Saying "If Allah wills" when determining to do Something in the Future
Ayahs Covered
Common Words
Other Scholars on These Ayahs
And never say regarding something that is for the purpose of doing something ‘I will indeed do that tomorrow’ in other words I will do something at some future point in time
without adding ‘If God will’ in other words unless firmly adhering to the will of God exalted be He by saying ‘If God will’ inshā’a’Llāh. And remember your Lord that is remember His will making things...
Related Hadiths
"Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers it, for Allah says: and perform the Salah for My remembrance." Ta-Ha 20:14.
When any one of you omits the prayer due to sleep or he forgets it, he should observe it when he remembers it, for Allah has said:" Observe prayer for remembrance of Me."
When one of you makes a supplication (to his Lord) one should not say: O Allah, grant me pardon, if Thou so likest, but one should beg one's (Lord) with a will and full devotion, for there is nothing ...
He who forgets the prayer should say it when he remembers it, there is no explation for it, except this. Qatada said: (Allah says)" And observe prayer for remembrance of Me"
'When anyone of you swears an oath, let him not say: 'What Allah wills and what you will.' Rather let him say: 'What Allah wills and then what you will.'
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: If you forget a prayer, pray it when you remember it, for Allah says: "and perform the Salah for My remembrance." Ta-Ha 20:14.
May Allah have mercy upon him; be reminded me of the verse which I had been made to forget.
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever swears an oath and says: "If Allah wills, then he has made an exception."'"
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone says when swearing an oath: "If Allah wills," he makes an exception.
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it when he remembers it, for Allah says: "and perform prayer when you remember (li dhikra).'" I said to Az-Zuhri: "Is that how...
Ibn Kathir Commentary
Related Tafsir
Saying "If Allah wills" when determining to do Something in the Future
Here Allah, may He be glorified, shows His Messenger the correct etiquette when determining to do something in the future; this should always be referred to the will of Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, Who knows what was and what is yet to be and what is not to be, and how it will be if it is to be. It was recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ: لَأَطُوفَنَّ اللَّيْلَةَ عَلَى سَبْعِينَ امْرَأَةً وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: تِسْعِينَ امْرَأَةً، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: مِائَةِ امْرَأَةٍ تَلِدُ كُلُّ امْرَأَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ غُلَامًا يُقَاتِلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ قَالَ لَهُ الْمَلَكُ: قُلْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ، فَلَمْ يَقُلْ، فَطَافَ بِهِنَّ فَلَمْ تَلِدْ مِنْهُنَّ إِلَّا امْرَأَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ نِصْفَ إِنْسَانٍ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِصلى الله عليه وسلّم: وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ قَالَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ لَمْ يَحْنَثْ، وَكَانَ دَرَكًا لِحَاجَتِه»
وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ:
«وَلَقَاتَلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ فُرْسَانًا أَجْمَعُون»
(Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) said: "Tonight I will go around to seventy women according to some reports, it was ninety or one hundred women so that each one of them will give birth to a son who will fight for the sake of Allah." It was said to him, according to one report, the angel said to him "Say: `If Allah wills'", but he did not say it. He went around to the women but none of them gave birth except for one who gave birth to a half-formed child.) The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, (By the One in Whose hand is my soul, had he said, "If Allah wills," he would not have broken his oath, and that would have helped him to attain what he wanted. ) According to another report, (They would all have fought as horsemen in the cause of Allah.) At the beginning of this Surah we discussed the reason why this Ayah was revealed: when the Prophet was asked about the story of the people of the Cave, he said, "I will tell you tomorrow." Then the revelation was delayed for fifteen days. Since we discussed this at length at the beginning of the Surah, there is no need to repeat it here.
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ
(And remember your Lord when you forget) It was said that this means, if you forget to say "If Allah wills", then say it when you remember. This was the view of Abu Al-`Aliyah and Al-Hasan Al-Basri. Hushaym reported from Al-A`mash from Mujahid that concerning a man who swears an oath, Ibn `Abbas said "He may say `If Allah wills' even if it is a year later." Ibn `Abbas used to interpret this Ayah:
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ
(And remember your Lord when you forget) in this way. Al-A`mash was asked, "Did you hear this from Mujahid" He said, "Layth bin Abi Salim told it to me." The meaning of Ibn `Abbas' view, that a person may say "If Allah wills", even if it is a year later, is that if he forgets to say it when he makes the oath or when he speaks, and he remembers it later, even a year later, the Sunnah is that he should say it, so that he will still be following the Sunnah of saying "If Allah wills", even if that is after breaking his oath. This was also the view of Ibn Jarir, but he stated that this does not make up for breaking the oath or mean that one is no longer obliged to offer expiation. What Ibn Jarir said is correct, and it is more appropriate to understand the words of Ibn Abbas in this way. And Allah knows best.
وَلاَ تَقْولَنَّ لِشَىْءٍ إِنِّى فَاعِلٌ ذلِكَ غَداً إِلاَّ أَن يَشَآءَ اللَّهُ وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ
(And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow." Except (with the saying), "If Allah wills!" And remember your Lord when you forget) At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that this meant saying, "If Allah wills."
وَقُلْ عَسَى أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّى لاًّقْرَبَ مِنْ هَـذَا رَشَدًا
(and say: "It may be that my Lord guides me to a nearer way of truth than this.") meaning, `if you (O Prophet) are asked about something you know nothing about, ask Allah about it, and turn to Him so that He may guide you to what is right.' And Allah knows best.