined to pass him by cannot befall him.”

Waleed bin ‘Ubadah, may Allah have mercy on him, says: I went to Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was ill, and I thought that he would die from this illness. So I said: “Father! Give some advice and make an effort for me.” He said: “Sit me up,” then he said: “My beloved son! You will not taste the sweetness of faith nor reach the reality of the knowledge of Allah until you believe in good and bad destiny.” I said: “Father! How can I know what good and bad destiny is?” He said: “Know that whatever is meant to pass you by cannot befall you, and whatever is meant to befall you cannot pass you by. O my beloved son! I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: Indeed, the first thing Allah created was the Pen, then He said to it: Write, so it began to move and wrote down all that would occur until the Day of Resurrection. O my son! If you die without this belief, you will enter Hell.”

Sayyiduna Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Which deed is the best?" He (peace be upon him) replied: "To have faith in Allah, to affirm Him, and to strive in His path." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah! I intended a deed easier than this." He (peace be upon him) said: "Patience and tolerance." But he again said: "O Messenger of Allah! I intended a deed lighter than this." He (peace be upon him) said: "Then do not accuse Allah regarding whatever decision He makes about you (i.e., be content with Allah's decree)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A servant cannot be a believer until he believes in good and bad destiny." Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: May Allah curse that religion in which I am greater than it; his intention was to refute the denial of destiny.