Chapter: (Allah’s) Wish and Will

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whenever anyone of you invoke Allah for something, he should be firm in his asking, and he should not say: 'If You wish, give me...' for none can compel Allah to do something against His Will."

That one night Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) visited him and Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said to them, "Won 't you offer (night) prayer?.. `Ali added: I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Our souls are in the Hand of Allah and when He Wishes to bring us to life, He does." Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went away when I said so and he did not give any reply. Then I heard him on leaving while he was striking his thighs, saying, 'But man is, more quarrelsome than anything.' (18.54)

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The example of a believer is that of a fresh green plant the leaves of which move in whatever direction the wind forces them to move and when the wind becomes still, it stand straight. Such is the similitude of the believer: He is disturbed by calamities (but is like the fresh plant he regains his normal state soon). And the example of a disbeliever is that of a pine tree (which remains) hard and straight till Allah cuts it down when He will." (See Hadith No. 546 and 547, Vol. 7).

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) while he was standing on the pulpit, saying, "The remaining period of your stay (on the earth) in comparison to the nations before you, is like the period between the `Asr prayer and sunset. The people of the Torah were given the Torah and they acted upon it till midday, and then they were worn out and were given for their labor, one Qirat each. Then the people of the Gospel were given the Gospel and they acted upon it till the time of the `Asr prayer, and then they were worn out and were given (for their labor), one Qirat each. Then you people were given the Qur'an and you acted upon it till sunset and so you were given two Qirats each (double the reward of the previous nations)." Then the people of the Torah said, 'O our Lord! These people have done a little labor (much less than we) but have taken a greater reward.' Allah said, 'Have I withheld anything from your reward?' They said, 'No.' Then Allah said, 'That is My Favor which I bestow on whom I wish.' "

I, along with a group of people, gave the pledge of allegiance to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). He said, "I take your Pledge on the condition that you (1) will not join partners in worship with Allah, (2) will not steal, (3) will not commit illegal sexual intercourse, (4) will not kill your offspring, (5) will not slander, (6) and will not disobey me when I order you to do good. Whoever among you will abide by his pledge, his reward will be with Allah, and whoever commits any of those sins and receives the punishment in this world, that punishment will be an expiation for his sins and purification; but if Allah screens him, then it will be up to Allah to punish him if He will or excuse Him, if He will."

Allah's Prophet Solomon who had sixty wives, once said, "Tonight I will have sexual relation (sleep) with all my wives so that each of them will become pregnant and bring forth (a boy who will grow into) a cavalier and will fight in Allah's Cause." So he slept with his wives and none of them (conceived and) delivered (a child) except one who brought a half (body) boy (deformed). Allah's Prophet said, "If Solomon had said; 'If Allah Will,' then each of those women would have delivered a (would-be) cavalier to fight in Allah's Cause." (See Hadith No. 74 A, Vol. 4).

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) entered upon a sick bedouin in whom he went to visit and said to him, "Don't worry, Tahur (i.e., your illness will be a means of cleansing of your sins), if Allah Will." The bedouin said, "Tahur! No, but it is a fever that is burning in the body of an old man and it will make him visit his grave." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Then it is so."

When the people slept till so late that they did not offer the (morning) prayer, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah captured your souls (made you sleep) when He willed, and returned them (to your bodies) when He willed." So the people got up and went to answer the call of nature, performed ablution, till the sun had risen and it had become white, then the Prophet (ﷺ) got up and offered the prayer.

"A man from the Muslims and a man from the Jews quarrelled, and the Muslim said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Muhammad over all the people!" The Jew said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Moses over all the people!' On that the Muslim lifted his hand and slapped the Jew. The Jew went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and informed him of all that had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not give me superiority over Moses, for the people will fall unconscious on the Day of Resurrection, I will be the first to regain consciousness and behold, Moses will be standing there, holding the side of the Throne. I will not know whether he has been one of those who have fallen unconscious and then regained consciousness before me, or if he has been one of those exempted by Allah (from falling unconscious)." (See Hadith No. 524, Vol. 8)

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Ad-Dajjal will come to Medina and find the angels guarding it. If Allah will, neither Ad-Dajjal nor plague will be able to come near it."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "For every Prophet there is one invocation which is definitely fulfilled by Allah, and I wish, if Allah will, to keep my that (special) invocation as to be the intercession for my followers on the Day of Resurrection."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "While I was sleeping, I saw myself (in a dream) standing by a well. I drew from it as much water as Allah wished me to draw, and then Ibn Quhafa (Abu Bakr) took the bucket from me and drew one or two buckets, and there was weakness in his drawing----may Allah forgive him! Then `Umar took the bucket which turned into something like a big drum. I had never seen a powerful man among the people working as perfectly and vigorously as he did. (He drew so much water that) the people drank to their satisfaction and watered their camels that knelt down there. (See Hadith No. 16, Vol. 5)

Whenever a beggar or a person in need of something came to the Prophet (ﷺ), he used to say (to his companions), "Intercede (for him) and you will be rewarded for that, and Allah will fulfill what He will through His Apostle's tongue."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "None of you should say: 'O Allah! Forgive me if You wish,' or 'Bestow Your Mercy on me if You wish,' or 'Provide me with means of subsistence if You wish,' but he should be firm in his request, for Allah does what He will and nobody can force Him (to do anything).

That he differed with Al-Hurr bin Qais bin Hisn Al-Fazari about the companion of Moses, (i.e., whether he was Kha,dir or not). Ubai bin Ka`b Al-Ansari passed by them and Ibn `Abbas called him saying, 'My friend (Hur) and I have differed about Moses' Companion whom Moses asked the way to meet. Did you hear Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) mentioning anything about him?" Ubai said, "Yes, I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "While Moses was sitting in the company of some Israelites a man came to him and asked, 'Do you know Someone who is more learned than you (Moses)?' Moses said, 'No.' So Allah sent the Divine inspiration to Moses:-- 'Yes, Our Slave Khadir is more learned than you' Moses asked Allah how to meet him ( Khadir) So Allah made the fish as a sign for him and it was said to him, 'When you lose the fish, go back (to the place where you lose it) and you will meet him.' So Moses went on looking for the sign of the fish in the sea. The boy servant of Moses (who was accompanying him) said to him, 'Do you remember (what happened) when we betook ourselves to the rock? I did indeed forget to tell you (about) the fish. None but Satan made me forget to tell you about it' (18.63) Moses said: 'That is what we have been seeking." Sa they went back retracing their footsteps. (18.64). So they both found Kadir (there) and then happened what Allah mentioned about them (in the Qur'an)!' (See 18.60- 82)

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If Allah wills, tomorrow we will encamp in Khaif Bani Kinana, the place where the pagans took the oath of Kufr (disbelief) against the Prophet. He meant Al-Muhassab. (See Hadith 1589)

The Prophet (ﷺ) besieged the people of Ta'if, but he did not conquer it. He said, "Tomorrow, if Allah will, we will return home. On this the Muslims said, "Then we return without conquering it?" He said, 'Then carry on fighting tomorrow." The next day many of them were injured. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If Allah will, we will return home tomorrow." It seemed that statement pleased them whereupon Allah's Apostle smiled.