14 December 2014 - Musa and al-Khidr

14 December 2014 - Musa and al-Khidr

The Prophet Musa* and al-Khidr
(A Wise Man)
 
Another story about the Prophet Musa* is related in the Surat al-Kahf. At the beginning of the story, Allah relates a journey the Prophet Musa* makes with his young assistant:

Who is the most Knowledge?
Ibn Abbas said that the Prophet* said: "Once Moses stood up and addressed Bani Israel. He was asked who was the most learned man amongst the people. He said: "I." Allah admonished him as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to Him (Allah). So, Allah said to him: "Yes, at the junction of the two seas there is a slave of Mine who is more learned than you." Moses said; "O my Lord! How can I meet him?" Allah said: "Take a fish and put it in a large basket and you will find him at the place where you will lose the fish."
Moses took a fish and put it in a basket and proceeded along with his servant boy, Joshua (Yusha Ibn Nun), till they reached the rock where they laid their heads (lay down). Moses slept, and the fish, moving out of the basket, fell into the sea. It took its way into the sea straight as in a tunnel. Allah stopped the flow of water over the fish and it became like an arch (the Prophet pointed out this arch with his hands). They travelled the rest of the night, and the next day Moses said to his boy servant: "Give us our food, for indeed, we have suffered much fatigue in this journey of ours." Moses did not feel tired till he crossed that place which Allah had ordered him to seek after. His boy said to him: "Do you know that when we were sitting near that rock, I forgot the fish, and none but Satan caused me to forget to tell you about it, and it took its course into the sea in an amazing way?" So there was a path for the fish and that astonished them. Moses said: "That was what we were seeking after." So both of them retraced their footsteps till they reached the rock. There they saw a man lying covering with a garment.
 
Moses Talks to Al-Khidr
Moses greeted him, and he replied saying: "How do people greet each other in your land?" Moses said: "I am Moses." The man asked: "Moses of Bani Israel?" Moses said: "yes, I have come to you so that you may teach me from those things which Allah has taught you." He said: "O Moses! I have some of the knowledge of Allah which Allah has taught me and which you do not know, you have some of the knowledge of Allah which Allah has taught you and which I do not know." Moses asked: "May I follow you?" He said: "But you will not be able to remain patient with me, for how can you be patient about things which you will not be able to understand?" Moses said: "You will find me, if Allah so will, truly patient, and I will not disobey you in aught."

The Boat, The Boy and The Wall
So both of them set out walking along the seashore. A boat passed by them, and they asked the crew of the boat to take them on board. The crew recognized Al-Khidr, so they took them on board without fare. When they were on board the boat, a sparrow came and stood on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak once or twice into the sea. Al Khidr said to Moses: "O Moses! My knowledge and your knowledge have not decreased Allah's knowledge except as much as this sparrow has decreased the water of the sea with its beak." Then suddenly Al Khidr took an axe and pulled up a plank, and Moses did not notice it till he had pulled up a plank with the axe. Moses said to him: "What have you done? They took us on board charging us nothing; yet you have intentionally made a hole in their boat as to drown its passengers. Verily, you have done a dreadful thing." Al Khidr replied: "Did I not tell you that you would not be able to remain patient with me?" Moses replied: "Do not blame me for what I have forgotten, and do not be hard upon me for my fault." So the first excuse of Moses was that he had forgotten.
When they had left the sea, they passed by a boy playing with other boys. Al Khidr took a hold of the boy's head and plucked it with his fingertips as if he were plucking some fruit. Moses said to him: "Have you killed an innocent person who has not killed any person? You have really done a horrible thing." Al Khidr said: "Did I not tell you that you could not remain patient with me?" Moses said: "If I ask you about anything after this, don't accompany me. You have received an excuse from me."
Then both of them went on till they came to some people of a village, and they asked its inhabitants for food but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they saw therein a wall which was just going to collapse and Al Khidr repaired it just by touching it with his hands. Moses said: "These are the people whom we have called on, but they neither gave us food, nor entertained us as guests, yet you have repaired their wall. If you had wished, you could have taken wages for it."
Al Khidr said: "This is the parting between you and me, and I shall tell you the explanation of those things on which you could not remain patient."

The Explanation
“As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working in the sea. So I wished to make a defective damage in it, as there was a king after them, who seized every ship by force.” – These were believers and poor and would have suffered greatly if the king confiscated their boats. So the damage was just enough for the king to reject them but small enough for them to fix.
"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in righteousness and near to mercy.” – This boy would have grown up to oppress his parents and may have become a disbeliever and Allah wanted to replace him with a better son because the parents were strong believers.
"And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord.” – Again, the parents were strong believers and Allah wanted to look after the children because of the belief of the parents by protecting their wealth. This wealth would have been taken by selfish and ungrateful people had the wall not been fixed. Hence, if parents want to protect their children they should be strong believers.
“And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those (things) over which could not hold patience.” – Finally, al-Khidr was acting under orders and doing as he was commanded. This was his gift / knowledge and he was not doing it of his own accord otherwise he would have been subject to the Law of Moses.
The Prophet* added: "We wish that Moses could have remained patient by virtue of which Allah might have told us more about their story." (Sufyan, the sub-narrator, said that the Prophet* said: "May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses! If he had remained patient, we would have been told further about their case." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
As related in the above story, there is good and wisdom behind these events ordained by Allah, which are neither obvious nor immediately comprehensible. People should think about the good inherent in everything that befalls them in their every-day lives. Behind many events considered to be evil by people in our day, there are surely Divine purposes created by Allah. If a person remains patient and strives sincerely to grasp their Divine purposes, Allah may well make him comprehend their hidden meanings.

Allah the Almighty narrated in Surah Kahf:
"And remember when Moses said to his boy servant: "I will not give up (traveling) until I reach the junction of the two seas or until I spend years and years in traveling." But when they reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish, and it took its way through the sea as in a tunnel. So when they had passed further on (beyond that fixed place), Moses said to his boy servant: "Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey." He said: "Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the dock? I indeed forgot the fish, none but Satan made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a strange way!" Moses said: "That is what we have been seeking." So they went back retracing their footsteps. Then they found one of Our slaves, unto whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us.
Moses said to him (Khidr) "May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance, and true path) which you have been taught by Allah?" He (Khidr) said: "Verily! You will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not?" Moses said; "If Allah will, you will find me patience, and I will not disobey you in aught." He (Khidr) said: "Then, if you follow me, ask me not about anything till I myself mention it to you." So they both proceeded, till, when they were in the ship, he (Khidr) scuttled it. Moses said: "Have you scuttled it in order to drown its people? Verily, you have done Imra- a Munkar (evil, bad, dreadful) thing." He (Khidr) said: "Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me?" Moses said: "Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair with you."
Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, he (Khidr) killed him. Moses said: "Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have done Nukra a great Munkar (prohibited, evil dreadful) thing!" Khidr said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me?" Moses said: "If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me."
Then they both proceeded, till, when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them. Then they found therein a wall about to collapse and he (Khidr) set it up straight. Moses said: "If you had wished, surely you could have taken wages for it!" Khidr said: "This is the parting between me and you, I will tell you the interpretation of those things over which you were unable to hold patience.
"As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working in the sea. So I wished to make a defective damage in it, as there was a king after them, who seized every ship by force. "And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in righteousness and near to mercy. "And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those (things) over which could not hold patience. (TMQ 18:60-82)

23 November 2014 ~ Being Happy follow up

23 November 2014 ~ Being Happy follow up

To be updated soon, InshaAllah

16 November 2014: Being Happy Brief Summary

16 November 2014: Being Happy Brief Summary

InshaAllah, full Summary to follow

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Salaam all.

I do hope you all enjoyed and learned something useful from last week’s Study Circle.

Before I upload / circulate the full summary later this week, inshaAllah, I will do a brief summary of the main points from the Circle.

The reason is that we covered a lot of ground and it is important to highlight the salient aspects of the session. We should focus upon the key elements of change and start to change our mindset. The process of change will not take days but weeks or months of dedicated focus – but that journey needs to start soon (if not already started).

Hence, do reflect upon what I talked about and bring any queries and clarifications to next week’s Circle – inshaAllah, I will try to address them.

In brief, we started off by making a list of important things we need to do this week...

- We analysed the types of happiness at different stages in Life

- I talked about the fisherman and capitalist

- Covey’s Rocks in a bottle, with pebbles, sand and water

- Hence: What are your ‘Big Rocks’

- Happiness and material progress in Western civilisation has not resulted in a happier people

- Western and Eastern Philosophers differed on happiness but none got it right

- There are checklists but these are all in the Western Paradigm of happiness (10 Steps, & Habits Happy people etc)

The True and Islamic Perspective is that we need to fundamentally change the way we look at life and our perspective on all matters.

- I gave the example of the lines drawn and the speech of Khansaa.

- I reminded people about the fundamental process of the Belief Pathway from 3 Questions through to the Pleasure of Allah for the Afterlife

- Hence Allah alone decides what is ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’, what is ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’, what makes Him ‘pleased’ and what ‘angers’ Him, and so what should make us ‘Happy’ and ‘Sad’

- Our priority as Slaves of Allah is to make Allah Pleased with us (like the yearning of a child to his mother)

- The Qur’an and Sunnah is our guide for this

- We should also have firm conviction in the central belief of al-Qadhaa Wal-Qadr and how things that happen outside our control are from Allah and we should deal with them as such

- We should contextualise wealth and not get hung up on competing with the rich – as our Rizq is fixed

- Finally, this world is temporary and we shouldn’t be too attached to it; and focus on what we can take beyond the grave.

- What will be our legacy (earthly footprint) in addition to the deeds we do?

- And so, ‘In the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find rest/tranquillity’ [TMQ 13:28] and focus on pleasing Allah for our own happiness as He knows what is best for us as He created us that way

InshaAllah, I will give a fuller explanation/review later this week with the full examples and evidences and circulate it on the WhatsApp group and upload on the website: www.harborneislam.blogspot.com

Until then I will recirculate the Belief Pathway and do take some time to review, reflect and discuss with each other.

Thank you for listening and reading.

As always, any mistakes are mine and all the Good is from Allah.

Jzk

Naveed

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02 October 2011

Lessons from Trench, Al Qadha Wal-Qadr

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an


Saad bin Muadh passes away
When Saad had passed judgement on Banu Qurayzah he returned to his sick-bed in the Mosque. He had already prayed that if God had any more fighting for him to accomplish against His enemies He would let him live, and if not that He would let him die; and now his condition grew rapidly worse. One night not long after the siege the Prophet found him apparently unconscious. He sat down at his head which he gently raised and laid against his breast, and then he prayed: "O Lord, verily Saad hath striven upon the path, with fullness of faith in Thy messenger, leaving naught undone that was his to do. Take then unto Thyself his spirit with the best acceptance wherewith Thou takest the spirits of Thy creatures." Saad heard the Prophet's voice, and opening his eyes he said: "Peace be on thee, O Messenger of God, I bear witness that thou hast delivered thy message." An hour or two later, after the Prophet had returned home, Gabriel came to him and told him that Saad was dead. Also, after the prayer, the Prophet* proceeded to join the burial; he reached the house as they were washing the body. The mother of Saad was weeping loudly, gave vent to her grief in appropriate Arab verse. They chided her for reciting poetry on such an occasion; but the Prophet* interposed, saying: "Leave her alone; every mourner exaggerates except the mother of Saad"
When they carried his bier to the cemetery, the bearers were amazed at the lightness of their load, for Saad was a heavy man, but when they mentioned this to the Prophet he said: "I saw the Angels carrying him." They set down the bier at the edge of the grave and he led the funeral prayer, with a multitude of men and women praying behind him. Then when they lowered the body unto the grave the Prophet's face turned suddenly pale and he said three times SubhanAllah, "Glory be to God!", this being an affirmation of the Absolute Transcendence of God, sometimes uttered, as now, with reference to a limit that needs to be transcended. All those who were present repeated it and the cemetery resounded with the glorifications. Then after a moment he gave utterance to the words of victory, Allahu Akbar, "God is most Great", and the cemetery resounded again as the magnification was likewise taken up by those who were present. Afterwards, when asked why he had changed colour, the Prophet said: "The grave closed in upon your companion, and he felt a constriction which, if any man could escape it, Saad would have escaped. Then God gave him blissful relief."!
Jabir narrated that the Messenger of Allah* had said: "The Throne of the Compassionate shook for the death of Saad bin Muadh.

Some virtues of Saad ibn Muadh
Allah fulfilled the du’a of Saad as there was no more fighting with the Quraish, he died as a martyr and he delivered the verdict on the treachery of the Quraizah tribe.
Also, Saad is the only person we know of where the Prophet* asked the people to stand up (‘Stand up for your Master’) when he came in to give the verdict
Some narrations say that the Prophet* rushed to get to his body before the angels
Every mourner exaggerates except the mother of Saad – because his loss is truly a great loss
The angels participated in his Janazah by carrying the coffin
Despite his greatness, even Saad was squeezed in the grave – causing the Prophet to say SubhanAllah *3 then Allahu Akbar *3
The Prophet* often remembered Saad afterwards: Anas narrated that the Prophet* was gifted a garment of sarcenet and he prohibited the use of silk. The people admired it, whereupon he said: "By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, the kerchiefs [tissues] of Saad ibn Muadh in Paradise are better than this.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Also, we are told that the Throne of Allah shook upon the news of Saad’s death. Some scholars say this is because of the commotion caused amongst the angels carrying the Throne of Allah when they heard.

Lessons from Ghazwah al-Ahzab (Khandaq) and Banu Quraizah

• Do not double cross: It was mentioned by the children that going back on your word is not good and to double-cross and turn against your friends deserves punishment.
• Importance of taubah (Repentance): If we do something wrong and we know it is wrong we should be sincerely ‘sorry’ for our actions and ask Allah for forgiveness, make intention not to do it again and try to do more good deeds to cancel out the bad.
• Know your friends & enemies: It is important to know who your friends and enemies are and what they are like, and what they are thinking.
• Important to have independent judge: An independent judge was chosen – one that was acceptable to both sides. Hence, whatever decision was made they all accepted. Also, hudges should make judgement based on the evidence and be fair in their decision – and try to do what is correct (not give decisions based on what people want or think should happen for their own benefit)
• The Jewish tribe had not learned lessons from other tribes that broke their agreement with the Prophet*. IT should have been clear that they should not betray their agreement, let alone switch sides and threaten the existence of Islam. If they did there would be a severe punishment. Following this, the last major Jewish tribe was expelled from the Holy Land.

Other Lessons that we can learn

• Contradictory and opposing ideologies and peoples will often get together to fight Islam. This happened with the alliance between the Jewish tribes (who should have been close to the message of the Prophet* and the idol-worshippers of the Quraish. We see this happening today with the alliance between the Western nations (who always talk about ‘freedom’, ‘democracy, ‘human rights’, ‘justice’ etc) and some of the most brutal dictators in the world. They even supported Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak & Col. Gaddafi before turning against them. Even now they support other kings and dictators who are very strict in their fight against sincere Muslims around the Muslim world.
• Science & Technology in Islam: The Prophet* adopted the strategic & military idea of the Persian trench in warfare. This was a new innovation to the Arabs and it was an aspect of material progress (or new technology) which is referred to as Madinniyah in Arabic. We can learn that it is allowed to develop and take scientific and technological advances as they are quite general and universal in their application, and are not rooted in a particular system or viewpoint of life. There is nothing Eastern or Western about a trench (or camera or canon) because they did come into existence purely out of a particular viewpoint – just human progress. However, Muslims should try to use them in a halal way. However, this is different to aspects of culture or ideas (Hadhara) where Muslims should be careful what they adopt – making sure ideas and concepts are not contradictory to Islam. An example cited by some scholars is democracy as opposed to voting. Voting (or identifying a preference) is okay as a tool but making new rules and laws that contradict Islam through ‘democracy’ (where the people are elevated to the status of Gods and can rule) should not be embraced so willingly.
• Prophet* demonstrating true leadership – he was digging the trench as part of his Ummah and was not doing it  for publicity – by inviting the newspapers or TV crews to see him at work. This was genuine. Also, the Prophet* went hungry like his followers (tying rocks to his stomach) and when invited for food shared it with his followers. In addition, the Prophet* was increasing the very low morale of his followers through Islamic songs (Nasheeds) as well as giving them glad tidings (through prophesy about future conquests) when they were very low in mood.
• The Prophet* was always looking on the positive and expected a good response after he dispatched his companions to ascertain if Banu Quraizah had broken the treaty. He awaited happy news but prepared for bad by asking his companions not to openly declare any treachery that would shatter the morale of his followers. Hence, they replied in a coded fashion.
• As always, it is the difficult and testing times that really demonstrates who are the stronger believers. The hearts of people are exposed when they are under duress and so the response to the Coalition army elicited opposite reactions from the Hypocrites (Munafiqun) and the believers. Only when we are tested will we truly be able to say which side of the fence we are – in easy times we can all claim to be good obedient Muslims…
• Hudhaifa demonstrated his discipline when he could have shot Abu Sufyan but kept hold of his instructions not to cause any trouble.
• This was the point when Allah ordered the Muslims to follow  the Prophet*, as we have an excellent example in the Prophet* for all matters. Not just prayer, but fasting, Jihad, manners, etiquette etc
• The punishment should always fit the crime. What Banu Quraizah did (even in those days) was extremely severe and treacherous. It deserved a severe punishment not just because of the treachery against the Muslims but the treachery against the Messenger of Allah. Also, this is the punishment that the Jewish elders accepted because it was written in their books (Bible -  book of Deuteronomy) how people who fought their Prophets were sentenced in exactly the same way.
• Saad ibn Muadh was not lenient or showing weakness and when he came to make his judgement he did what would please Allah. He was not concerned by what his friends or enemies would think, not concerned about the newspaper headlines or news comments but only about seeking Allah’s pleasure. This differs wildly from the leaders of today’s Muslims who are too concerned about what their Western backers will think and so are not taken seriously either by the West or their own people.
• People do criticise the Battle of Banu Quraizah, but Muslims need to remember that this was ordered by the Angels – and they participated in this.
• As with all previous battles and tests we must remember that Victory is from Allah. Although we should prepare as best we can we should acknowledge that only Allah grants victory if He so pleases.

Main Topic: Al Qadha Wal-Qadr 

Al Qadha Wal-Qadr is different to Al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya (fatalism)
The Early Days
During the time of Rasool Allah* and the Sahabah, the meaning of Qadr was well understood without any ambiguity and what it meant was very clear. There was no debate. inquiries, or differences in this issue, except the discussion between Abu Ubaidah and Umar, when Umar decided not to proceed in his trip to as-sham, once the news came telling that there was a plague spreading there and decided to go back to Medina, telling the people '' I'm returning back, thus you should return as well''. In this incident Abu Ubaidah did not attend Umar's consultation with the people and the result of the consultation.
However, when Abu Ubaidah heard of Umar's orders. he came to Umar telling him ''O Umar, are you running away from Allah's Qadr.'' By this he was objecting Umar's decision to return back to Medina. Umar was amazed by this objection raised by Abu Ubaidah and Umar said to him, ''O Abu Ubaidah. I wish someone other than you would have said this. Yes. I am running away from Allah's Qadr to Allah's Qadr ''. He explained this by saying, if you see a man coming to a place where there are two areas, one area is lush and the other barren. Don't you see that if he takes his cattle to the lush area, he is doing so according the Allah's Qadr and if he take his cattle to the barren area, he is also taking it by Allah's Qadr.
This is the only report which talked about the difference in understanding Al-Qadr, amongst the Sahabah. Otherwise, Muslims in general understood Al-Qadr the way it is in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This understanding is that everything is written in the preserved tablet (al-Lowh al-Mahfooz), from the very beginning (before creation) and there is no relationship for this in the man's actions or in the obligations Allah orders us to carry. This situation continued all the way till the second half of the second century Hijri or till the middle of the Abbasid era. Due to the translation of the Greek, Persian and Hindu philosophies, some misconceptions accumulated in the minds of some people and the question of al-Qadha wal-Qadr emerged and over shadowed the concept of Al-Qadr. After that, the issue of al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya (fatalism) became widespread among the people. It influenced them and shaped their behavior. It was one of the declining factors for the Muslim Ummah and when the decline became more obvious (during our time).
The Qadr as the word is what Allah knows and wrote in preserved tablet (al-Lowh al-Mahfooz) at the very beginning (of creation). However, al-Qadha wal-Qadr means the question of having the actions occur against man's will. This includes the characteristics of objects, which also occur against man's will. Thus, the real meaning of both are different. Although, the meaning which may come to the mind of the people once they hear both terms may be the same, which is the ability of man to stand and face what was written.
Therefore, we need to understand the reality of both and the difference between them. Al-Qadr is all that Allah (swt) knows which is everything in al-Lowh al-Mahfooz. This taken from many Sharii text (which are used as Daleel for the meaning of al-Qadr); for example when Allah (swt) says: ''(All) except the family of Lut. Them all we are surely going to save (from destruction). Except his wife, of whom We have decreed that she shall be of those who remain behind (i.e. she will be destroyed)''. [Al Hijr 15: 59-60]
Also: '..And the Command of Allah is a decree determined.'' [Al-Ahzab 33:38], and ‘Say: ''Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us..'' [At-Tauba 9:51]; or ‘And there is nothing hidden in the heaven and the earth, but is in a Clear Book (al-Lowh al-Mahfooz) [Al-Naml 27:75]
The meaning of all of these Ayat is that Allah knows everything in the universe and Allah wrote it in a clear book. And in the Hadith which mentions that Allah wrote the Qadr of everything 50,000 years before the creation of the universe while His throne was on the water. And the Hadith which mentions that Allah (swt) created the pen and instructed it to write. The pen asked, ''O Allah, what should I write''. Allah said, ''write the Qadr of everything till the day of judgement.'' And the Hadith which mentions that if the Ummah gathered to benefit you in something, they will never be able to benefit you with something other than what Allah wrote for you and if the whole Ummah got together to harm you in something, they will never be able to do it. unless Allah wrote it for you. Pens are laid down, and the ink has dried. (Ibn Abbas)
Based upon this understanding, early Muslims believed in al-Qadr without any ambiguity. There was no doubt in a Muslim's Aqeedah, so long as no alien ideas were attached to this understanding. However, after Muslims got influenced by alien thoughts, a veil covered their minds, causing them to loose the clarity of their understanding of the Aqeedah. Muslims used to believe in the Qadr and keeping it in the realm of belief (Iman). 

Confusion in the Minds of later Muslims
But now, Muslims started noticing this Iman in the Qadr, before performing any action and they started to carry various actions shaped by this Iman in the Qadr. Thus, they surrounded themselves by what is predetermined. Muslims started to think that whatever Allah predetermined is going to happen, regardless if they became active or passive in carrying out an action. They started believing like this, despite the fact that they know for sure that, it is impossible for anyone to have access to Allah's knowledge. In other words, the Muslims do believe that it is impossible for anyone to know what Allah's knowledge is.
Muslims know all of this, yet they still link their actions with this knowledge of Allah. Thus, al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya (fatalism) emerged. It became something different than believing in al-Qadr. This is because, believing in the Qadr is to believe conclusively that nothing will happen in this universe, other than what Allah has predetermined everything and wrote in al-Lowh al-Mahfooz. However, al-Qadariya al-Ghaibiya means to surrender to what is predetermined. There is a difference between believing in the Qadr and surrendering to the predetermined. Surrendering to this predetermined is simply the result of believing in the Qadr with the absolute surrender; which is that what is predetermined is going to happen and nothing will happen if Allah did not predetermined it.
Al-qadariyyah al-ghaybiyyah is to surrender to the destiny (qadr); and to refer everything to the actions of fate hidden from man; and that activity of man in life has no effect; he is rather compelled and not of free will; he is like the feather in space where the winds move it wherever they like. This idea has spread, and taken as ‘aqeedah, since the late times of the Abbasid era, and continued till today. The obligation of belief in al Qadha wal-qadr was used as a means by which this idea was introduced to Muslims. Because of it, the failing people found under its cover a pretext for their failure. The ignorant and inactive people found in their reference to it an excuse for their laziness and reluctance. Many people consented for the injustice to befall them; the poverty to eat their flesh; the disgrace to reign at them, and the sins prevail on their actions. All of this is in surrender from their side to al-qadariyyah al-ghaybiyyah which they believe in, claiming that this is a submission to al Qadha wal-qadr of Allah
This idea still dominates the people, has control on many of their actions. Though, the one who studies and scrutinizes the matter finds that al-qadariyyah al-ghaybiyyah was not known at the time of the Sahabah, nor it came to the mind of anyone of them. Had it existed with the Muslims, they would have not made conquests, nor endured the difficulties. They would have rather left the qadar to do whatever it likes, and would have said: “whatever is destined till take place, whether you strove for it or not!” However, there knowledgeable Muslims realised: the castle cannot be conquered without the sword (force); the enemy cannot be subjugated without the force; that rizq (provision) must be sought; the disease must be averted from it; the Muslim who drinks alcohol must be lashed; and the thief ’s hand must be amputated; the ruler must be accounted; and the political manoeuvres must be carried out with the enemies. Muslims did not believe in that, when they saw the Muslims’ army under the leadership of the Rasool*, his archers violated the orders of the leadership. They saw the army win at Hunayn after the defeat, because the army which fled from the battle in fear of the arrows returned to the fight when the Rasool* called on it, while he* and a few people remained steadfast in the battle, before the eyes of the fleeing army.

The Correct View
Allah taught us to link between the causes and the effects (al-asbab wal-musabbabat). He made the case produce the effect. The fire burns, and burning does not occur without fire. The knife cuts, and cut does not occur without a knife. He created man, and He made in him the capability to carry out an action. He gave him the full choice to carry out his actions; he eats the time he wishes; he walks when he wishes; he travels when he wishes. He seeks knowledge so he becomes learned; he murders so he is punished; he abandons Jihad so he becomes humiliated; and he refrains from striving for provision (rizq) so he becomes poor. So there is no presence to al-qadariyyah al-ghaybiyyah in the life reality, and nor in the Shari’ of Allah .
As regards to al Qadha wal-qadar, they have nothing to do with alqadariyyah al-ghaybiyyah, whatsoever. This is because al Qadha is the action that occur from man and on him, without his will. This is like seeing with his eyes and not with his nose; he hears with his ears and not with his mouth; and he has no control over the beats of his heart. This is like a storm from the sky or an earthquake, from which a person falls from the roof of a house over another person, thus killing him. All of such actions enter in the Qadha; and man is not accounted for them. These actions have nothing to do with the freewill actions of man. Al-qadar is the attributes of things by which matter results, such as predestined burning in the fire, predestined cutting in the knife and the predestined reproduction instinct in man. All of these attributes (in things) can’t carry out an action without a perpetrator. If a man exercised an action using them (the objects) by his choice, he would be the perpetrator and not the qadar present in the object. So if a person burnt a house using fire, he would be the one who made the burning and not the fire which burns by the attribute predestined in it. Thus man is accounted for the action of burning he did. This is because he is the one who exercised a specific action, by his own choice, using the qadar.
So al-qadar does not produce a matter without an action of a perpetrator. Al-Qadha has no relation with the actions of man which he performs by his choice. Thus, both al-Qadha and al-qadar have no relation with the free actions of man. They also have relation with the universal law in terms of controlling it. They are rather part of the universal law, which proceeds according to the laws that Allah exerted to the universe, man and life. Therefore, man is capable to have effect, in the strife for earning livelihood and in the method of livelihood. He is capable to correct the deviation of the unjust ruler or to dispose him. He is capable to have effect in everything that enters in the domain of his free actions. Thus alqadariyyah al-ghaybiyyah is not more than a superstition and imagination.

Reward and Punishment
The basis of the discussion in al-Qadha wal-Qadar is not the action of man in terms of whether he created the action or Allah created it. Neither is it the will of Allah (SWT) in the sense that His will is conditional on the action of man so it must exist by this will. Neither is it the Knowledge of Allah in terms of Him knowing that man will do such and such action and that His Knowledge encompass that, nor that this action of man is written in the al-Lawh al-Mahfuz so he must act according to what has been written.
The basis of the discussion is definitely none of these things, because they have no relationship to the subject from the viewpoint of reward and punishment. The topic of discussion on whose basis the question of al-Qadha wa al-Qadr is built is the issue of reward and punishment for an action i.e.: Is man obliged to perform an action, good or evil, or does he have a choice? And, does man have the choice to perform his action, or does he have no choice?
When we say the basis is reward and punishment, we mean this from the perspective of the origin of accountability i.e. free will. This is because without free will reward and punishment would be meaningless.
The person who scrutinises the actions of people sees that we live within two spheres:

1. one which we dominate, seen as the sphere that is present within the region of our conduct, and within which our actions happen absolutely by our choice;
2. the other sphere dominates us, we exist within its domain, and the that which occurs upon us within it happen without our choice, whether they originate from us or fall upon us.

The actions that fall within the sphere that dominates us, we have no choice in them or in their existence. They can be divided into two kinds: The first are those required by the law of the universe. The second are those actions which are not directly necessitated by the laws of the universe. We are not accounted for anything that occurs within this sphere and it is classified as fate (Qadha) from Allah (swt).
The laws of the Universe being from Allah is fairly simple to grasp. However understanding how those things that fall upon us which are not necessitated by the universal law are Qadha from Allah requires more thought. The easiest examples for this are the accidental happenings such as the contracting of an illness, train accidents or tripping and spraining your ankle. However this area of the sphere which dominates us is not limited to accidents it also includes things we intend such as arriving at a destination, passing an exam or establishing an Islamic State. The key issue to grasp is that we only control our actions i.e. our limbs and not anything beyond this. When it comes to the examples that I mentioned such as reaching a destination, passing an exam or establishing an Islamic State we only control our actions and therefore make an attempt to achieve a goal, the result is definitively not in our control and involves complex interrelationships between people and matter, it includes many factors that are not in the control of people. When embarking upon a journey we may make an attempt to reach a destination but fail due to many factors such as the car breaking down or an accident on the motorway – so we do not definitively control whether we will arrive at our destination.
Complex situations must be studied carefully to ascertain which aspects are actually Qadha and which aspects are in peoples control, it is dangerous to generalise and label things as Qadha without making this distinction. Take the example of marriage, often people label this as Qadha, upon further scrutiny we would ascertain that there are elements which are in man’s control and elements outside of his control. Whether the man and the women initially meet or not is not in their control, once they have met the decision they make to agree to the marriage is their decision and is not forced upon them by Allah (swt). Even if they decide to marry whether they are able to make it to the actual wedding is not within their control.
If we do not control something then by definition it falls into the second sphere and therefore is from Allah (swt). It is important to understand that when we say what is in man’s control and beyond man’s control we mean man as in mankind not an individual man. As something may not be in your control as an individual but is in someone else’s control and therefore cannot be Qadha from Allah (swt), an example is if someone swears at you, it is in his control and so is not Qadha. Rather it is an action that he will be accounted for.
If something occurs upon us which we don’t control such as winning a prize or tripping and breaking a leg we can conclude that this is from Allah (swt) but is beyond the role of our minds to understand how Allah (swt) ensured that this would happen to us. It is beyond our perception to discuss how Allah does things and ensures that certain things will occur upon us without our control.
As for the sphere that man dominates, it is the sphere in which he proceeds willingly according to the system he chooses, whether it is the divine law (shariah) or any other. In this sphere, actions carried out by man or befalling him occur by his will. For example, he walks, eats, drinks and travels anytime he likes, likewise he refrains from doing any of these things when he likes; he also burns with fire and cuts with a knife when he chooses; and he satisfies the instincts of procreation and ownership and the hunger of the belly as he likes. All this he performs or abstains from willingly. Therefore, man is accounted for those deeds which occur within this sphere. Thus, he is rewarded for the action which is rewardable, and he is punished for it if it is punishable. These actions have nothing to do with al-Qadha or vice versa. Because man is the one who undertook them with his own will and choice. Therefore, actions of choice do not come under the subject of al-Qadha.
The issue of Qadr is to do with the attributes of things that Allah (swt) placed within the universe, man and life. In reality it is a subset of the discussion of Qadha as it is related to the universal laws in the sphere which Allah dominates, however due to the controversy that existed over it during the centuries it was discussed as a topic on its own. It is clear from the observation of reality that all attributes of the universe, man and life are from Allah (swt) whether this is the weight of a stone, the sexual inclination in man or sharpness of a knife.
Although we are subject to al-Qadha wal Qadar this does not mean that we become fatalistic and submit ourselves to whatever is going to happen to us as we have no knowledge of that. There is a difference between Aqeeda and Hukm Shari and in issues of action we must refer to the Shariah rules as Allah (swt) has ordered us regardless of whether we control the outcome or not.

Hadith : No time for Hadith section today

Feedback:
Different colours: How wonderful Allah’s creation is with all the beautiful and varied colours around us
Prayer: Some very important aspects of prayer that we should all remember (followed by a short quiz)
Mosque: some essential facts about the mosque and visiting it
Islamic Calendar: all the months of the Islamic Calendar and how it differs from the Gregorian calendar

News:
Pakistan Floods - How people have been affected and the duty of Muslims to care for those affected. Also touched upon the Qard of Allah (see above) and that those drown may become martyrs
Palestine's Statehood bid and the US/UN -  The long-standing issue affected many Muslims and how America (who claim to be impartial) are clearly backing one group more than the other. Hence, they should not be seen as fair or impartial.
Assassination of Imam Anwar al-Awlaki - This sets a dangerous precedence where people can be assassinated without being able to defend themselves in court. A country that claims to uphold freedom and justice ('the rule of law') is clearly being hypocritical and open state-sponsored murder is now acceptable against people who  voice different opinions.

25 September 2011

25 September 2011

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Seerah: Banu Quraizah (part 2)

Abu Lubabah
For twenty-five nights they were besieged, and then they sent to the Prophet* to ask him to let them consult Abu Lubabah, Like the Bani Nadir, they had long been allies of Aws, and Abu Lubabah had been one of their chief links with his tribe. The Prophet* bade him go to them, and he was beset on his arrival by weeping women and children so that much of his sternness against the treacherous enemy was softened; and when the men asked him if they should submit to Muhammad he said "Yea", but at the same time he pointed to his throat as much as to warn them that in his opinion submission meant slaughter. The gesture was in contradiction with his assent, and might have prolonged the siege still further; and no sooner had he made it than an overwhelming sense of guilt added itself to the guilt which he already felt in the depth of his soul on account of the palm-tree which he had refused to give to his orphan ward at the Prophet*'s request/ "My two feet had not moved from where they were," he said, "before I was aware that I had betrayed the Messenger for God." His face changed colour and he recited the verse: Verily we are for God, and verily unto Him are we returning. "What’s the matter with you?" said Ka'b. "I have betrayed God and His Messenger," said Abu Lubabah, and as he went down from the upper room he put his hand to his beard, and it was wet with his tears. He could not bring himself to go out the way he had entered and to face his fellow Awsites and others who, as he knew, were waiting eagerly to hear his news and to escort him to the Prophet*. So he passed through a gate at the back of the fortress and was soon on his way to the city. He went straight to the Mosque, and bound himself to one of the pillars, saying: "I will not stir from this place until God relent unto me for what I did."
The Prophet* was waiting for his return, and when he finally heard what had happened he, said: "If he had come to me I would have prayed God to forgive him; but seeing that he hath done what he hath done, it is not for me to free him until God shall relent unto him."!  He remained at the pillar for some ten or fifteen days. Before every prayer, or whenever it was necessary, his wife would come to untie his bonds; then after he had prayed he would bid her bind him once more.
It was at the dawn of one of the days which followed the death of Sa’d bin Mu’ath, when the Prophet* was in the apartment of Umm Salamah, that he announced to her: "Abu Lubabah is forgiven." "May I not give him the good tidings?" she said. "If thou wilt," he answered, so she stood at the door of her apartment which opened into the Mosque, not far from the pillar to which he had bound himself, and called out: "O Abu Lubabah, be of good cheer, for God hath relented unto thee." The men who were in the Mosque surged upon him to set him free, but he stopped them saying: "Not until the Messenger of God set me free with his own hands." So the Prophet* passed by him on his way to the prayer and loosed his bonds. And this was done shortly before the morning prayer.
After the prayer Abu Lubabah came to the Prophet* and said that he wished to make an offering in expiation of what he had done, and the Prophet* accepted from him a third of his property, for the Revelation which had set him free had said: Take alms of their wealth to purify them,' the reference being not only to Abu Lubabah but also to other good men at fault who freely admitted that they were wrong.

Sa'd bin Muath makes his judgement to please Allah
The next day, despite Abu Lubabah's warning, the Bani Quraizah opened the gates of their fortresses and submitted to the Prophet*'s Judgement. The men were led out with their hands bound behind their backs and a space was allotted them on one side of the camp. On another side the women and children were assembled, and the Prophet* put them in the charge of 'Abd Allah ibn Sallam, the former chief rabbi of the Bani Qaynuqa', The arms and armour, the garments and the household goods were collected from each fortress and all gathered together in one place. The jars of wine and fermented date juice were opened and their contents poured away.
The clans of Aws sent a deputation to the Prophet* asking him to show their former allies the same leniency that he had shown the Bani Qaynuqa' who had been the allies of Khazraj. He answered them saying: "Will it satisfy you, men of Aws, if one of yourselves pronounce judgement upon them?" And they agreed. So he sent to Medina for their chief, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, whose wound had not healed and who was being cared for in a tent in the Mosque. The Prophet* had placed him there so that he might visit him the more often, and Rufaydah, a woman of Aslam, was tending his wound. Some of his clansmen went to him, and mounting him on an ass they brought him to the camp. "Do well by thy confederates (Coalition)," they said to him on the way, "for the Messenger of God hath set thee in judgement upon them for no other purpose than that thou mayst treat them with indulgence." But Sa'd was a man of justice; like Umer he had been against sparing the prisoners at Badr, and their opinion had been confirmed by the Revelation. Many men of Quraysh who had been ransomed on that occasion had come out against them at Uhud and again at the trench; and in this last campaign the strength of the invaders had been largely due to the hostile activities of the exiled Jews of Bani Nadir, If these had been put to death instead of being allowed to go into exile, the invading army might have been halved, and Bani Quraizah would no doubt have remained faithful to their pact with the Prophet*. The arguments offered by past experience were not in favour of leniency, to say the least. Moreover, Sa'd had himself been one of the envoys to Quraizah at the moment of crisis and had seen the ugliness of their treachery when they had thought that the defeat of the Muslims was certain. It was true that if he gave a severe judgement most of the men and women of Aws would blame him, but that consideration would not have weighed much with Sa'd at any time and now it weighed not at all, for he was convinced that he was dying. He cut short the pleas of his clansmen with the words: "The time hath come for Sa'd, in the cause of God, to give no heed unto the blame of the blamer."
Sa'd was a man of mighty stature, of handsome and majestic appearance, and when he came to the camp the Prophet* said "Rise in honour of your Master," and they rose to greet him saying: "Father of 'Amr, the Messenger of God hath appointed thee to judge the case of thy confederates." He said: "Do ye then swear by God and make by Him your covenant that my judgement shall be the verdict upon them?" "We do," they answered. "And is it binding upon him who is here?" he added, with a glance in the direction of the Prophet*, but not mentioning him out of reverence. "It is," said the Prophet*. "Then I judge," said Sa'd, "that the men shall be slain, the property divided, and the women and children made captive. "I The Prophet* said to him: "Thou hast judged with the judgement of God from above the seven heavens."
The women and children were taken away to the city where they were lodged, and the men spent the night in the camp where they recited the Torah and exhorted one another to firmness and patience. In the morning the Prophet* ordered trenches, long and deep and narrow, to be dug in the market-place. The men, about seven hundred in all -according to some accounts more and to others less -were sent for in small groups, and every group was made to sit alongside the trench that was to be his grave. Then 'Ali and Zubayr and others of the younger Companions cut off their heads, each with a stroke of the sword.
When Huyay was led into the market he turned to the Prophet*, who was sitting apart with some of his older Companions, and said to him: "I blame not myself for having opposed thee, but whoso forsakes God, the same shall be forsaken." Then he turned to his fellows and said: "The command of God cannot be wrong -a writ and a decree and a massacre which God hath set down in his book against the sons of Israel." Then he sat beside the trench and his head was cut off.
The last to die were beheaded by torchlight. Then one old man, Zabir ibn Billi, whose case was not yet decided, was taken to the house where the women were lodged. The next morning, when they were told of the death of their men, the city was filled with the sound of their lamentations. But the aged Zabir quieted them, saying: "Be silent! Are ye the first women of the children of Israel to be made captive since the world began? Had there been any good in your men they would have saved you from this. But cleave ye to the religion of the Jews, for in that must we die, and in that must we live hereafter."
Zabir had always been an enemy to Islam and had done much to stir up opposition to the Prophet*. But in the civil wars of Yathrib he had spared the life of a man of Khazraj, Thabit ibn Qays, who wished to repay him for this, and who had gone to the Prophet* to ask him to let Zabir live. "He is thine," said the Prophet*; but when Zabir was told of his reprieve he said to Thabit: "An old man, without wife and without children, what will he do with life?" So Thabit went again to the Prophet*, who gave him Zabir's wife and children. But Zabir said: "A household in the Hijaz without property, how can they survive?" Again Thabit went to the Prophet*, who gave him all Zabir's possessions except his arms and armour. But thoughts of the death of all his fellow tribesmen now overwhelmed Zabir and he said: "By God I ask thee, Thabit, by the claim I have on thee, that thou shouldst join me with my people, for now that they are gone, there is no good in life." At first Thabit refused, but when he saw that he was serious he took him to the place of execution and Zubayr was told to behead him. His wife and children were set free and their property was returned to them, under Thabit's guardianship. When Abu Bakr heard about this, the normally mild companion mentioned that Zabir will meet his friends and relations in the Hellfire!

The Prophet offers to marry Rehana, a Jewish captive
As to the other women and children, they were divided, together with the property, amongst the men who had taken part in the siege. Many of these captives were ransomed by the Bani Nadir at Khaybar, As part of his share the Prophet* had chosen Rehana, the daughter of Zayd, a Nadirite, who had married her to a man of Quraizah, She was a woman of great beauty and she remained the Prophet*'s slave until she died some five years later. At first he put her in the care of his aunt Salma, in whose house Rifa'ah had already taken refuge. Rehana herself was averse to entering Islam, but Rifa'ah, and his kinsmen of the Bani Hadl spoke to her about the new religion and it was not long before one of the three young converts, Tha'labah by name, came to the Prophet* and told him that Rehana had entered Islam, whereupon he greatly rejoiced. When it became clear that she was not pregnant, he went to her and offered to set her free and to make her his wife. But she said: "O Messenger of God, leave me in thy power; that will be easier for me and for thee." Thus she chose to remain a slave to the Prophet* although she was given the option to be free and marry the Prophet*.  For himself, the Prophet* selected Rehana bint ‘Amr bin Khanaqah, manumitted and married her in the year 6 Hijri. She died shortly after the farewell pilgrimage and was buried in Al- Baqi‘.
This Ghazwah took place in the month of Dhul Qa‘dah in the year five Hijri, and the siege of Banu Quraizah’s forts lasted for 25 days. The Chapter of Confederates was revealed containing Allah’s Words concerning the basic issues relating to the believers and hypocrites during the battle of the Confederates, and the consequences of the treachery and breaching of covenants by the Jews.
Only one woman of the Jews was killed because she had killed a Muslim warrior by flinging a grinding stone upon him. A few elements of the enemy embraced Islam and their lives, wealth and children were spared. As for the spoils of the war, the Prophet* (Peace be upon him) divided them, after putting a fifth aside, in accordance with Allah’s injunctions. Three shares went to the horseman and one to the infantry fighter. Women captives were sent to Najd to be bartered with horses and weaponry.
In the process of the seize laid to Banu Quraiza, one man of the Muslims, Khallad bin Suwaid was killed when a women of the Jews dropped the grinding stone on him, and another, Abu Sinan bin Mihsan, the brother of ‘Ukasha, died.

Hadith : No time for Hadith section today

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Taqdeer (al-Qadha wal-Qadr) - a talk about Taqdeer and a story about a little boy who dies lead to a discussion on Divine fate & Destiny...


Al Qadha Wal-Qadr is different to Al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya (fatalism) [part]
 
During the time of Rasool Allah* and the Sahabah, the meaning of Qadr was well understood without any ambiguity and what it meant was very clear. There was no debate. inquiries, or differences in this issue, except the discussion between Abu Ubaidah and Umar, when Umar decided not to proceed in his trip to as-sham, once the news came telling that there was a plague spreading there and decided to go back to Medina, telling the people '' I'm returning back, thus you should return as well''. In this incident Abu Ubaidah did not attend Umar's consultation with the people and the result of the consultation.
However, when Abu Ubaidah heard of Umar's orders. he came to Umar telling him ''O Umar, are you running away from Allah's Qadr.'' By this he was objecting Umar's decision to return back to Medina. Umar was amazed by this objection raised by Abu Ubaidah and Umar said to him, ''O Abu Ubaidah. I wish someone other than you would have said this. Yes. I am running away from Allah's Qadr to Allah's Qadr ''. He explained this by saying, if you see a man coming to a place where there are two areas, one area is lush and the other barren. Don't you see that if he takes his cattle to the lush area, he is doing so according the Allah's Qadr and if he take his cattle to the barren area, he is also taking it by Allah's Qadr.
This is the only report which talked about the difference in understanding Al-Qadr, amongst the Sahabah. Otherwise, Muslims in general understood Al-Qadr the way it is in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This understanding is that everything is written in the preserved tablet (al-Lowh al-Mahfooz), from the very beginning (before creation) and there is no relationship for this in the man's actions or in the obligations Allah orders us to carry. This situation continued all the way till the second half of the second century Hijri or till the middle of the Abbasid era. Due to the translation of the Greek, Persian and Hindu philosophies, some misconceptions accumulated in the minds of some people and the question of al-Qadha wal-Qadr emerged and over shadowed the concept of Al-Qadr. After that, the issue of al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya (fatalism) became widespread among the people. It influenced them and shaped their behavior. It was one of the declining factors for the Muslim Ummah and when the decline became more obvious (during our time).
The Qadr as the word is what Allah knows and wrote in preserved tablet (al-Lowh al-Mahfooz) at the very beginning (of creation). However, al-Qadha wal-Qadr means the question of having the actions occur against man's will. This includes the characteristics of objects, which also occur against man's will. Thus, the real meaning of both are different. Although, the meaning which may come to the mind of the people once they hear both terms may be the same, which is the ability of man to stand and face what was written.

The basis of the discussion in al-Qadha wa al-Qadar is not the action of man in terms of whether he created the action or Allah created it. Neither is it the will of Allah (SWT) in the sense that His will is conditional on the action of man so it must exist by this will. Neither is it the Knowledge of Allah in terms of Him knowing that man will do such and such action and that His Knowledge encompass that, nor that this action of man is written in the al-Lawh al-Mahfuz so he must act according to what has been written.
The basis of the discussion is definitely none of these things, because they have no relationship to the subject from the viewpoint of reward and punishment. The topic of discussion on whose basis the question of al-Qadha wa al-Qadar is built is the issue of reward and punishment for an action i.e.: Is man obliged to perform an action, good or evil, or does he have a choice? And, does man have the choice to perform his action, or does he have no choice?
When we say the basis is reward and punishment, we mean this from the perspective of the origin of accountability i.e. free will. This is because without free will reward and punishment would be meaningless.
The person who scrutinises the actions of people sees that we live within two spheres:
1) one which we dominate, seen as the sphere that is present within the region of our conduct, and within which our actions happen absolutely by our choice;
2) the other sphere dominates us, we exist within its domain, and the that which occurs upon us within it happen without our choice, whether they originate from us or fall upon us.
The actions that fall within the sphere that dominates us, we have no choice in them or in their existence. They can be divided into two kinds: The first are those required by the law of the universe. The second are those actions which are not directly necessitated by the laws of the universe. We are not accounted for anything that occurs within this sphere and it is classified as fate (Qadha) from Allah (swt). 

News: Falling satellites

A short discussion about the limits of man and his inventions, versus the Power of Allah the Creator. A brief mention of the previous topic of Qadr (see above) and linking it to the Autumn leaves and people falling of construction sites!