Ibn Daud - A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine

CHAPTER 6
Displeasure with the
Divine Decree
كَرَاهِيَةُ‏ القَدر[‏al-Qadr [Karāhiyat
It has been said that there is a quality in people of which most are
unaware, yet it consumes good deeds: when one is displeased with
what Allāh has decreed (i.e. Allāh’s divine decree or qadr),
resulting in plunging into heedlessness (ghaflah). This is usually
because one holds an attitude that stems from a denial of His
All-Powerful nature and that Allāh alone decrees all things. Put
simply, this can also be referred to as ingratitude.
Allāh says, “Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you
and like something which is bad for you. Allāh knows and you do
not know.” [Al-Baqarah 2:216]
DISPLEASURE WITH THE
DIVINE DECREE
There are four possible states in which the human being can live,
according to revealed sources. A person is either receiving blessings
(ni’mah) or tribulations (balā’) from Allāh , or is either living in
obedience ({ā’ah) to Allāh or in disobedience (ma’]iyah). Each
condition is purposefully exacted upon the individual, as part of the
test of life from Allāh , and is designed to elicit a response.
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