Finding the True Path and Qadar

Question: Some people say, "Embracing Islam and finding the true path are something related to qada' and qadar." Since it is Allah who creates qadar, why does He create other people unfortunate? Is His creating so compatible with justice?

ANSWER: Allahu ta'ala does not create anyone a disbeliever. He knows with His eternal knowledge all the things that happened and will happen. For example, He knows whether or not a certain disbeliever will remain a disbeliever forever. He knows all the things that will happen the way they will happen. Let us explain this issue with an example: The times when the sun will rise and set during a year are calculated and written on charts and timetables. And the sun rises and sets at those times written beforehand. However, the reason why it rises or sets at calculated times is not that they were written so on charts and timetables. Their having been written does not affect sunrise or sunset. Because Allahu ta'ala foreknows what will befall humans, He recorded it in al-Lawh al-Mahfuz. The reason why Allahu ta'ala has stated that some people will be unfortunate is that they want to remain in disbelief of their own volition and do not want to believe. They do not remain in disbelief as Allahu ta'ala has informed us about it. The Qur'an al-karim says (what means):

(By Allahu ta'ala, who gave the nafs good and evil [ability to obey and disobey, that is, the right to choose one of them; partial will], he who has purified his nafs and who has purged it of disbelief and disobedience has been saved. He who has left it in them has suffered a loss.) [Ash-Shams 7-10]

Humans are free in using their partial will. They are not compelled. That is, if they use their partial will in goodness, Allahu ta'ala creates goodness. If they spend it in evil, He creates evil. Humans use their partial will, and Allahu ta'ala creates [what they want]. (The pamphlet "Iradah al-Juz'iyyah")
This means to say that He creates goodness for him who wills it, and that person is considered fortunate. He creates evil for him who wills it, and that person is considered unfortunate. There is no compulsion. In other words, Allahu ta'ala does not force anyone to sin. Nor does He guide anyone to Hell by force. In conclusion, there is nothing incompatible with justice.

WHAT IS A TRUE MUSLIM LIKE?

The first thing is to correct the belief in accordance with those which the Ahl as-sunnat savants communicate in their books. It is only this Madhhab that will be saved from Hell. May Allahu ta'ala give plenty of rewards for the efforts of those great people! Scholars of the four Madhhabs, who reached the grade of ijtihad and the great scholars educated by them are called Ahl as-sunnat scholars. After correcting the belief (iman), it is necessary to perform the worships conveyed in the knowledge of fiqh, i.e. to do the commands of the Shariat and to abstain from what it prohibits. One should perform namaz five times each day without reluctance or slackness, and should be careful about its conditions and tadil-i arkan. He who has as much money or property as nisab should give zakat. Imam-i azam Abu Hanifa says, "Also, it is necessary to give the zakat of gold and silver which women use as ornaments."

One should not waste his precious life on trivialities even if they are permitted (mubah). It is certainly necessary not to waste time on the haram. We should not busy ourselves with taghanni, singing, musical instruments, or songs. We should not be deceived by the pleasure they give our nafses. These are poisons mixed with honey and covered with sugar.

One should not commit giybat. Giybat is haram. [Giybat means to talk about a Muslim's or a Zimmi's secret faults behind his back. It is necessary to tell a Muslim about the faults of the Harbis, about the sins of those who commit these sins in public, about the evils of those who torment Muslims and who deceive Muslims in buying and selling. Thus, Muslims will be aware of their harms. To expose the slander of those who talk and write about Islam wrongfully is not giybat. (Radd-ul-Mukhtar: 5-263)]

One should not spread gossip (carry words) among Muslims. It has been declared that various kinds of torments will be inflicted on those who commit these two kinds of sins. Also, it is haram to lie and slander; these must be abstained from. These two evils were haram in every religion. Their punishments are very heavy. It is very thawab to conceal Muslims' defects, not to spread their secret sins and to forgive them for their faults. One should pity one's inferiors, those under one's command [such as wives, children, students, soldiers] and the poor. One should not reproach them for their faults. One should not hurt or beat or swear at those who are weak for trivial reasons. One should not attack another's property, life, honor, or chastity. Debts to anyone or to the government must be paid. Bribery, accepting or giving, is haram. However, it will not be bribery to give it in order to get rid of the suffering caused by a tyrant. But accepting this would be haram, too. Everybody should see his own defects, and should every hour think of the faults which he has committed towards Allahu ta'ala. He should always bear in mind that Allahu ta'ala does not hurry in punishing him, nor does He cut off his sustenance. The orders from one's parents, or from the government, compatible with the Sharia must be obeyed, but those incompatible with the Sharia should not be resisted in a way that will provoke fitna. [See the 123 rd letter in the second volume of the book Maktubat-i Mathumiyya.]
After correcting the belief and doing the commands of fiqh, one should spend all one's time remembering Allahu ta'ala. One should continue remembering and mentioning Allahu ta'ala as the great men of religion have prescribed. One should feel hostility towards all the things that will prevent the heart from remembering Allahu ta'ala. The more you adhere to the Shariat, the more delicious it will be to remember Him. As indolence and laziness increase in obeying the Shariat, that flavor will gradually decrease, eventually disappearing at last. What can I write more than what I have written already? It will be enough for a reasonable person. We should not fall into the traps of the enemies of Islam by falling for their lies and slanders.