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Does what al-Tahawi said—that Allah does not know what the servant will do—mean, based on the understanding that He sets different options for the obedient and the disobedient?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah Almighty is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from whom nothing is hidden. He knows what was, what will be, and what is. He is the Creator of His servants and their deeds. He knew what His creation would do through His eternal knowledge and recorded it in the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz).

Destiny (Qada’) is of two types: 1. Irrevocable Destiny (Qada’ Mubram): This is the eternal destiny (Al-Qadar Al-Azali), and it does not change. 2. Mutable Destiny (Qada’ Mu‘allaq): This is what is written in the scrolls of the angels. This type can change due to righteousness towards parents, maintaining kinship ties, supplication (du‘a’), and charity (sadaqah), as Allah Almighty says: "Allah erases what He wills and affirms [what He wills], and with Him is the Mother of the Book." (Quran 13:39)

The erasing and affirming occur in the scrolls of the angels. As for Allah Almighty's knowledge, it does not differ or change, and what has been recorded in His knowledge does not change. He knows everything before and after its existence.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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