Question:
What is the difference between Allah’s Attribute of Iradah (Will) and Rida (Pleasure)?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Answer:
Allah’s Iradah (Will) and Rida (Pleasure) are two distinct attributes.
- Everything that occurs in the universe happens by Allah’s Iradah and Mashīʾah (Will and Decree). If Allah wills, something happens; if He does not will, it cannot happen—whether Allah loves that act or not. Nothing can occur outside His Will.
- Allah’s Rida (Pleasure), however, means that Allah loves and approves of that matter.
For example:
- Kufr and Shirk happen by Allah’s Iradah and Mashīʾah, but Allah does not approve of them.
- Ṣalāh performed by a believer occurs by Allah’s Iradah and Mashīʾah, and it is also by Allah’s Rida because He loves it.
Thus:
- Iradah and Mashīʾah relate to all acts—permissible or impermissible.
- Rida relates only to those matters that Allah loves and approves of.
Scholarly Statement:
❀ ʿAllāmah Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله (671 AH):
لا يرضى الكفر وإن أراده، فالله تعالى يريد الكفر من الكافر وبإرادته كفر لا يرضاه ولا يحبه، فهو يريد كون ما لا يرضاه، وقد أراد الله عز وجل خلق إبليس وهو لا يرضاه، فالإرادة غير الرضا، وهذا مذهب أهل السنة
“Allah does not approve of kufr, even though He wills it. Allah wills the kufr of the disbeliever, and by His Will the disbeliever commits kufr. Yet Allah neither approves of it nor loves it. Allah wills the existence of things He does not approve of. He willed the creation of Iblīs, while He does not approve of him. Therefore, Iradah is one matter and Rida is another. This is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.”
(Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī, 15/236)
Conclusion:- Iradah = Allah’s universal Will, encompassing all that exists (good or evil).
- Rida = Allah’s approval and love, specific to righteous deeds and what pleases Him.
