Benefits of Believing in Qadr - Shaykh Aqeel Mahmood

Benefits of Believing in Qadr

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, and ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide him.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O you people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, about whom you ask, and the wombs. Verily, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will amend your deeds and forgive your sins.

Every one of us has moments in his life where things don't go as planned. A job that slips away, an illness that strikes unexpectedly, a loved one that a person loses, a dream that just never came true. In those moments, many hearts are shaken and they'll start to ask questions. Why did this happen? Why me? The answer to these questions lie in one of the greatest pillars of Iman.

Belief in Qadr. Belief in the decree of Allah. To truly believe in the Qadr of Allah isn't to only believe and accept Allah's decision, but it's to find that peace, contentment, and strength in whatever Allah has decreed. Because anything that happens in your life, whether it's something big or small, painful or joyful, it's written by Allah with complete wisdom and mercy.

Allah says:

No calamity takes place on earth or amongst yourselves except that it was recorded in a book before it even came into being. It's something which was already decreed by Allah.

And I want to mention, brothers and sisters, some benefits of believing in Qadr. What are the practical benefits on a day-to-day basis a person can take from believing in this great pillar of Iman? The belief that Allah has knowledge over everything — past, present and future.

The Benefits of Believing in Qadr

1. It Strengthens Your Iman

Belief in Qadr is one of the pillars of Iman. The more Iman a person has in the Qadr of Allah, the stronger his Iman becomes. It's one of the six pillars of faith. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke about the decree of Allah:

Allah decreed the decrees of creation before He created the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2653)

50,000 years. Allah has already decreed what was going to happen to you, what was going to happen to your loved ones — before He even created the heavens and the earth by a distance of 50,000 years. The stronger your belief in Qadr is, the stronger your Iman in Allah will be, because it's from the pillars of Iman.

2. Everything That Happens Is Always for the Best

Remember, brothers and sisters, everything that happens to you in your life is always for the best — even if we don't understand what that khair and what that good was. Allah speaks about the slave of Allah:

Allah says He doesn't want injustice for the slave. Anything which happens to us, there is always some element of khair and good. It's just about our perspective — how we perceive Allah's knowledge, how we perceive the decree of Allah, how we understand the decisions that take place in our lives. Things that happen — there is always some khair, even if we don't understand what those benefits are.

3. It Brings Balance in All Circumstances

When a person truly understands the Qadr of Allah, he is balanced regardless of whether extremely joyful things happen or extremely terrible things happen. There is this center line. Allah says:

So that you're not despairing over what has passed you by — you don't start feeling regret because this never happened or that never happened; I never got this job, I wasn't able to marry this person, I wasn't able to purchase that house. And you don't become overly happy and prideful over those things which you were given by Allah.

So there is a balance. Whatever Allah has decreed for you, you know and you understand: this is all from the decree of Allah. It was already written — 50,000 years before I was even around, before the heavens and the earth were ever created. And regardless of whatever happens in your life, good or bad, the believer is always in the middle. He's always balanced, content, thankful to Allah for any circumstances, any situation which happens in his life.

4. It Gives You Peace of Mind

From the benefits of believing in Qadr is that a person has peace of mind. There is a sense of peace and tranquility knowing that your Creator is the one who is taking care of all of your affairs.

Imagine if you went to work, and all the furniture, all the computers, everything is missing from the building — everything is stripped out — and there is a sense of worry and concern. And your manager comes to you later and says to you, "Don't worry, everything is under control." It will give you some peace of mind. Allah has control over everything. He has control over every single detail of your life. Nothing happens without the knowledge and power of Allah.

Something happens to you, and you have this concern, you have this worry — you should know it never happened by Allah's inability, or by His non-awareness of the future. It's because Allah decreed it. Allah knew it was going to happen. And understanding that everything happens for a reason, there's a wisdom behind it, and Allah doesn't want to cause oppression and injustice upon His slave — it brings about a sense of peace. That peace of mind: this is happening for a reason, there is a wisdom and a benefit.

And the believer always looks at the silver lining. He always looks at the positives. He always takes advantage of any circumstances which he's faced with, to gain closeness to Allah. And this is the beauty of the pillars of Iman and the benefits of believing in Qadr. Anything which happens to you, you go back to your trust and your tawakkul in Allah — which shows your Iman, strengthens your Iman, increases your love of Allah, and your trust in Allah.

5. It Makes You Content When Things Don't Go Your Way

How many times have you made du'a for something to happen in your life, and it never happened? But then, a few weeks later, a few months later, a few years later, you realize — in fact, it was better that that du'a was not responded to the way that I wanted it to be responded to. You actually realize and you thank Allah: alhamdulillah, Allah never responded to my du'a in the way I wanted it to be responded to. Because you realize what you made du'a for, all those weeks, months, years ago, was actually not for the best. But it took time for you to realize. You realize, in fact, Allah gave you something even better. Allah blessed you with something better.

So being content with whatever Allah has decreed for you is a means by which it will bring about that peace and tranquility. And it requires patience. A person shouldn't think: "If only I had done this, if only this had happened, if only I had got this job and bought this house and married this person." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: if something befalls you, don't say "if only I had done such and such." But rather say:

"This is the decree of Allah, and whatever He wills, it will take place." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

6. It Increases Your Courage and Bravery

From the benefits of believing in Qadr is that it actually increases your courage and your bravery. It's something that increases you in terms of your fearlessness when it comes to worshipping Allah. Because everything happens by Allah's decree, not by what other people want to happen. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: know that if the whole nation were together to benefit you with something — the whole world was together to benefit you with something — it would not benefit you, except with what Allah has written for you. And know that if the whole world were to come together to cause some harm to you, it would not cause any harm to you, unless Allah had decreed it. (Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

The Prophet ﷺ also said:

The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried. (Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

There is nothing that will change. Whatever has been decreed, Allah will carry it out. And anything which happens, will happen for a reason, for a benefit. So this gives you the freedom to be able to go out and worship Allah, and have that fear of Allah, and stay away from those sins, and not to be concerned or worried about the consequences — because Allah is on your side.

Everything is already been decreed. It shouldn't bring about a sense of worry. Belief in the decree of Allah shouldn't make a person more concerned and more worried — it should make him more content, happier. It should make him go out and do whatever Allah has commanded you to do: worship Him, obey Him, stay away from those sins. Not be worried about what other people might do, because Allah is the one who will take care of you.

We look at the example of the life of the Prophet ﷺ — look at all those calamities he went through. From loved ones he lost, and battles that he lost, and other things that took place. All those trials and tribulations in Mecca and in Medina — those were all trials. A person would assume that those things were bad things that happened. But how many lessons do we take from those difficult stages of the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?

7. It Reminds Us That Every Cog in the Universe Turns Only by Allah's Command

From the benefits of believing in Qadr is that we realize every cog in the universe turns only by the command of Allah. Every shift in our lives, every moment, every decision — big or small — that we make, every turn of our bodies, every step we take, anything we do, is only done by the command of Allah.

And when we look and we reflect on what's happening around the world, and the Muslims who are suffering — and may Allah ease their suffering wherever they may be — it should be something which makes us understand: all of these things that are happening, there is some khair that is going to come out of it, whether we understand or whether we see this or not.

And every single decision that is taking place — by leaders, by oppressors, by bad people — and we look and we want to see what is happening: what is this person saying, what is that person doing, how is this going to benefit the ummah? I thought the tide was turning and the Muslims were becoming stronger, that we are getting better, that we are becoming more influential, that Allah is giving us the strength. And then we see something and we start thinking: why is this happening? How is this decision going to benefit us as Muslims?

Every single thing that happens is by the command of Allah — which means there is a reason and a wisdom behind why it's happening. Every small thing. But the tide doesn't turn because of what we want. The tide doesn't turn when we want that tide to turn. But it turns when Allah wishes, because His timing is always perfect — even when we cannot see the full picture. Nothing is without purpose. Everything unfolds through the decree of Allah, by the permission of Allah azza wa jal.

The Story of Umar and Abu Ubaidah: Fleeing From Qadr to Qadr

Brothers and sisters, we were speaking about the benefits of Qadr, and how Allah had already decreed what was going to happen in the heavens and the earth — what was going to happen in the creation of Allah — 50,000 years before He created the heavens and the earth. And how Qadr has many practical benefits: it should make us more courageous, it should give us peace of mind, it should give us more trust in the decree of Allah, it should make a person understand that everything happens for a reason.

Umar ibn al-Khattab, when he was a leader of the Muslims, he wanted to travel to Sham where a plague was taking place and Muslims were suffering. And the companions reminded him of the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ of not travelling to places where plagues had taken place. So he made the decision to go back to Medina. Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah said to Umar ibn al-Khattab: "Are you fleeing from the decree of Allah?" Umar ibn al-Khattab replied and said: "We are fleeing from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5729)

Meaning: everything which happens is under the decree of Allah. The best a Muslim can do is make the decisions that he feels are the best decisions that he can make, based upon the Quran and Sunnah. He makes the best decisions based on what he feels is right Islamically — after learning, consulting, looking at what is the best and what Allah would be pleased with. That's all a person can do. He has to make those decisions and then he has to be firm in those decisions. He shouldn't be indecisive or have doubts later on, or question why he made those decisions — because once those decisions are made and he had the best reasons for making those decisions, he should have that tawakkul in Allah.

Umar ibn al-Khattab also told Abu Ubaidah: "If you had camels and you came down to a valley that had two sides — one was fertile, one was barren — do you not see that if you were to send your camels to pasture on the fertile side, this was by the decree of Allah? And if you were to pasture them on the barren side of this land, it was also by the decree of Allah." Meaning: every decision we make is already under the decree of Allah. But all we need to do is make sure that our decisions are the best decisions — based on what we feel is correct, based on the Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

We ask Allah that He gives us greater understanding of belief in Qadr, and that Allah allows us to be able to act upon and implement the benefits of belief in Qadr in our lives. And Allah knows best what you do.