Prayer TimesDestiny (qadar) and divine decree (qada) are emphasized in verses that indicate everything is created and determined by Allah in a specific order, as well as in verses stating that divine knowledge encompasses all beings and events, past and future. In some of these verses, the Almighty Allah says: “...With Him everything is by measure.” (ar-Ra‘d, 13/8); “...Exalted is He who created all things and determined them with precise determination.” (al-Furqan, 25/2); “Say: Nothing will ever befall us except what Allah has decreed for us...” (at-Tawba, 9/51)
In addition to these, there are other verses stating that Allah is the Creator of everything, that He guides or leaves astray whomever He wills in connection with human choice, and that He determines people’s times of death (see az-Zumar, 39/62; as-Saffat, 37/96; al-A‘raf, 7/178; al-Waqi‘a, 56/60). These verses collectively indicate that everything in the universe is subject to a specific destiny determined by Allah the Exalted. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also included belief in destiny among the essentials of faith in the hadith known as the “Hadith of Gabriel.” In this hadith, Gabriel (peace be upon him) asked the Prophet, “What is faith?” and he replied, “It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in destiny, both its good and its evil.” (see Muslim, Iman, 1 [8]; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 17 [4695]; Tirmidhi, Iman, 4 [2610])
Based on these verses and the hadiths of the Prophet, scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah have considered belief in destiny and divine decree as among the fundamentals of faith.
Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu
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