جامع ترمذی · Hadith 2155

Abdul-Wahid bin sulaim narrated: I arrived in Makkah and met 'Ata bin Abi Rabab. I said to him: 'O Abu Muhammad! The people of Al-Basrah speak about Al-Qadar.' He said: 'O my son! Do you recite the Quran?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then recite Az-Zukhruf to me.' He said: 'So I recited: Ha Mim. By the manifest Book, Verily, We have made it a Quran in Arabic that you may be able to understand. And verily, it is in the Mother of Book with Us, indeed exalted, full of wisdom. Then he said: 'Do you know what Mother of Books is?' I said: 'Allah and His Messenger know better.' He said:'It is a book that Allah wrote before He created the Heavens, and before He created the earth. In it, it is (written): Fir'awn is among the inhabitants of the Fire, and in it is: Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!'Ata said: 'I met Al-Walid the son of Ubadah bin As-samit the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) and asked him:'What was your father's admonition when he died? He said: He called me and said: 'O my son ! Have Taqwa of Allah, and know that you will never have Taqwa of Allah until you believe in Allah, and you believe in Al-Qadar-all of it-its good and its bad. If you die upon other than this you shall enter the Fire. Indeed I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) saying: Verily the first of what Allah created was the Pen. So He said: 'Write Al-Qadar, what it is , and what shall be, until the end.'

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020