Ruling on saying destiny had played him by Shaykh Maher

[Abu Thar Jawad]

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The ruling of people using the following phrases:

" Destiny has manipulated or played a person " or " Destiny has mocked or laughed at someone " or " It was destiny's will "

All praise is due to Allah and unlimited salutations upon our Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him.

One of our righteous brothers has sent a beneficial article, using a phrase that is harmful and unacceptable; A saying that is forbidden for us to use in conversations or newspapers or anywhere else.

A lot of people have taken the following phrase very lightly " Fate have played his game "

Destiny is a knowledge that belongs to Allah (swt), and to Him only, which He wrote fifty thousand years before the creation of the heavens and the earth, He willed it and everything happened and will continue to happen according to His will. Destiny is related to Allah's utmost wisdom which cannot be compared to our wisdom as human beings. Destiny is set by Allah (swt), Who is All-wise Well-Acquainted with all things.

Everything that happens in the universe, whether it's good or bad, belief or disbelief, good deeds and bad ones, all of this is upon the destiny of The Most Merciful, for He is flawless and perfect in His knowledge and wisdom, which makes it unacceptable for us to relate Destiny and fate to a game or a manipulation!

It was reported by At-Tirmidhi, narrated on the authority of Abi Bin Kaab, he says: The messenger of Allah (saw) said: While Al-Khidr and Musa were walking around by the shore , they passed by two young men who were playing. Al-Khidr beheaded one the young men, then Musa said to him " Have you killed an innocent person who had killed no one? Verily, you have committed a thing Nukra ( a prohibited, evil thing). The wisdom behind it was what Allah (swt) mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf " And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief " meaning because of how much they loved their son, they (his parents) would've followed his footsteps in disbelief.

Look at this! can such thing happen of games or playing around? Didn't Allah (swt) say in Surah Al-Moominoon " And if the truth had been in accordance with their desires, verily, the heavens and the earth and whosoever is therein would have been corrupted"!

And didn't He also say in Surah Al-Dukhan " And we created not the heavens and earth, and all that is between them, for mere play!"

In another Ayah, He (swt) says: " It is Allah who has created seven heavens and of the earth the life thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in His knowledge "

Also, when people say fate or destiny has mocked someone, this is blasphemy, since mockery is the act of the corrupt and the ignorant, meaning, by relating those words to destiny, we are directly attaching them to The One who destined things, Allah (swt),The-Living, The-Eternal.

Allah (swt) says in the Quran in Surah Al-Hujurat " O you who believe! let not a group scoff (mock) another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former.. " So how can such words be connected to Allah (swt), when He has forbade its usage clearly in the previously mentioned Ayah! Glorified and Exalted is He High above (the great falsehood) that they say! also, saying "destiny willed" or "it was fate" is also forbidden since "Will" belongs to Allah (swt).

So it is upon the Muslim, instead of saying the above mentioned phrases , he should say " It was Allah's will " or " whatever Allah willed has taken place"

Written by: Shaykh Maher Bin Thafer Al-Qahtani
Translated by Abu Hamza Ahmed El Charif
Reviewed by Abu Maryam Jaouad Al Maghrebi