Human Ability and Acts, Divine Will and Decree, and Pleasure and Anger

1. Two kinds of ability

There are two kinds of ability: divine enabling (tawfīq) and the availability of health, capacity and means.
Tawfīq is the enabling granted by Allah through which an action actually takes place. It accompanies the action and is not independently controlled by the servant.

Health, sufficient capacity, practical opportunity and sound instruments are prerequisites that may exist before the act. Their presence provides the basis for legal responsibility. Confusing these kinds obscures the relationship between obligation and choice.

2. Tawfīq accompanies action

The ability of tawfīq accompanies the deed itself.
When a person performs a deed, it is performed through ability and enabling granted by Allah. This enabling is not a separate independent power permanently owned by the human being.

Intending a good act concerns the servant's choice, but bringing that intention into action depends on Allah's tawfīq. An act's occurrence cannot be reduced to an unavoidable consequence of a self-sufficient human power.

3. Health, means and moral obligation

Health, capacity, opportunity and functioning means precede the action.
For a person to be accountable for a task, the relevant capability and means must be available. This is the kind of ability to which commands and prohibitions are addressed.

The pre-existing capacity and the tawfīq granted during the action must be distinguished. A person may possess the necessary means but still choose not to undertake a particular deed.

4. Responsibility according to capacity

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
Allah does not charge a soul beyond its capacity. (al-Baqarah 2:286)

Divine commands take account of a person's actual capacity and means. A person who lacks the necessary ability is not addressed in precisely the same way as one who has it.

Responsibility is tied to the prior availability of essential capability, while the occurrence of the act involves human choice together with the tawfīq Allah grants.

5. Hearing and the limits of ability

مَا كَانُوا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ السَّمْعَ وَمَا كَانُوا يُبْصِرُونَ
They were unable to hear and did not see. (Hūd 11:20)

Negation of ability does not always describe the same kind of incapacity. Possession of ears, eyes or other physical means is one matter; using those faculties to accept truth through divine enabling is another.

The presence of the means must therefore be distinguished from the actual occurrence of the required response.

6. Human deeds: creation and acquisition

وَأَفْعَالُ الْعِبَادِ (هِيَ) خَلْقُ اللَّهِ وَكَسْبٌ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ
The actions of servants are created by Allah and acquired by the servants.

Creation (khalq) refers to Allah bringing an act into existence through His power. Acquisition (kasb) attributes the act to the person in respect of intention and choice.

The servant is not an independent creator, yet human intention and responsibility are not negated. Each attribution has its own meaning.

7. Kasb and accountability

A person turns toward doing or not doing an act, forms an intention and adopts the relevant means. The act is the person's kasb in respect of that intention and choice.

If human intention made no difference between virtue and sin, commands, prohibitions and accountability would lose their significance. Yet one must not make the existence of an action independent of Allah's power.

Acquisition belongs to the servant; creation belongs to Allah. This preserves both responsibility and divine sovereignty.

8. Means available before deeds occur

A person may possess eyes and the capacity to see, while the actual use of those faculties is realized when the act occurs through the enabling granted. These are not interchangeable stages.

Capacity and instruments may exist before a deed; effective enabling accompanies it.

This distinction also matters for obligation: someone genuinely lacking the necessary means is not in the same position as one who has them yet deliberately chooses not to use them.

9. Ability and the duty of Hajj

وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا
Pilgrimage to the House is due to Allah from people who are able to make the journey. (Āl ʿImrān 3:97)

When travel resources and appropriate provision for dependents are available, the legal capacity for Hajj may exist even before the person departs on pilgrimage.

Thus the capacity that grounds the obligation differs from the effective enabling through which the act is actually performed.

10. Tawfīq is needed in every actual deed

We do not independently create our actions, even though we intend to act or refrain.

Allah creates the deeds, and the servant acquires them. Intending a good action is a real act of choice, but the deed's occurrence depends on the power and tawfīq granted by Allah.

One should therefore neither boast as if one's own power were self-sufficient nor abandon effort and available means. The servant must act and seek Allah's enabling.

11. No power or strength except through Allah

وَلَمْ يُكَلِّفْهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَّا مَا يُطِيقُونَ
Allah Most High only obliges His servants to do what they can bear.

لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
There is no power to turn away from sin nor strength to establish obedience except through Allah.

This is not a denial of human choice. It acknowledges the true source of strength: enabling for obedience and protection from disobedience come through Allah's help.

12. Movement, power and divine assistance

Lā ḥawla concerns the power of movement or turning from one state to another, while lā quwwata denies independent strength and capacity.

Both refraining from sin and remaining steadfast in worship require Allah's assistance. The servant is commanded to avoid disobedience and perform worship; effort remains meaningful but is not self-sufficient.

Human choice and dependence on Allah for the realization of deeds must be affirmed together.

13. Causes and their outcomes

A physician treats a patient and prescribes medicine, but healing is brought about by Allah. Using medicine is not meaningless, nor is a physician an independent creator of cure.

Likewise, the servant's obedience, effort, choice and use of means are real, yet the existence and effects of the act depend on Allah's creation.

Adopting the means is the servant's responsibility; bringing about their results remains subject to Allah's power.

14. Choice and accountability in the Hereafter

When a servant chooses a path of obedience or sin through available means, that choice is genuinely attributed to the servant. Consequently, reward and punishment are connected with the person's deeds.

Question: If every good act needs Allah's enabling, why is a person accountable in the Hereafter?
Answer: Choosing the means and forming the intention belong to human acquisition. The action created by Allah is attributed to the person through that intention and choice. Predestination cannot be used to excuse deliberate wrongdoing.

15. Will, knowledge, decree and determination

وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ يَجْرِي بِمَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَعِلْمِهِ وَقَضَائِهِ وَقَدَرِهِ
Everything occurs according to Allah's will, knowledge, decree and determination.

No event, including the deeds of servants, takes place outside Allah's sovereignty. Events are known to Him before their occurrence, and they occur within His will and decree.

These four terms are not identical. Each describes a particular aspect of divine knowledge and governing determination.

16. Mashīʾah: divine will

Mashīʾah means that what Allah wills to occur does occur, while what He does not will does not occur. The actual occurrence of human actions remains within His will.

A person chooses obedience or disobedience; the choosing is ascribed to that person. Yet no action comes into existence independently in defiance of Allah's encompassing will.

The effectiveness of divine will and the human act of choosing are distinct but compatible affirmations.

17. ʿIlm: every deed already known

ʿIlm means that Allah already knows everything that will occur. A servant's decision to begin, complete or abandon an action is not outside His knowledge.

If a person has two courses of action and chooses one by intention, Allah knows beforehand which course the person will choose.

Foreknowledge does not abolish the person's real intention, nor can any event take place contrary to Allah's perfect knowledge.

18. Qaḍāʾ: divine decision

Qaḍāʾ denotes Allah's decision regarding the occurrence of an act. The servant adopts means relating to good or evil, but the result follows Allah's command and determination.

The presence of causes does not make them independent creators of inevitable outcomes. What Allah decides concerning an act is what comes to pass.

This understanding directs the servant toward Allah's power and judgment without abolishing the obligation to adopt appropriate means.

19. Qadar: the determined measure

Qadar includes the appointed measure and determination of how an event is to take place. Events do not unfold in a way unknown to Allah or beyond His determination.

Knowing an event beforehand, decreeing its occurrence and its unfolding in a determined manner are related, yet distinct, aspects of divine governance.

Allah's will prevails over all other wills, and every event remains subject to His power.

20. Allah’s will prevails over every other will

وَغَلَبَتْ مَشِيئَتُهُ الْمَشِيئَاتِ كُلَّهَا وَغَلَبَ قَضَاؤُهُ الْحِيَلَ كُلَّهَا
His will prevails over every other will, and His decree overcomes every plan.

People make arrangements, seek solutions and plan for the future. Those are real human acts, but none possesses authority independent of Allah's will.

Understanding destiny rightly does not make planning pointless, nor does it elevate planning above divine determination.

21. Allah is free from wrongdoing

يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ غَيْرُ ظَالِمٍ أَبَدًا
He does whatever He wills and is never unjust.

لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ
He is not questioned about what He does, while they will be questioned. (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:23)

Allah is the sovereign owner and judge. Injustice cannot be attributed to His will or decree; servants are accountable for the deeds they choose and perform.

22. Prayer and charity benefit the departed

وَفِي دُعَاءِ الْأَحْيَاءِ لِلْأَمْوَاتِ وَصَدَقَاتِهِمْ مَنْفَعَةٌ لِلْأَمْوَاتِ
The supplications and charities of the living benefit those who have died.

Duʿāʾ includes asking for mercy and forgiveness for a deceased person. Charity includes giving on their behalf so that they benefit from its reward.

This establishes the benefit of these practices. Individual acts of worship and how their rewards may be conveyed must still be considered according to their particular evidence.

23. Praying for earlier believers

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ
Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith. (al-Ḥashr 59:10)

Believers who come later are taught to seek forgiveness for those who preceded them. This provides a Qur'anic basis for supplication benefiting the deceased.

A believer therefore asks for forgiveness not only for oneself but also for fellow believers, including those who have passed away.

24. Three continuing benefits after death

إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ
When a person dies, their actions cease except through three continuing sources.

Ṣadaqah jāriyah — ongoing charity whose benefit continues.
ʿIlm yuntafaʿu bih — beneficial knowledge that people continue to use.
Walad ṣāliḥ yadʿū lah — a righteous child who prays for them. (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Bequests)

These are forms of benefit that continue after death. The benefit of the righteous child's prayer is specifically mentioned.

25. Thawāb and conveyance of reward

Thawāb is the reward granted for a good deed. A person who performs a good deed has a basis for receiving its reward.

Īṣāl al-thawāb describes seeking to convey a deed's reward to another person. Supplication and charity are affirmed as benefiting the deceased.

One should distinguish between reward for one's own act and seeking benefit for someone else through intention and supplication.

26. Allah answers supplications

وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَسْتَجِيبُ الدَّعَوَاتِ وَيَقْضِي الْحَاجَاتِ
Allah Most High answers supplications and fulfills needs.

The servant presents needs to Allah. Supplication expresses dependence upon His power and mercy. The fulfillment of needs ultimately belongs to Allah's authority.

Making duʿāʾ is a human act, while accepting the prayer and granting what is sought occurs according to Allah's decision.

27. Supplication, need and Allah’s favor

مَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلِ اللَّهَ يَغْضَبْ عَلَيْهِ
Whoever does not ask Allah incurs His displeasure. (Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Book of Supplications)

Presenting one's needs to Allah expresses servanthood. Asking Him acknowledges that He is the Giver and that the servant depends upon His generosity.

Along with supplication, one adopts lawful and appropriate means. Neither treating causes as independently effective nor regarding prayer as pointless is correct.

28. Allah owns everything

وَيَمْلِكُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَلَا يَمْلِكُهُ شَيْءٌ
Allah owns everything, and nothing owns Him.

Any ownership or authority enjoyed by created beings has been granted by Allah. A servant may benefit from, give away or use property only within that limited authority.

Allah's absolute ownership means creation depends upon its Creator even for its existence, powers and possessions.

29. No creature is independent of Allah

وَلَا غِنَى عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ
No one can be independent of Allah Most High even for the blink of an eye.

Human strength, resources and practical means never render a person self-sufficient before Allah. Life, health, knowledge, worship and the ability to act remain dependent upon His gifts.

وَمَنِ اسْتَغْنَى عَنِ اللَّهِ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ وَصَارَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْحَيْنِ
Whoever claims independence from Allah, even momentarily, enters the path of disbelief and ruin.

30. Divine anger and pleasure

وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَغْضَبُ وَيَرْضَى لَا كَأَحَدٍ مِنَ الْوَرَى
Allah becomes angry and is pleased, but His anger and pleasure are not like those of created beings.

Divine pleasure and anger are affirmed without attributing bodily reactions, involuntary moods or creaturely emotional changes to Allah.

Belief in these attributes must be held together with the principle that Allah is unlike His creation.

31. The created quality of being affected

Created beings may experience pleasure or anger as changing conditions caused by external events.
A person may become angry at something disliked or pleased by an agreeable event. Such susceptibility to external effects is described as infiʿāl or taʾaththur—being affected and changed.

Allah's essence and attributes are free of creaturely conditions. Divine pleasure and anger are affirmed, but their reality is not understood by analogy with the changing emotions of created beings.

32. Qur’anic evidence of pleasure and anger

لَقَدْ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ
Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree. (al-Fatḥ 48:18)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَوَلَّوْا قَوْمًا غَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ
Believers, do not take as allies people with whom Allah is angry. (al-Mumtaḥanah 60:13)

These verses affirm Allah's pleasure and anger while maintaining that the reality of His attributes does not resemble the fluctuating conditions of created beings.