First: Belief that Allah’s knowledge embraces absolutely everything, that the Almighty knew about all people even before He created them, and also that He knew about all their actions, their provision, the lifespan for each individual, their good deeds, their wrongdoings, etc., before they came to existence.

Second: Belief that Allah has recorded everything in the Book of Decree (the Preserved Tablet).

The Qur’anic prove of the above mentioned components are the following words of Almighty Allah: “Know you not that Allah knows all that is in the heaven and on the earth? Verily, it is all in the Book. Verily, that is easy for Allah.” Surah “Al-Hajj”, ayah 70.

“Sahih Muslim” reports a hadith, transmitted on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As, Allah be pleased with both of them, who narrated: “I heard Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as saying: ‘Allah ordained the measures of quality of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Throne was upon water.’ ”

The decree, which is fully compliant with the knowledge of the Almighty, refers both to all things in general and to the particulars. As for the general decree, it is nothing less than general preordained destiny of all creation, which is written in the Preserved Tablet. The second form of decree refers to the particulars and is related to three different periods of time:

1. The life-time decree of a person.

The two “Sahihs” report a hadith, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Masud, Allah be pleased with him, who narrated that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Verily, the creation of any one of you takes place when he is assembled in his mother’s womb; for forty days he is as a drop of fluid, then it becomes a clot for a similar period. Thereafter, it is a lump of flesh for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him, who breathes the spirit into him. This angel is commanded to write four decrees: that he writes down his provision, his life span, his deeds, and whether he will be among the wretched or the blessed.”

2. The yearly decree, which is the decree for the affairs of the year to come.

During the Night of Decree Allah destines the matters of creation for the coming year. Almighty Allah said, “That night is decreed every matter of ordainments.” Surah “Ad-Dukhān”, ayah 4.

3. The daily decree for everything which occurs during the day; it is related to life and death, honour and disgrace, and so on. Almighty Allah said, “Every day He is engaged in some affair.” Surah “Ar-Rahmān”, ayah 29.

Third: Belief that whatever Allah wills will come to pass; that His power has no limit; that what Allah wills, happens, and what He does not will, does not happen; that nothing occurs in the heavens or on earth without the will of Allah; that whatever is in the universe, occurs by the will of Allah; and that He has power over all things. Almighty Allah said, “And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses…” Surah “Al-Qasas”, ayah 68.

Almighty Allah also said, “Verily, your Lord is the doer of whatsoever He intends.” Surah “Hūd”, ayah 107.

Almighty Allah also said, “Certainly, Allah has power over all things.” Surah “Al-Baqarah”, ayah 20.

In this respect, Allah’s will can be of two types:

1. Will which is related to worldly affairs and existence in general and to the decree, but which is not connected with love and benevolence. Almighty Allah commented on the matter in this way: “And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islâm; and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky.” Surah “Al-An‘ām”, ayah 125.

2. Will which is related to religious affairs and religious laws. Will of this type includes elements of love and benevolence, as indicated by the Almighty’s words:
“Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.” Surah “Al-Baqarah”, ayah 185.

This means that if some matter related to obeying occurs, then Allah has willed it in the first meaning of this word, that is to say He decreed it and has wished for it, having willed it also in the second meaning of this word, which means that He loves it and favours it. If, however, some matter related to disobedience occurs, it suggests that Allah has willed it in the first meaning of this word, but has not willed it in its second meaning, for such actions for Him are odious and undesirable.

Fourth: Belief that Almighty Allah is the Originator and Creator of everything that exists, including the actions of His creations and the absence of action. There is no other creator besides Him, and no Lord.

Almighty Allah said, “Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian over all things.” Surah “Az-Zumar”, ayah 62.

Almighty Allah said that His Prophet Ibrahim, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, told his nation: “While Allah has created you and what you make.” Surah “As-Sāffāt”, ayah 96.

The servants of Allah are given capacity for action, as they are given abilities and a will, but the One Who has created them, their abilities and their will is Allah.

Almighty Allah said, “…to whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight. And you cannot will it unless it be that Allah wills — the Lord of the Universe.” Surah “At-Takwīr”, ayahs 28–29.

This way Almighty Allah has stated that humans possess will, but it can manifest itself only by the will of Allah.

Since Allah’s servants have abilities for action and a will, and since Messengers were sent to them and Books revealed to them, it means that Allah has provided them with His arguments and explanation, and from this it follows that for their deeds they will either be rewarded or exposed to punishment. In light of this, Allah’s servant must believe in the Divine Decree, obey the provisions of His law and ask Allah to put him on the right track. Besides, he should set heart on that which will do him good and reject that which might harm his worldly and religious matters, entrusting himself to the Almighty and asking Him to help, to facilitate accomplishing the desired and to keep him away of what is disapproved of by Sharia. And if the means that the man chooses do good to him, he must praise Allah and thank Him for it. But if it does not do him good, he must stay calm, because he did everything he possibly could, be patient, wait for Allah’s reward and ask Allah to give him something instead. Almighty Allah said, “Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that which he has earned, and he is punished for that which he has earned.” Surah “Al-Baqarah”, ayah 286.

It is reported that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Do perform good deeds, for everyone is facilitated in that for which he has been created.” This hadith was reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Ali ibn Abu Talib.

It is also said that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him.” This hadith is reported by Muslim.