Predestination, Divine Decree, Trials, Means of Sustenance Rates, and Restricted Powers

“Verily, predestination, and the Divine Decree are creations from the creation of Allah. Allah increases for the creation whatever He wills.”

I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS): “May I be your ransom! What is your belief regarding predestination, and the Divine Decree?” He (AS) replied, “I believe: Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will gather all of His Servants on the Day of Judgment. He will ask them about what He assigned them, and not what was predestined for them.”

A man came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and said: “O Commander of the Faithful, tell me about the Divine Decree.” He (AS) replied, “It is a deep ocean, so do not enter it.” The man said: “O Commander of the Faithful, tell me about the Divine Decree.” The Imam (AS) answered, “It is a dark path, so do not follow it.” The man said: “O Commander of the Faithful, tell me about the Divine Decree.” The Imam (AS) answered, “It is a secret of Allah. Do not enquire about it.” He said: “O Commander of the Faithful, tell me about the Divine Decree.” The Imam (AS) asked, “Since you refuse to stop questioning me, I shall question you. Tell me: Does the Mercy of Allah towards His Servants precede or succeed the actions of His Servants?” The man replied to him, “Allah’s Mercy towards His Servants existed prior to the actions of His Servants.” The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “All of you stand up and greet your brother, for he has submitted to Islam, while only shortly before he was an unbeliever.” The reporter says: The man moved off, but not far. Then he returned and asked, “O Commander of the Faithful! Do we stand and sit, and apprehend the delight, with the First Will?” The Commander of the Faithful (AS) replied to him, “Verily, you are far from the Divine Will. Beware! I will ask you concerning three matters from which Allah will not give you a place of escape. Tell me: Did Allah create the servants the way He willed or the way they did?” Consequently, he replied, “the way He willed.” The Imam (AS) asked, “Did Allah create the servants for what He willed or for what they willed?” He answered, “For what He willed.” Then (The) `Ali (AS) asked, “Will they appear before Him on the Day of Judgment the way He wills or the way they will?” The man replied, “They will come to Him on the Day of Judgment the way He wills. The Imam (AS) said: “Stand up, as you do not have any belief in the Divine Will.”

A man asked `Ali ibn al-Husayn (AS): “May Allah make me your ransom! Does Allah punish people due to the Divine Decree or due to their actions?” He (AS) replied, Verily, the Divine Decree and actions are like the spirit and the body. The spirit, within a body, cannot be sensed. The body, without a spirit, is shape without movement. When they combine they become strong and proper. The Divine Decree operates in a similar fashion. If the Divine Decree did not act, then the Creator would not be differentiated from the created, and the Divine Decree would not be sensed. If action took place without the Divine Decree, then it would not be proper, and would be incomplete. Their strength is in their combination. And Allah is the (Sole Source of) Help for His Pious Servants. He (AS) then added, Beware! Verily, the greatest oppressor of people is he who views his oppression as justice, and sees the justice of the rightly-guided as oppression. Beware! Verily, the greatest oppressor of people is he who views his oppression as justice, and sees the justice of the rightly-guide as oppression. Beware! Verily, a servant as four eyes: two eyes with which he sees the affairs of the Hereafter, and the two eyes with which he sees the affairs of this world. When Allah, the Mighty and High, intends good for a servant, he opens the two eyes of his heart, and he sees his shortcomings. When He intends other than that for him, He leaves the heart (of His Servant as it is), with all it contains. He (AS) then turned to the person who had asked about the Divine Decree, and said: “This is from that and this is from that.”

he is the most unfaithful and the most hard-hearted. He is the most wretched of the Kharijites due to his opposition to the rightly-guided Imams. Nonetheless, death is sufficient as a guardian. Everyone is protected by angels. They protect people fro falling into a well or a wall falling on them. They prevent people from other evils that may befall them. When the moment of death arrives, these angels guard people from what they are about to experience. I am the same. My death will come at the hands of the most wretched person of this Ummah, and my blood will color this and this. And he indicated his beard and head, saying it was “a well-know covenant and a true promise.” The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the book Al-Dala`l wa al-Mu`jizat.

“Every bounty begins with Allah, the Mighty and High, who has bestowed it upon you. Every evil which befalls you is from yourselves, although the Divine Decrees flows in it.”

I heard the Messenger of Allah (SA) say: “Allah decreed the destinies fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.”

Commander of the Faithful (AS) moved from a wall that was tilted to another wall so it was said to him, “O Commander of the Faithful! Are you fleeing from the destiny of Allah?” He (AS) replied, “I am fleeing from the destiny of Allah to the Divine Decree of Allah, the Mighty and High.”

My father Ja`far ibn Muhammad said: My father Muhammad ibn `Ali said: My father `Ali ibn al-Husayn said: My father al-Husayn ibn Ali (AS) said I heard my father `Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) say: Actions have three states: obligations, merits, and sins. As for obligations, the form part of the command of Allah, the Mighty and High, His Pleasure, His destiny, His Decree, His Will and His Knowledge. As for merits, the do not form part of the command of Allah; rather, they form part of His Pleasure, His Destiny, His Divine Decree, His Will, and His Knowledge. As for sins, they do not form part of the command of Allah; rather, they form part of His Destiny, His Divine Decree, His Will, and His Knowledge. Hence, he will punish people because of them. The Compiler of this book says: With regards to sins, the predestination of Allah, the Mighty and High, resides in His Order regarding them. With regards to sins, His Will resides in His Prohibition of them. With regards to sins, His Divine Decree resides in His Knowledge of their measures and their extents.

Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: With the exception of the centers of knowledge, the world is nothing but ignorance. The knowledge in its entirety is evidence against the ones who know and fail to practice. If they practice what they know for the sake of showing off, they shall be held accountable. They shall not be held accountable for what they practiced with sincerity. The path of sincerity is a dangerous one. Hence, the Servant of Allah should beware.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (SA) saying, “Allah, Great be His Glory, says: `Whoever is displeased with My Destiny, and does not believe in My Decree, then he should invoke a deity other than Me.” The Messenger of Allah (SA) said: “In every affair destined by Allah, there is goodness for the believer.”

While the Messenger of Allah (SA) was on one of his journeys, some riders met him, and said: “Peace be upon you, O messenger of Allah.” So, he turned to them and asked, ”Who are you?” They answered, “We are believers.” He (SA) asked, “What is the nature of your belief?” They replied, “Pleasure in the destiny of Allah, submission to the command of Allah, and relinquishment to Allah (of all affairs).” The Messenger of Allah (SA) responded, “You are learned and wise. You are almost as wise as the prophets. If you are truthful, then do not build what you will not inhabit, do not collect what you will not eat, and fear Allah to whom you shall return.”

Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to a man, “If you do not wish to obey your Creator, then do not eat of His Sustenance. And if you support His Enemy (Satan), then leave His Realm. If you are dissatisfied with His destiny and His Divine Decree, then find a Lord other than Him.”

Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said to Musa (AS): O Musa! Remember My Will concerning four things. First: Unless you can see that your sins are forgiven, then do not look for faults in others. Secondly Unless you see my Treasures finish, then do not grieve about your finances. Thirdly: Unless you can see my Sovereignty coming to an end, then do not place your hope in other than Me. And fourthly: Unless you see that Satan is dead, then do not feel safe form his deception.

Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “Verily, concern about this world does not increase one’s gain, and that is a waste of effort. Verily, the arrival of the Hereafter does not decrease for what it estimated in (that is) the achievement of the Return.” He composed this: If in a stable rock in the ocean, Hard and solid, gathered with smooth sides, There is sustenance for a soul that Allah sees; it will split From it and brings to him all that is in it. Or if there was between the seven layers (of heavens) his junction Allah will ease its elevation in the difficult ascent, Until he takes that which is written for him in the guarded-tablet, The soul finds sustenance; otherwise sustenance will seek it out. The Compiler of this book says: Our sustenance includes everything which Allah, the Mighty and High, has made for our benefits, and which He has made accessible to us. Our sustenance does not extend to that which Allah, the Mighty and High, has made inaccessible for us.

`Tell me about the Generous.’ He (AS) replied to him, Verily, there are two ways to answer your question: If you are asking about the created, then the generous person is one who gives what Allah, the Mighty and High, has made obligatory on him while the miser is one who acts misery in what Allah has made obligatory. However, if you are asking about the Creator, then He is the Generous whether He grants or does not grant, because if He grants something to a servant, then He has granted him something that is not his and if He does not grant, then He has prohibited him what is not his.

Ibn Abu `Umayr and `Abd Allah ibn alMughayrah both related to me, on the authority of Abu Hafs al-A`sha, on the authority of Abu Hamzah that `Ali ibn al-Husayn (AS) said: I went out until I ended up at this wall so I leant on it. All of a sudden a man wearing two white garments was staring at me. He asked me, “O `Ali ibn al-Husayn! What is wrong? You seem sad and worried. Are you concerned about worldly matters? If that is the case, then you should know that Allah’s sustenance continues in both good times and bad.” I replied, “I am not worried about his world. However, I am certainly sad as you said.” He enquired, “So, are you sad about the Hereafter? That is a true promise, in which the Sovereign Subduer will judge.” I answered, “I am not worried about the Hereafter either. However, I am certainly sad as you said.” He asked, “Then what are you sad about?” I replied, “I am frightened of the mischief of the son of al-Zubayr.” He laughed and then said: “O `Ali son of al-Husayn! Have you ever heard of someone who feared Allah, the Exalted, and whom Allah did not save?” I answered, “No.” He said: “O `Ali son of al-Husayn! Have you ever heard of someone who asked something of Allah, the Mighty and High, and Allah did not answer him?” I said: “No.” He (AS) says: “I then looked, but there was no one in front of me.”

Verily, Musa son of `Imran (AS) said: “O my Lord! I am pleased with what You have decreed regarding removing the souls of the elderly and the souls of the young.” Allah, the Mighty and High, replied, “O Musa! Are you not pleased with Me for being their Sustainer and Provider [kafil]?” Musa replied, “Of course, O Lord! You are the Best Custodian and the Best of Providers.”

“What possessed your father to kill the people of Basra, and then wander the streets at night wearing two undergarments?” He (AS) replied, “He acted according to his knowledge, He knew that he could not avoid what was destined for him. And he knew that what was not destined for him could not harm him.” He responded, “You have spoken the truth.” When he intended to battle the Kharijites, the Commander of the Faithful was told: “Take your precautions, O Commander of the Faithful!” He (AS) composed: Which of my two days shall I escape from death? The day which is not decreed or the day which is decreed, The day which is not decreed, I do not fear the return, And the day which is decreed, there is no need in taking caution.

Prophet (SA) said: O `Ali! It is certain that you will not please anyone over the anger of Allah. So, do not praise anyone for what Allah has granted you, and do not blame anyone for what Allah has not granted you. Verily, sustenance is not snatched away y the greed of a greedy person not is it diverted by the hate of a spiteful person. Verily, through His Wisdom and His Grace, Allah, the Mighty and High, placed refreshment and happiness in certainty and pleasure. He placed anxiety and sorrow in doubt and anger. There is nothing lower than ignorance, and there is no greater wealth than wisdom. There is no solitude greater than narcissism, and there is no greater help than good advice. There is nothing more intelligent than good management and there is nothing more pious than abstaining from the forbidden. There is no greater independence than good conduct, and there is no act of service greater than thinking. The calamity of speech is lying. The calamity of knowledge is forgetfulness. The calamity of service is weakness. The calamity of intelligence is arrogance. The calamity of bravery is injustice. The calamity of magnanimity is favor. The calamity of beauty is vanity. The calamity of nobility is pride.

A man came to al-Sadiq Ja`far ibn Muhammad (AS) and said: “May my father and mother be your ransom! Admonish me with an exhortation.” So he (AS) said: If Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is the Sustainer, then why do you worry? If sustenance is allocated with fairness, then why are you greedy? If you will be held accountable, then why do you save? If Allah, the mighty and High, is generous, then why are you miserly? If the punishment from Allah, the Mighty and High, is the Hell, then why do you sin? If death is true, then why are you happy? If all actions are fro Allah, the Mighty and High, then why do you cheat? If Satan is your open enemy, then why do you neglect (your duties)? If crossing the Bridge (al-Sirat) is true, then why are you proud? If everything has been decreed, then why do you grieve? If the word is perishable, then why are you attached to it?

Messenger of Allah (SA) said: “Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, had decreed and planned everything two thousand years before He created Adam (AS).”

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

people came to al-Hasan ibn `Ali (AS) after the death of `Ali (AS) to pay allegiance to him. So he (AS) said: All praise is for Allah over what He destined in matter, specified in merit, generalized in affair and glorified in well-being, a praise with which He completes over us His bounties and we require His pleasure. Verily, this world is an abode of tribulation and mischief. Everything that is init has a decline. Allah has informed us of that so that we may take a lesson. Therefore He preceded with a threat to us so that there is no evidence for us after warning. So be ascetic in what is to perish and desirous in what is to remain. Fear Allah in privacy and in open. Verily, `Ali (AS) in life, death and the rising lived with a measure and died with the time. Verily, I shall accept your allegiance on that you will make peace with whom I make peace with and fight with whom I fight with.Thus, they all paid allegiance to him on that basis. Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn al-Husayn, the Compiler of this book says: The ajal is the death of a human and the time of his death. And the ajal of his living is the time of his living. That is the meaning of the word of Allah, the Mighty and High: So when their (appointed) time comes they shall not delay it even an hour, nor shall they go before. If a human dies a natural death on his bed or is killed then verily the ajal of his death is the time of his death. It is possible that if a murdered person was not killed, he would have died in that instance anyway. It is also possible that if he was not killed then he would have lived on. The knowledge of that is unseen for us. Allah, the Mighty and High, has said; Say: Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone forth to the places where they would be slain. He has also said: Say: Flight shall not do you any good if you fly from death or slaughter. If a group of people are killed at the same time, it is possible to say that all of them died at their time and eve if they wee not killed they would have died in that instance. For, it is possible that a disease would have occurred in all of them and would have killed them all in that instance. It is not possible to say that they all died without the time of their death. As a whole, the ajal of a person is the time of his death that Allah, the Mighty and High, knows that he will die in that hour or will be killed. The word of al-Hasan (AS) concerning his father (AS) that “he lived with a measure and died with the time? Is a confirmation of what we have said about this matter. Allah is the Granter of Direction to the correctness with His Favor.

Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: “Shall we not guard you?” He (AS) said: “The guardian of every man is his death.”

“O Commander of the Faithful! Do you not fear anything at this point?” He (AS) replied, And what should I fear? There is no anyone except that with him are two angels assigned to him so that he does not fall into a well or an animal does not hit him or he may not fall from a mountain until the decree comes for him. When that which is decreed comes, they vacate from between him and the decreed.

Messenger of Allah (SA) said: “None of you believe unless he also believes in the Divine Decree, its good, its evil, its sweetness, and its bitterness.”

I heard My Master `Ali ibn Muhammad that Abu Ja`far ibn `Ali related to me, on the authority of his father al-Rida `Ali ibn Musa on the authority of his father Musa ibn Ja`far, on the authority his father Ja`far ibn Muhammad, on the authority of his father Muhammad ibn `Ali, on the authority of his father `Ali ibn al-Husayn, on the authority of his father al-Husayn ibn `Ali (AS); and Muhammad ibn `Umar al-Hafiz al-Baghdadi said: Abu al-Qasim Ishaq ibn Ja`far al-`Alawi related to me that Abu Ja`far ibn Muhammad ibn `Ali related to me, on the authority of Sulayman ibn Muhammad al-Qarashi, on the authority of Isma`il ibn Abu Ziyad alSakuni, on the authority of Ja`far ibn Muhammad, on the authority of his father Ziyad alSakuni, on the authority of Ja`far ibn Muhammad, on the authority of his father Muhammad ibn `Ali, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of `Ali (AS); the word is for `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq that An Iraqi man entered the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and asked: “Tell us about our attack on the Syrians. Is it part of Allah’s Destiny and Divine Decree?” The Commander of the Faithful (AS) replied to him, “By all means, O Shaykh! By Allah, all of you have not gone up a hill or gone down to the depth of a valley except with the destiny from Allah and the decree.” The old man asked, “Will my trouble be accounted for before Allah, O Commander of the Faithful?” He (AS) answered, Slowly, O Shaykh! Perhaps you think predestination is irrevocable, and the decree is inseparable. If that were so, then the reward, the punishment, the commandment, the prohibition, and the reprimand would all be annulled. The meaning of threatening and promise would disintegrate. There would be no blame for the evil-doer, and no praise for the good-doer. In fact, the good-doer would be worthier of blame than the sinner, and the sinner would be worthier of praise than the good-doer. This is the claim of the idol worshippers, the opponents of the Most Compassionate, the free-willers of this Ummah, and its Zoroastrians. O Shaykh! Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, has obliged with choice, forbidden with warning, granted plenty for little, does not consider the one who was coerced to be a sinner, does not require the subjected to obey, and has not created the heaves and the earth and that which is between them without a purpose. This is the assumption of the unbelievers. Woe to those who disbelieve in Hell. The old man rose and composed: You are the Imam in whose obedience we all hope, To receive forgiveness from the Most Compassionate on the Day of Salvation; You have made clear what was dubious to us from our religion. May your Lord reward you with beneficence on your behalf! Hence, there is no excuse for committing indecency, Which I perpetrated with un-justice and disobedience, No, no, I do not claim that the forbidder has dropped him In it, because then I would be serving the Satan, O people, Nor does He like or will the un-justice; nor Killing the Guardian with oppression and enmity. How can He like, while His will is correct. The Possessor of the Empyrean that is Allah has declared this is a clear declaration. The Compiler of this book says: Muhammad ibn `Umar al-Hafiz has only mentioned the first two couplets of this poetry at the end of this tradition. This tradition is also said by Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Farisi al`Aza’imi that Abu Sa`id Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rumayh al-Nisawi said in Jurjan that `Abd al-`Aziz ibn Ishaq ibn Ja`far said in Baghdad that `Abd al-Wahhab ibn `Isa al-Marwazi related to me that al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Muhammad al-Balawi said: Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah ibn Nujayh said, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ja`far ibn Muhammad, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather (AS) Also this tradition has been said by Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qittan that al-Hasan ibn `ali alSukkari said; Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Jawhari said: al-`Abbas ibn Bakkar al-Dabbi said: Abu Bakr al-Hudhayli said, on the authority of `Ikrimah, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas that When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) moved on from the Battle of Siffin, an old man stood up before him who had witnessed the incident with him and said: “O Commander of the Faithful! Tell us about this journey of ours. Is it part of Allah’s Destiny, and His Divine Decree?” He has mentioned the tradition similar to this, except that he has added in it: The old man said: “O Commander of the Faithful! What are the predestination ad the Divine Decree that are contracted with us, and we have not gone down in a valley or gone up a hill except with these two?” The Commander of the Faithful (AS) replied, “The command and the judgment are from Allah, then he read this verse: And your Lord has destined that you shall not sere (any) but Him, and goodness to your parents, i.e. the command of your Lord is that you do not serve any but Him and do good to your parents.”

I asked Abu `Abd Allah (AS) whether charms, if they remove anything from the decreed. He (AS) replied, “It is from the decreed. He (AS) then added, Verily, the Free-willers are the Zorastrians of this Ummah, and they are the ones that intended to attribute Allah with justice, but took Him out of His Rule. This verse has been revealed for them: On the day when they shall be dragged upon their faces into the fire; taste the touch of hell. Surely We have created everything according to a measure.

Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Ghalabi said: Ahmad ibn `Isa ibn Zayd said: `Abd Allah ibn Musa ibn `Abd Allah ibn Hasan said, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his forefathers that Al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) was asked about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: Surely We have created everything according to a measure. He (AS) replied, “Verily, the Mighty and High, has said: We have created everything according to a measure for the dwellers of hell according to their deeds.”

roots of these shall be cut off in the morning. He means that We informed him and made it known to him. Therefore, it cannot be refused that Allah the Mighty and High, decrees the actions of the servants and all that which is of good and evil in this meaning, because Allah, the Mighty and High, is the Knower of it all. It is correct that He may give knowledge to any of His servants and inform them of it. The decree can also be in the meaning of writing and informing, like Allah, the Mighty and High, says: Except his wife; We decreed that she shall surely be of those who remain behind; i.e. We prescribed and informed. Al-`Ajjaj said: Be informed that the Glorified has decree In the earlier scriptures that He wrote. `He decreed’ means He wrote. The decree can sometimes be in the meaning of the rule and necessity. Allah, the Mighty and High, says: And your Lord has destined that you shall not serve (any) but Him, and goodness to your parents. He means that He has ordained that and made it necessary on His Creation. It may also be possible to say that Allah, the Mighty and High, has destined the actions of the servants in this meaning. What He made necessary for His Servants and ordered them to do are obligations. It is also possible that the meaning is: Allah has set a measurement for the actions of the servants to explain its measurements and states of good and evil, obligatory and supererogatory, and other things. He gives reasons fro what makes the states of these actions recognized. Therefore, the Mighty and High is the One that sets the measurements, but to explain them to other than Himself who do not know the state of what He has destined in their measurements. This is apparent and not hidden. It is very clear that it does not require any proofs over it. Is it not so that when we go to the skilled people in measurements, their knowledge of measurements does not stop them from setting measurements to explain to us their measurements? Verily, we reject that Allah, the Mighty and High, has ordained His Servants with this and forbidden them from abstention from this. Or that He has done it and created it. As Allah, the Mighty and High, has created them a measured creation, so we do not reject that. I heard some learned ones says: Verily, the destiny [al-Qada’] has ten different meanings: The first of them is `to know’ according to the Word of Alah, the Mighty and High: But (it was only) a desire in the soul of Ya`qub which he destined, i.e. He knew. The second meaning is `to inform’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: And We had decreed to the children of Israel in the Book, and the Word of the Mighty and High: And We revealed to him this decree, i.e. We informed him. The third is `to judge’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High is: And Allah decrees with the truth, i.e. He judges with the truth. The fourth meaning is `to say’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: And Allah decrees with the truth, i.e. He says the truth. The firth is `to determine definitely’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: But when We decreed death for him, i.e. We determined definitely. So I is the definite decree. The sixth is `to command’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: And your Lord has destined that you shall not serve (any) but Him, i.e. your Lord has commanded. The seventh is `to create’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: So He decreed them seven heavens in two periods, i.e. he created them. The eight is `to do’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: Therefore, decree what you are going to decree, i.e. do what you are doing. The ninth is `to accomplish’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: So when Musa had decreed the term; and the Word of the Mighty and High, accounting Musa Whichever of the two terms I decree, there shall be no wrongdoing to me; and Allah is a witness of what we say, i.e. I accomplish. The tenth is `to conclude from something’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High The matter is decreed concerning which you enquired, i.e. it is concluded from it for you two. It is the Word of a person what I have decreed your requirement for you, i.e. I have concluded it for you. Therefore, it is possible to say that the things in their entirety are with the destiny of Allah and His Decree, Blessed and Exalted be He. This is in the meaning that Allah, the Mighty and High, knows it and know it measures, and that He has a judgment for all of it, either the good or evil. Therefore, whatever is good He decreed it in the meaning that He commanded it, determined it definitely, and made it true. He knew its extent and measure. Whatever is evil, He did not command it, and is not pleased with it. However, He destined it, and decreed it in the sense that He knows its measure and extent, and has judged according to His Judgement. The word [al-fitnah] has ten different meanings: One of them is `misguidance.’ The second is `to put to the test’ according to the Word of Allah: And We tried you with (a severe) trying, i.e. We have put you to a test; and the Word of the Mighty and High: Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, We believe, and not be tried? i.e. they will not be put to a test. The third is `to make excuse’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: Then their excuse would be nothing but that they would say: By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists. The fourth is `to believe in polytheism’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: And polytheism is severer than murder. The fifth is `to disbelieve’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: Surely into trial have they already tumbled down, i.e. into disbelief. The sixth is `to burn with fire’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: Surely (as for) those who persecute the believing men and the believing women, i.e. they burn. The seventh is `to punish’ according the Word of the Mighty and High: (It is) the day on which they shall be tried at the fire, i.e. they shall be punished. The Word of the Mighty and High: Taste your trial! This is what you would hasten on, i.e. your punishment. And the Word of the Mighty and High: And as for him whose trial Allah desired, you cannot control anything fro him with Allah, i.e. whose punishment. The eight is `to kill’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: If you fear that hose who disbelieve will cause you distress, i.e. if you fear that they will kill you. Also the Word of the Mighty and High: But none believed in Musa except the offspring of his people, on account of the fear of Fir`awn and their chiefs, lest he should persecute them, i.e. he may kill them. The ninth is `to turn away’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: And surely they had purposed to try you in that which We have revealed to you, i.e. to turn you away. The tenth is `a severe trial’ according to the Word of the Mighty and High: Our Lord! Do not make us a trial for those who disbelieve. And the Word of the Mighty and High is: Our Lord! Make us not subject to the persecution of the unjust people, i.e. a severe trial with which they may cause mischief. They say about themselves: Nothing has killed them except the fact that their religion is void, and our religion is true. Therefore, it invites them to Hell due to their disbelief and oppression. `Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim has added to these ten meanings another possibility that one of the meanings of the word fitnah is love according to the Word of the Mighty and High: And know that your property and your children are a temptation, i.e. love. In my opinion, there are ten meanings to this verse. Fitnah is this context means `a severe trial’ and not love. The confirmation of that is the tradition of the Prophet (SA), “The son, takes after the father in ignorance, trial and miserliness.” I have extracted this tradition with transmission in the book Maqtal al-Husayn ibn `Ali, blessings be upon them both.

Messenger of Allah (SA) passed by some hoarders. He ordered them to take the goods they were hoarding to the market, so that hey could be seen. It was said to the Messenger of Allah (SA), “It would be better if you had fixed a price on them.” He (SA) became so angry that it became apparent on his face, He said: “I should fix prices? Verily, the price is with Allah, the Mighty and High. He may raise it if He wills, and He may drop it if He wills.” It was said to the Messenger of Allah (SA), “If you had fixed prices for us (it would be better), because the prices rise and drop.” He (SA) replied, “I would never meet Allah, the Mighty and High, with an innovation which was not revealed to me. Leave the servants of Allah, so that some of them may eat from the others.”

“Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has assigned an angel to regulate prices, who manages them with His Command.” Abu Hamzah alThumali sys: Charging high prices was mentioned to `Ali ibn al-Husayn (SA) so he said: “I do not have the right to raise prices. However, whoever raises or lowers prices will have to answer for that.” The Compiler of this book says: Charging high prices is increasing the prices of things so much so that the thing is sold for more than what it would be sold for in that place. Lowering prices means to decrease the price. Therefore, whether the low or high prices are due to excess or shortage of commodities, it is from Allah, the Mighty and High, and it is obligatory for people to accept the prices and to be satisfied with them. If the high or low prices are caused by hoarding when there ws no shortage or excess of commodities, without the approval of the people, or because one person purchased all the food in the town in order to raise the price of food, then he is a price-fixer like Hakim ibn Hizam who used to buy all the food that entered Medina. The Prophet (SA) passed by him and said: “O Hakim ibn Hizam! Beware of hoarding.”

Whenever there is food in a town other than what one person has bought then it is permissible for him to hold on to the excess of commodity. If there is sufficient food available for people in the city, then the price will not rise merely because one person purchases the excess. Verily, the price only rises if one person buys all the food that enters the city.

`The importer is blessed and the hoarder is cursed.’ If it is from the Mighty and High, then it is obligatory to be satisfied with it and accept it. Similarly it is obligatory when it is due to shortage of things or shortage of income, because that is from Allah, the Mighty and High. What is from Allah, the Mighty and High, or is from the people, is from previous in the knowledge of Allah, Exalted be His remembrance. Like the creating of the creation and that is with His Destiny and His Decree, as I have explained in the meaning of the Predestination and the Divine Decree.