Guidance is in the Hand of Allāh
By Shaykh Ibn Ibrahim al-Tuwaijri
How can we reconcile between the ayat: “Verily,
you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like” [Al-Qasas 28:56] and “And verily, you
(O Muhammad) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path” [Al-Shura,
42:52]?
In the name of Allāh,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the praise and
Thanks are due to Allāh, the Lord of al-'ālamīn. I testify that there is none
worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam,
is His Messenger.
Allāh Almighty has created man as his Khalifah
on the earth Allāh has sent down his Messengers to call man to the truth and
warn him against falsehood. Then Allāh has left him to make his own choice.
Guidance to the truth is in the Hand of Allāh. Allāh Opens the hearts of which
He Wills and likewise Seals the hearts of others.
1. Allāh Subhanahu wa ta’ala has created man and
given him reason, undoubtedly as his Khalifah on the earth and He has sent down
to him Revelation and sent to him Messengers to call him to the truth and warn
him against falsehood. Then Allāh has left him to make his own choice.
Allāh Says:“And say: ‘The truth is from your
Lord.’ Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him
disbelieve” [Al-Kahfi, 18:29]
2. Allāh Almighty commanded His Messenger Muhammad
(Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to convey the truth to all of mankind which they
have the choice to do as they wish. If a person obeys, he benefits himself, and
if he disobeys, he harms himself.
As Allāh says: “Say: ‘O you mankind! Now truth
(i.e. the Qur’ān and Prophet Muhammad), has come to you from your Lord. So
whosoever receives guidance, he does so for the good of his own self; and
whosoever goes astray, he does so to his own loss; and I am not (set) over you
as a Wakil (disposer of affairs to oblige you for guidance)’” [Yunus, 10:108]
3. Islam is the religion of the natural state of
man (fitrah), the religion of reason and thought. Allāh has distinguished the
truth from falsehood. He has enjoined all that is good and forbidden all that
is evil. He has permitted good things and forbidden evil things. There is no
compulsion in religion because the benefits or harms come back upon the created
being, not upon the Creator.
Allāh says: “There is no compulsion in
religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path.
Whoever disbelieves in Tāghūt (false gods) and believes in Allāh, then he has
grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break” [Al-Baqārah, 2:256]
And Allāh Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says: “Whosoever does righteous good
deed, it is for (the benefit of) his own self; and whosoever does evil, it is
against his own self. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves” [Fussilat 41:46]
4. Guidance is in the hand of Allāh. If Allāh
Subhanahu wa Ta’ala willed, He could guide all of mankind, for there is nothing
that Allāh Subhanahu wa Ta’ala cannot do on this earth or in the heavens.
Nothing happens in His Dominion except that which He wills.
Allāh says: “Say:
‘With Allāh is the perfect proof and argument, (i.e. the Oneness of Allāh, the
sending of His Messengers and His Holy Books, to mankind); had He so willed, He
would indeed have guided you all’” [Al-An’am, 6:149]
5. But in His Wisdom, Allāh has created us with
the ability to choose, and He has sent down to us guidance and the Criterion.
So whoever obeys Allāh and His Messenger will enter Paradise and whoever
disobeys Allāh and His Messenger will enter Hell.
As Allāh says: “Verily, proofs have come to you
from your Lord, so whosoever sees, will do so for (the good of) his own self,
and whosoever blinds himself, will do so to his own harm, and I (Muhammad) am
not a watcher over you” [Al-An’am, 6:104]
6. The Messenger (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
has no part in guidance; all that he and the Muslims have to do is to explain
and convey the message, and show them guidance but they cannot force people to
follow it.
Allāh said to His Messenger (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi
wa sallam): “And had your Lord willed, those on earth
would have believed, all of them together. So, will you (O Muhammad) then
compel mankind, until they become believers?” [Yunus 10:99]
And Allāh says: “And the duty of the Messenger is only to convey
(the Message) plainly” [Al-‘Ankabut, 29:18]
7. Guidance to the truth is in the hand of Allāh
alone and no human being has any share in that, as Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
said to His Messenger (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
Allāh Says: “Verily,
you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like, but Allāh guides whom He wills. And
He knows best those who are the guided” [Al-Qasas, 28:56]
8. Allāh guides whomsoever He wills and sends
astray whomsoever He wills. He has told us that He guides those who obey Him
and turn to Him.
Allah says: “While as for those who accept
guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their piety” [Muhammad, 47:17]
9. But whoever disobeys Allāh Subhanahu wa
Ta’ala and turns away from Him, Allāh will not guide him.
Allah says: “Truly, Allāh
guides not him who is a liar and a disbeliever” [Al-Zumar, 39:3]
10. Allāh is Omniscient and knows what has
happened and is happening and what is yet to come. Allāh knows the believers
and the disbelievers, and what they will do, and He knows what their fate will
be in the Hereafter. Allāh Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala has written all that in al-Lawh
al-Mahfouz (the Preserved Tablet).
He says: “And all things We have recorded in a Book”
[Al-Naba’, 78:29]
11. Allāh has created man with the ability to
choose, and He has created him able to do both, either believer or disbelieve.
As He says: “Verily, We showed him the way,
whether he be grateful or ungrateful” [Al-Insan, 76:3]
Man has the choice in terms of his reason only;
if he loses his reason by which he is able to distinguish between the
alternatives of good and evil, truth and falsehood, then he is not accountable.
Hence according to Islamic syari’ah, the pen is lifted from the insane person
(i.e., he is not accountable) until he recovers his senses, and from the child
until he reaches the age of understanding, and from the sleeper until he wakes
up. None of these people are accountable until they gain or recover the reason
by which they may distinguish between the alternatives of faith and disbelief,
truth and falsehood, and so on.
12. Whatever direction a person takes, there
will be reward and punishment, if he obeys, and there will be Paradise.
Allāh says: “Indeed he succeeds who purifies his own self
(i.e. obeys and performs all that Allāh ordered, by following the true Faith of
Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds” [Al-Shams, 91:9]
13. And if he disobeys Allāh Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala, there will be Hell.
Allāh says: “And indeed he fails who corrupts
his own self (i.e. disobeys what Allāh has ordered by rejecting the true Faith
of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, or by doing every kind of
evil wicked deeds”[Al-Shams, 91:10]
14. The choice of one of these two ways is
something about which a person will be questioned by the Lord of the Worlds.
Hence it is clear that faith or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, is the
matter of personal choice.
Allāh has made reward and punishment dependent
upon this choice.
Allāh says: “Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for
(the benefit of) his own self; and whosoever does evil, it is against his own
self. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves” [Fussilat, 41:46]
15. Whoever loves Allāh and His Messenger (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa
sallam)and desires good in this world and in the Hereafter, let him enter
Islam, and whoever turns away from that and is content with this world and has
no interest in the Hereafter and does not submit, and then his abode will be
Hell. The individual is the one who will benefit or harm himself. There is no
compulsion to choose either.
Allāh says:
“Verily, this (Verses of the Qur’an) is an
admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allāh)”
[Al-Insan, 76:29]
Allāh Almighty says: "Verily,
the Abrar (pious and righteous) will be in Delight (Jannah).And verily; the
Fujjar (the wicked, disbelievers, sinners and evildoers) will be in the blazing
Fire (Hell)." [Al-Infitar, 82:13, 14]
Thus the believers must
constantly supplicate to Allah Almighty for his guidance to the straight path,
righteous in our deeds and steadfast in ad-deen.
The
Prophet, (Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) taught the ummmah to seek Allah’s
forgiveness, guidance, steadfast and hasanah. ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar
(radiyallāhu’anhu) said: We counted Messenger's saying a hundred times
during one single sitting: ‘Rabb ighfir li wa tubb `alayya innaka
antat-tawwābul ghafūrur -raheem’ (O Allāh, forgive me and accept my
repentance, for You are the Accepter of Repentance, Oft-Forgiving Most
Merciful). [Recorded by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidzi].
It was narrated that the
Prophet (Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) said to a man (one of the Sahabah): “What
do you say when you prayer (Du’a after the Tashahhud)?” He said: “I recite the
Tashahhud, then I say: “Allāhumma inni as alukal-Jannah wa a`udzu bika
Minan-nār” (O Allāh, I ask You for Paradise and seek refuge in You from
the Fire).I cannot murmur like you and like Mu‘adz.” Rasūlullāh
(Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) said: “It is about them that we were murmuring.”
[Narrated by Abu Dawud, 792: sahih]
`Abdullah bin Mas`ud (radiyallahu‘anhu) reported that the Prophet
(Sallallahu`alayhi wasallam) used to say: "Allahumma
inni as `alukal-huda wat-tuqa wal-`afafa wal-ghina (O
Allah! I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity and self-sufficiency)".
[Recorded by Muslim].
Guidance here means guidance at every turn of life and
steadfastness on the path of truth. Fear of Allah is the greatest means of
piety and strongest defense against sins. Chastity is the state of being free
from what is unlawful. Self-sufficiency is the antonym of poverty and here it
means the self-contentment. What it implies is that one should not care for
what people possess. In view of all these qualities, the do’a of the Prophet
(Sallallahu`alayhi wasallam) mentioned in this Hadith is very comprehensive and
valuable.
Anas Ibn Mālik (radiyallāhu’anhu) who said: “The supplication most
often recited by Rasūlullāh (Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam): Rabbana-ātina-fid-dunya
hasanah, Wa fil-ākhirati-hasanah, Wa-qina-`ādzabānnār (O
Lord! Bestow upon us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that
which is good, and save us from the punishment of the Fire).’” (Al-Baqārah
2:201) [This is recorded by Al-Bukhāri, Muslim, and Tarmidzi]. Tarmidzi (rahimullāh)
said: “Hasanah is very comprehensive and includes in all kinds of good and
benefits of this world and of the Hereafter. Good health, wealth and
satisfaction of the world and good status in Jannah, forgiveness from sins and
Allāh’s bounties and favours in both worlds are included in this duā’”
[Recorded in Jāmi’ At-Tarmidzi]
Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir recorded that Umm Salamah
(radiyallāhu`anha), said that the Prophet (Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) used to
supplicate: ‘Ya muqallibal-qulubi, thabbit qalbi `ala dinik (O
Controller of the hearts make my heart steadfast in Your religion).”Rasulullah
(Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) then recited: Rabbana
la tuzia’qulubana ba’ daiz hadaitana wahab Lana min laduñ karahmah; Iñnaka an
tal wahhāb. (Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after
Thou have guided us, and grant us mercy from Thou. Truly, Thou are the
Bestower.) (Al-`Imran, 3:8) [This is recorded by Muslim and At-Tirmidzi]
Abu Musa (radiyallāhu‘anhu) reported: The Messenger of Allāh
(Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said to me, “Shall I not guide you to a treasure
from the treasures of Jannah?'' I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allāh!''
Thereupon he (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: (Recite) ‘Lā
hawla wa lā quwwata illa billāhil [‘aly-yul ‘Azeem]’ (There
is neither change of any condition nor power except by Allāh [the Most High,
the Most Magnificent]).'' [This is recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
And Allāh Almighty Knows best.
[Excerpted from Usul
al-Deen al-Islami by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tuwaijri]
[Via Islam Online]
