Lot and fate

4-6-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is the difference between Qismat (lot) and Taqdeer (fate)?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Baihaqi reported from Ibrahim Ibn Hamesh that he said: "Fatalism laughs from wariness and the fixed time for death laughs from absolute expectation and the fate laughs from the projection and the lot laughs from the endeavor and the distress" . Ibrahim is a scholar from the Salaf (rightly guided predecessors). He was mentioned by Ibn Katheer in his book 'Al-Bidaya Wal Nihaya' as one of the scholars who died in 312 A.H. He described him as the ascetic admonisher. Taqdeer (fate) is what Allah predestined for each person while the Qismat (lot) is what Allah distributes amongst the people. So, Taqdeer (fate) is more global than Qismat (lot) as it includes anything that Allah has predestined, not just what is distributed among people. Allah knows best.