Understanding the phrase “by chance”

25-1-2011 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it lawful to say “by chance” or “by luck”?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

A Muslim must believe that all that happens in this universe is in accordance with the will and decree of Allaah the Almighty. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means): {And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darkness of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.} [Quran 6:59].  Allaah the Almighty predestinated this before creating the heavens and earth. On the authority of ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that Allaah the Almighty wrote the fate of creatures 50 thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. [Muslim]

Therefore, if what you mean by “chance” is what the atheists believe: that things occur by accident without the knowledge and management of Allaah the Almighty, then this is disbelief that would take a person from out of the fold of Islam.

On the other hand, if you mean that something happens by accident without your prior knowledge, such as when a person meets a close friend after a long absence and without a pre-arranged appointment, there is nothing wrong with this idea because it involves no negation of the knowledge and decree of Allaah the Almighty.

Allaah Knows best.

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