Knowledge of Allah
There are four types of Knowledge “Elm”:
Knowledge “Elm” of the past: which is partially shared with human beings
Knowledge “Elm” of the present, which is also shared partially with human beings.
Knowledge “Elm” of the future, which is not shared with humans and is only known by Allah SWT.
Knowledge of the alternatives and choices that Man can chose from.
Knowledge of the choice that Man will specifically choose.
Knowledge “Elm” of what did not happen, had it happen, how it would’ve happened. Allah said: “And if they were sent back, they would have done whatever they were told to avoid”. Al-Ana’am 6-28.
The third and forth constitutes the Hidden or Ghaieb (الغيب).
The assumption is the Knowledge of Allah SWT is complete in all four areas. If anyone denies that or believe otherwise, he/she would be an unbeliever (Kafir).
If someone says that he agrees to the comprehensive knowledge of Allah in the first and second points. However for the third point, the future: the person believes that Allah only knows the alternatives/options that a person has to choose from in order to perform an action (3.a); and he claims that Allah SWT does not know which one of the alternatives or options the person will choose until it has actually been chosen and performed by the human (3.b), this person has to repent or he/she is in great danger of being a Kafir, regardless whether he/she prays, fasts or pronounces the Shahadah. This opinion contradicts the consensus of Muslims on this issue; which is the completeness and comprehensiveness of the knowledge of Allah SWT. He/she left Allah SWT with slightly more knowledge than humans! The past and present can be and are known to humans. According to this misguided individual, Allah’s knowledge is restricted to knowledge of the alternatives, which in the world of computers can be highly predictable by some supercomputers! This claim, as we see, eliminates the knowledge of Allah in Ghaieb. The reasons offered for such a claim by such people is that it is necessary for maintaining the Fairness of Allah SWT. The logic that they offer is: if Allah knows what actions a person chooses, then He SWT would have written in the Preserved Book before it happened, and the person could never do anything else otherwise; which means in their claim, that there's no choice for the person but to do what is written as is written. This is against the Fairness of Allah (as they claim) and does not constitute punishment. We will Insha Allah show later that this is totally wrong as it equates the Knowledge, Wisdom and Fairness of Allah SWT with that of humans. Moreover it confuses Allah's writing of events that will happen, with dictating or forcing them to happen. Things happen exactly the way they were written in the Preserved Book, and cannot happen anyway else, because of the completeness and comprehensiveness of Allah's Knowledge, not because He dictates them to happen this way.
In order to support their argument, they interpret verses of Quran in their own way. Verses such as:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لَيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ اللّهُ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الصَّيْدِ تَنَالُهُ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَرِمَاحُكُمْ لِيَعْلَمَ اللّهُ مَن يَخَافُهُ بِالْغَيْبِ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“O ye who believe! Allah doth but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of your hands and your lances, that He may Know who feareth Him unseen: any who transgress thereafter, will have a grievous penalty.” (Al-Maidah 5-94).
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ
“We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.” (Al-Ankabout 29-3)
Such ayas were interpreted by some of Ahlul Bidaa as proof that Allah does not know the actions of individuals before they happen. Others, those who try to be moderates, interpreted them as Allah does not know which choice the individual will make, rather He only knows all the available alternatives (as if this makes much difference!).
This is totally wrong and twisted logic. This logic has been around for centuries and is repeated by Ahlul Bidaa of Mu’tazilah. However, thy failed to sway the majority of Muslims away from the way of Ahlul Sunnah. Ibn Hazm wrote about such arguments in Al-Fisal (see Vol 2 p130-135). Al-Shahristany and Al-Baghdady also discussed such logic in Al-Farq Bayna Al-Firaq. However, we will refute such logic and illustrate the opinion of Ahlul Sunnah to make it clear for the reader.
The Qadar of Allah SWT has four phases:
Allah’s Knowledge encompasses what will happen precisely as it will happen: this is the assumption for the God we believe. His knowledge is the more comprehensive and complete than any creature can imagine. Any degree less than that constitutes another God that Muslims don’t believe in.
عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ
"He knoweth the Unseen and that which is open: He is the Great, the most High" (Al-Raad 13-9).
This was repeated 13 times in Quran; that He SWT is the Knoweth of the unseen and all that happens.مَا أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن نَّبْرَأَهَا إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
“No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: that is truly easy for Allah” (Al-Hadid 57-22).
Ibn Khather said: “This verse is a great proof that stands firmly against the false argument of the Mu’tazilah, who deny the partial or the total knowledge of Allah of things before they happens, may Allah set them in shame, … and this is easy for Him as He knows what will happen before it happens and what would have happened if it happened” Tafseer Ibn Khather Vol. 8 p.53.Of course, this verse talks about the mishaps that happen, but one should not understand that Allah only writes mishaps! He mentioned mishaps in this context as the context (السياق) was to give a lesson to Mankind not to put emphasis on this World as it is full of bad things that happen all the time, including missing good things that could have happened, that we should not feel bad about it, and we should not equally feel overly happy when good things happen. Allah Said:
لِكَيْلَا تَأْسَوْا عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا تَفْرَحُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ
“in order that you don’t feel bad when you miss an opportunity, or feel good when you obtain one”.
So, this verse offers “Clear Proof” or Bayan (بيان) for the “Ambivalent” or Mujmal (المجمل) in other verses that “Ghaieb” (الغيب) includes whatever is going to happen before it happens.
However, it has always been the way of Ahlul Bidaa to accept some verses and to turn a blind eye to others that do not fit their misguided interpretations!
Imam Muslim reported that Suraqah Ibn Malik said: "Oh prophet of Allah, explain to us our religion: if we have been created today, what do our actions mean then? Is it about what has been written and the ink of the book has already dried (meaning that it is already decided)? Or something that is in the future (meaning its still is not in the book)? The Prophet PBUH said: "No, but whatever already the ink has dried as it is already written and Qadar is already running with it …." until the Prophet PBUH said: "every one is made with the ability to carry out his actions”. Al-Termizie and Ahmad also reported similar hadiths.
This Sahih hadith substantiates the aforementioned verse above. Of course, Ahlul Bidaa’s way is to stand against such hadith and to claim that they do not accept what is against their logic. Hence, even if it is reported in Boukari and Muslim, they are not ready to accept it!
Writing of Allah's Knowledge in the preserved book.
Following the Knowledge of Allah SWT, everything was written in the book as it will happen without a single omission. When things happen, they happen exactly as was written; no more and no less. More or less means that Allah didn't have complete knowledge of a certain event at a point of time, which again goes against the assumption of our Majestic Lord, The Most High SWT. The Mu’tazilah believe in a God who lacks the knowledge of man’s choices until they happen! Writing the actions of Man does not mean that it is dictated upon him to do. It only means that:Allah knows what a person will do no matter how many times that person changes his mind
and that Allah decided not to interfere in changing man's actions. But if man wanted to change his action, He SWT would have known about it and recorded it and it would be easy for Him to do.
Descending of that knowledge to Lower heaven.
This is when some of the Jinn try to listen to what is going to happen and Allah sends comets onto them to cast them away. That is how some Jinn know what may happen in the near future and they use this information to deceive humans. This is the phase where actions are then ready to take place in reality.The Qada (القضاء) takes place, or the action is performed by the person in accordance with what was written. It cannot happen against what was written as this constitutes the lack of knowledge of Allah. I would like to emphasize again that the choice was made by the person, not dictated by Allah. Allah SWT has known all along that the person will do that action and make such a choice, and He SWT did not interfere in that choice, but He wrote it and then let it happen.
This refutes the above argument by "the Qadariyah/Mu'tazilah” in the first paragraph. They claim “if He knows what a person would choose in his actions and He wrote it before it happened, the person would never do otherwise. Then there is no choice for the person but to do it this way. This is against the fairness of Allah, and does not constitute punishment”. In this twisted logic, they assume that when Allah writes the actions, he dictates it and make it compulsory on the person to do it! We don’t know where they got such understanding? In the Hadith of Muslim, the Prophet PBUH excluded the “is it in the future” as everything in the past, present and future is in the book according to the knowledge of Allah SWT.
The method of Ahlul Bidaa has always been to ignore the verses that are not inline with their own Hawa or “doubts”. As for Hadith, they created this other twisted logic about not accepting Hadith unless it meets their logic and reasoning. We wonder: who's logic and reasoning? Is it Tariq Abdelhaleem’s logic and reasoning, or Mohamed Abdullah logic and reasoning or Shabeer Ally's logic and reasoning or Wasel Ibn A’ata's (the head of Mu'tazilah) logic and reasoning or Boukhari and Muslim's logic and reasoning?
Ahlul Sunnah maintain their position that Shariah is holistic and should be understood in its totality as mentioned by Al-Shateby in Al-Etesam (الإعتصام). We look at all the verses and hadiths and do not overlook or down play or ignore any of it for the other in order to suit one’s doubts. There is no contradiction between any verse or hadith. The understanding that puts it all in harmony is the one that was understood and accepted by the companions and the great Imams of Ahlul Sunnah such as Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Taymiyah and all the others.
Imam Ibn Taymiyah explains in the Collection of Fatawa Vol 8 P 474 (مجموع الفتاوى ج8 ص474 وبعدها) that: “The creation of people makes it even easier to understand that He knows what they will do. Allah SWT said: "Does not He know whom He created”; ألا يعلم من خلق . The people that Allah knew that they will follow His path with their own free will and capacity to obey, and those who will not follow His path all will do that with their free will and capacity to disobey”. Ibn Taymiyah then explains that what they do is because they want to do it and He SWT gives them the capacity to do it and to choose it. If they wanted to choose not to do, then they can as they have the capacity but not the will. Similarly, those who choose not to do what Allah wants they have chosen not to obey. If they wanted to obey, then they would have been able to do it as they have the capacity to obey but they don’t have the will to follow. Also, Allah SWT is capable of doing everything, but He has chosen to do some things and not to do others; because not everything within the capacity would consequently be done.
Ibn Taymiyah gave an example of the comprehensive knowledge of Allah SWT with the Kufr of Abu Lahab. Allah revealed in the Quran that Abu Lahab will never be a believer and will go to hellfire. Now, it was easy for Abu Lahab to refute the Quran if he became a Muslim, but as Allah knows that this will never happen, as it is not in the book that is written in accordance with the knowledge of Allah, He SWT showed us, that one unique event, that what happens can never be against what He knew and documented in the book. Volume 8 of the collection of Fatwa is an big guide of the path of Sunnah in the subject of Qadar. It refutes the twisted ways of Ahlul Bidaa, both those who denied the capacity and will of humans to do their actions and those who denied either the wisdom or the knowledge or the capacity of Allah to know or write the actions before it happens.
One last point to discuss in this part is regarding the verses that we have mentioned:
“O ye who believe! Allah doth but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of your hands and your lances, that He may Know who feareth Him unseen: any who transgress thereafter, will have a grievous penalty.” (Al-Maidah 5-94).
“We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.” (Al-Ankabout 29-3).
The knowledge here is not the original knowledge of what will happen. It is the knowledge that happens when what is written before creation takes place and the knowledge transfers into actions. They are different in nature, but they are identical when it comes to the knowledge of Allah. That is why the Imams of Tafseer said that the word “to know” in this context means 'to see' as this is how the Arabs would express that meaning in the classical Arabic language. Quran is revealed in Arabic and those who do not understand the ways Arabs use their language will never be able to completely understand such verses. Add to that those who where tested by Allah with such twisted logic! That other knowledge is the one that constitutes punishment as said by Al-A’alusy in Ruh Al-Ma’ani Vol. 4 p.33 (روح المعاني للألوسي) and by Ibn Khather and Khurtubi and other tafseer Imams. The original knowledge, that the preserved book was written in accordance with it, does not constitute punishment as it did not materialize. If Allah wanted to punish man without passing through this Dunyah (life), man would dispute that he could've done different than Allah's comprehensive knowledge. Hence, although Allah knows who will be a believer and who will not be one, His justice dictated to bring Man to life and make him witness his own actions actions so as to establish the full undisputable argument against Man which is no different from what Allah wanted.
قُلْ فَلِلّهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شَاء لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
“Say: With Allah is the argument that reaches home: if it had been His Will, He could indeed have guided you all." (Al-A’anam 6-149).
Finally:
وَاللّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
“And Allah’s affair (will, control and power) will prevail, but most Mankind do not realize it”.