Objection
The Qurʾān states:"مَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ"
(“You cannot will except that Allah wills.”)
From this, one might conclude that humans cannot will anything without God’s predestination. Then how can actions be attributed to the servant and why would they be held accountable?
Furthermore, the Qurʾān says:
"قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ"
(“Say, ‘Everything is from Allah.’” [An-Nisāʾ 4:78])
Yet elsewhere it states:
"مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ"
(“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.” [An-Nisāʾ 4:79])
On the face of it, these verses appear to contradict one another.
Commentary
To properly understand these verses, one must distinguish between “God’s qadr and irāda” (power and predestination) and “God’s ḥukm and riḍā” (divine command and pleasure).- Saying “everything is from Allah” refers to the fact that all events—good and bad—occur only by His power and will.
- Difference:
- Good deeds are both commanded by God and pleasing to Him.
- Evil deeds occur by His allowing will, but He neither commands nor approves of them.
Key Points
① Both good and evil happen by God’s predestination, not on their own.② Good aligns with God’s command and pleasure.
③ Evil is merely permitted by His will yet is against His pleasure.
Example
Imagine a supermarket scenario:- A father tells his child the benefits and harms of various products.
- He says, “Choose item A—I will be pleased. Avoid item B—I will be displeased.”
- Yet he grants the child free choice.
No matter what the child picks, the father’s permission is implicit because he allowed the decision.
Similarly, God’s will underlies every action. In good actions, His pleasure and command are present; in evil actions, only His permitting will is involved.
