What is qadar — and why an article of faith?
When the angel Jibrīl came to teach the religion, he asked the Prophet ﷺ to define īmān (faith). The answer named six things — and the last was belief in the decree:
"That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil."
'Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra), the Hadith of Jibrīl — Sahih Muslim — site reader no. 1, Kitab al-Iman
Qadar is Allah's determining and measuring-out of all things; qaḍāʾ is His carrying them out. The core belief is simple and vast at once: everything that exists or happens does so by Allah's knowledge, will, and creation — never by accident, never outside His plan. The Quran states it directly:
إِنَّا كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقْنَـٰهُ بِقَدَرٍ
"Indeed, We have created all things with a decree (qadar) — a precise measure."
Quran 54:49 (Al-Qamar)
The four levels of qadar
The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah describe belief in qadar as four connected levels — each affirmed by the Quran. To believe in all four is to believe in qadar completely.
Allah's decree unfolds through four levels: He knew, He wrote, He willed, He created. Believing in all four is belief in qadar.
The four levels of qadar: (1) al-Ilm — Allah's eternal knowledge of all things, Quran 6:59 and 65:12; (2) al-Kitabah — the writing of all destinies in the Preserved Tablet, Quran 57:22 and 85:22; (3) al-Mashiah — nothing occurs outside Allah's will, Quran 81:29; (4) al-Khalq — Allah is the creator of everything, including our deeds, Quran 54:49 and 37:96.
Allah eternally knew everything that was, is, and will be — "not a leaf falls but He knows it." Nothing surprises Him.
Quran 6:59 · 65:12He recorded all destinies in al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ (the Preserved Tablet) fifty thousand years before creation.
Quran 57:22 · 85:22Nothing happens except by Allah's will; what He wills is, and what He does not will is not.
Quran 81:29Allah is the Creator of everything — the heavens, the earth, and even the deeds His servants do.
Quran 54:49 · 37:96All four together: Allah knew what you would do, wrote it, willed its existence, and created it — yet the choosing is genuinely yours (see below). Denying any one level is a deviation from the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah.
Free will and decree — the balance
Here is the question everyone asks: if Allah decreed everything, am I really choosing? Islam holds a careful middle path between two errors — those who denied the decree to protect free will (the Qadariyyah), and those who denied real human choice, claiming people are forced (the Jabriyyah). The truth of Ahl as-Sunnah is both/and:
You have a real will — and it operates within Allah's. The Quran affirms that you genuinely will and choose, and in the very next breath that your will does not escape Allah's:
لِمَن شَآءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
"For whoever among you wills to take a straight path. But you cannot will unless Allah wills — the Lord of all worlds."
Quran 81:28–29 (At-Takwir)
Notice the order: "for whoever wills" establishes your real choice; "you cannot will except that Allah wills" establishes that your very capacity to choose is itself given and encompassed by Allah. You are not a puppet — you feel yourself deciding, and you are held responsible for it — but you are also not a second creator alongside Allah. Both truths are held at once. This is why the Quran can command, forbid, reward, and punish: because human choice is real. Allah "does not burden a soul beyond its capacity" (Quran 2:286) — a meaningless statement if no one truly chose.
Why qadar is never an excuse for sin
The most common misuse of qadar is to say, "It was decreed, so I couldn't help it." The Quran records exactly this excuse on the lips of the idolaters — and rejects it as a baseless guess (Quran 6:148). The reason it fails is simple: no one knows their decree in advance. You do not read the Preserved Tablet before you act — you act by your own choice, and only afterward could you say it was "written." So the decree can never be a reason not to act. When the companions asked whether they should therefore just rely on what was written, the Prophet ﷺ told them to act:
They said, "O Allah's Messenger ﷺ! Shall we not depend upon what has been written for us and give up deeds?" He said, "Carry on doing (good) deeds, for everybody will find easy to do such deeds as will lead him to his destined place for which he has been created."
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) — Sahih al-Bukhari 4949, Sahih Muslim (Kitab al-Qadar — site reader no. 6568)
The balance was captured in the famous exchange the Prophet ﷺ related between Ādam and Mūsā (peace be upon them): Mūsā blamed Ādam for the sin that led humanity out of the Garden; Ādam answered that the matter had been written before he was created. The Prophet ﷺ concluded, "So Adam confuted Moses, Adam confuted Moses" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6614; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Qadar — site reader no. 6577). The scholars explain the point precisely: qadar is a valid answer to a calamity that has already struck — you accept it as decreed — but it is never a licence to commit a sin, because at the moment of choosing you are choosing freely and will be held to account. Ādam did not use decree to justify the sin; he invoked it to answer a rebuke over a hardship already past and already forgiven.
Contentment, trust, and freedom from despair
Belief in qadar is not fatalism — it is the deepest source of a believer's peace. Because nothing reaches you except by Allah's leave, no loss is random and no effort is wasted:
مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ
"No calamity befalls except by the leave of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah — He guides his heart."
Quran 64:11 (At-Taghabun)
The fruit of this belief is a heart at rest: gratitude when things go well (knowing they are a gift), patience when they do not (knowing they are decreed and purposeful), freedom from arrogance (your success was granted, not self-made), and freedom from despair (your loss was measured by the Most Wise). It pairs with tawakkul — you tie your camel and take every means, then trust the outcome to Allah — and it turns effort into worship rather than anxiety.
Do
- Believe in all four levels: knowledge, writing, will, creation
- Take the means, then trust Allah with the result (tawakkul)
- Meet hardship with patience — it is decreed and purposeful
- Own your choices; you are genuinely choosing
- Ask Allah for good and seek refuge from evil — duʿāʾ is itself part of qadar
Avoid
- Using "it was decreed" to excuse a sin you chose
- Denying the decree to defend free will (the Qadariyyah error)
- Denying real choice, claiming you are forced (the Jabriyyah error)
- Abandoning effort and means in the name of "trust"
- Despair after loss, or arrogance after success
Frequently asked questions
If Allah already knows and wrote my end, what's the point of trying?
Because you don't know what was written — and the trying is the path that was written. The Prophet ﷺ was asked this exact question and answered, "Do deeds, for everyone is eased toward that for which he was created" (Bukhari 4949). Allah's foreknowledge does not force your choice any more than knowing the sun will rise causes it to rise. Your effort, your duʿāʾ, and your repentance are all real causes He decreed to have real effects.
Does Allah create evil? Is He the author of my sins?
Allah creates everything that exists, including the acts of His servants (Quran 37:96) — but evil is never attributed to Him as a fault. Nothing He decrees is evil in relation to His wisdom and justice; the evil lies in the choice and earning of the servant, which is why we are accountable. The Prophet ﷺ said in his opening supplication of the night prayer, wa'sh-sharru laysa ilayk — in our translation of the Arabic, evil is not attributed to You (Sahih Muslim, Kitab Salat al-Musafirin — site reader no. 1704, whose English renders the phrase differently: one cannot get nearest to Thee through evil). Allah decreed the existence of the act; the servant chose and earned it.
What's the difference between qadar and fatalism?
Fatalism says "nothing I do matters, so I'll do nothing." Qadar says the opposite: your actions matter precisely because Allah decreed them as real causes, so take every means — then rest your heart, because the outcome is in the hands of the Most Wise, not left to blind chance.
Can duʿāʾ change what is decreed?
Yes, in the sense the Sunnah teaches: "Nothing repels the decree except duʿāʾ" (Tirmidhi 2139, hasan). The supplication and the outcome it brings are both part of what Allah decreed — He decreed the good to come by means of your asking. So you never stop asking; asking is itself the qadar working.
Take the full guide with you
The sixth article of faith — its four levels, the balance of free will and decree, and the peace it brings — with every verse and hadith cited and graded, in one PDF.
- The four levels of qadar, explained
- Free will & decree — the middle path
- Why it is never an excuse for sin
- A5, print-friendly, free to share
This is the sixth of the six articles of faith. See also the Six Articles of Faith in overview, and the dedicated pages on Belief in the Angels and Belief in the Books.
