“Yes” I replied.
“Then recite chapter Az-Zuhruf” he said.
I began to recite: “Ha-mim. By the clear Book, indeed we have made it an Arabic Quran so that you might understand. And indeed it is in the Mother of Books, in Our presence, high in dignity and full of wisdom.” (Quran 43:1-4)
Ata asked: “Do you know what the Mother of Books is?”
“Allah and His Rasul know better,” I said.
Ata continued: “It is the book that Allah wrote before He created the heavens and the earth. In it, it writes about the Pharaoh and that he is of the people of hell, and in it there is the verse ‘May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined.’”
Ata (r.a.) said: I met Al-Walid the son of ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit the companion of Rasulullah (saw) and asked him: “What was your father’s admonition when he died?” He said: “He called me and said: ‘O my son! Be wary of Allah, and know that you can never heed Allah until you believe in Allah, and you believe in Al-Qadar – all of it – its good and its bad. If you die upon a belief other than this you will go to Hell.
Indeed I heard Rasulullah (saw) saying:
“Verily the FIRST of what Allah CREATED was the Pen. Then He said to it: ‘Write.’ It said: ‘What should I write?’ He said: ‘Write Al-Qadar, what it is, and what shall be, until eternity.’” (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud)
Abdullah b. Fairuz ad-Dailami says: “I came to Ubayy bin Ka’b and said: ‘My mind is confused regarding the topic of fate. Tell me something by which Allah will remove the doubt and confusion from my heart’ Ubayy replied: ‘If Allah were to torment everything on the earth and in the heavens, He will not be cruel, and if He were to treat everything with His mercy (Rahmah) his Mercy would be more beneficial than their current activities. If you spend gold in the name of Allah as great as the Mount Uhud yet you do not believe in destiny, and you do not believe that whatever is decreed to afflict you will inevitably afflict you and whatever is decreed not to will never afflict you, Allah will not accept your benefaction. If you die upon a belief other than this, you will go to Hell.’
Abdullah Dailami says, ‘then I went to Abdullah b. Ma’sud and he told the same thing. Then I went to Huzaifa b. Yaman and he told the same thing. Then I went to Zaid b. Sabit and he also narrated the same thing from Rasulullah (saw).’” (Abu Dawud)
Abdullah b. Amr (r.a.) narrates:
I heard Rasulullah (saw) say:
“Verily Allah created everything in darkness first, then he radiated His Nur (The Light of Knowledge that is the source and essence of everything) upon them. Those who took their share of this Nur were rightly guided; those who were deprived of this Nur deviated from the right path. This is why I say the ink with which Allah’s knowledge was written has dried, that is, everything has already been predetermined and destined, there is nothing more to write.” (Tirmidhi, Imam B. Hasan)
Abu Huraira narrates:
One day, as we were engaged in an argument about fate and destiny, Rasulullah (saw) came over. He got so angry that his cheeks went red as though pomegranate juice had spilled on them. He said:
“Is this what you have been ordered with? Is this what I have been sent to you for? When the people who came before you argued over the matters of fate they were destroyed. This, I swear to you, that you may not argue with each other, I swear to you!” (Tirmidhi)
Jabir (r.a.) narrates:
Rasulullah (saw) said:
“One is not considered to have faith if he does not believe in fate – with all its good and bad – and if he does not believe that what is destined to be, will be, and what is destined not to be, will never be.” (Tirmidhi)
Aisha (r.a.) narrates:
Rasulullah (saw) said:
“There are six people I damn, who Allah and every past Rasul also damns. They are:
Those who add things to Allah’s Book,