Musnad Ahmad

Waleed bin Ubadah says that once I went to see (my father) Hazrat Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was ill, and I thought that this was his illness of death. I said to him, "Father! Please give me some advice after careful consideration." He said, "Sit me up." When he was made to sit up, he said, "Son! You cannot taste the sweetness of faith and cannot know the reality of knowledge of Allah until you believe that good and bad destiny is from Allah." I said, "Father! How will I know which decision of destiny is good for me and which is bad?" He said, "You must be certain that whatever missed you could never have befallen you, and whatever befell you could never have missed you. Son! I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) say that the first thing Allah created was the Pen, and He said to it, 'Write.' So it wrote all that will happen until the Day of Judgment. Son! If you do not die upon this belief, you will enter Hell."