ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ
There is not to be upon the Prophet any discomfort concerning that which Allah has imposed upon him. [This is] the established way of Allah with those [prophets] who have passed on before. And ever is the command of Allah a destiny decreed.
Tafsir
Verse range: 33:38
{ما كان على النبي من حرج فيما فرض الله له سنة الله في الذين خلوا من قبل وكان أمر الله قدرا مقدورا}
Meaning, the law for those who preceded him was likewise: the Prophets used to marry many virgins and divorced women from others. **{And the command of Allah was a decree determined.}** Meaning, everything is by Divine Decree (*Qada'*) and Predetermination (*Qadar*).
There is a distinction made between Qada' (Decree) and Qadar (Predetermination). Qada' is what was originally intended, while Qadar is what follows it.
Example: If someone intends to go to a city but stops at an inn or village along the way, it is conventionally acceptable for him to say in response to someone asking why he came to that village: "I did not come to this village; rather, I intended such-and-such a city, and this place happened to be on my route," even though he did indeed come and enter it.
If you understand this, then all good things are by Qada', and whatever harm exists in the world is by Qadar. Allah Almighty created the accountable being with desires and anger so that his striving to overcome them with intellect and religion would be rewarded in the most complete manner. This striving sometimes leads some to commit fornication or murder. Allah did not intend murder or fornication for them in His original creation, even though these acts occur by the Qadar of Allah.
If you grasp this, there is a subtlety in the two statements of Allah: first, {And the command of Allah was a thing done} (maf'ulan), and second, {And the command of Allah was a decree determined} (qadran muqaddaran).
The subtlety is this: When Allah said, {We married her to you} (referring to Zaynab), He said, {And the command of Allah was a thing done} (maf'ulan). This means Our marriage of Zaynab to you was intended, followed through, decreed, and observed.
But when He said, {Such has been the way of Allah in those who passed away before}—referring to the story of Prophet Dawud (David), peace be upon him, who was tempted by the wife of Uriah—He said, {And the command of Allah was a decree determined} (qadran muqaddaran). This means that was a ruling that followed as a consequence.
If someone argues that this supports the position of the Mu'tazila regarding Tawlid (generation of actions) or the philosophers who hold that things must necessarily occur in a certain way—like fire necessarily burning—saying that Allah intended to create something that cooks food, which can only happen by burning, so He created fire for benefit, but then the concurrence of causes led to the burning of Zayd's house or 'Amr's house.
We respond: May Allah forbid that we say Allah is not free in His actions, or that something happens without His will. Rather, the Ahl al-Sunnah say that Allah has established His custom ('ādah) in such a way. He has the power to create fire such that when needed for cooking meat, it cooks, but when it touches an old woman's garment, it does not burn. Do you not see that it did not burn Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him, despite its power and abundance? Rather, He created it in a different manner by His sheer Will or for a hidden wisdom, and He is not questioned about what He does.
Therefore, what occurs according to Allah's established custom in a way comprehensible to human intellects, we say it is by Qada' (Decree). What occurs in a way that leads a limited intellect to ask, "Why did this happen, and why did it not happen otherwise?" we say it is by Qadar (Predetermination).
Then He clarified "those who passed away before" by saying:
7 < {Those who deliver the messages of Allah and fear Him, and fear none but Allah. And sufficient is Allah as Reckoner.} > 7 !
