Dought and clear, - Ordaining the end of life according to Ahl as-Sunnah and the Mu‘tazilah

I have a small question that has to do with death. I have heard from
many people that each person dies at the specific time previously
ordained for him by Allah. This means that Allah has ordained a
specific time for the death of each individual, at which the angels
take his soul. Does this mean that every time a person dies, the time
has come for him to depart this world and this is the time which Allah
had previously ordained for him, even if he was killed or died as a
result of an accident? I am very confused about thismatter; can you
please explain it?
Praise be to Allah.
Allah, may He be exalted,created all people and decreed for them the
specific time at which their lives would come to an end. Allah, may He
be exalted, has informedthe angel who comes to the foetus in his
mother's womb with thedecree of how long his life will last. Then when
the time for their lives toend comes – whether they die naturally or
as aresult of illness or they are killed or die in an accident – it
cannot be brought forward or put back from the ordained time. By means
of this divine decree which does not change, people's attachment to
anything other than Allah in hopes of increasing or decreasingthat
lifespan is cut off. The one who takes goodcare of his health is not
the one who causes his lifespan to be lengthy; rather Allah, may He be
exalted, has decreed that for him. The one who kills a person has not
taken anything away from the lifespan of the one who was slain; rather
Allah, may He be exalted, decreed that from eternity, and the killer
will be broughtto account for his transgression of the limits set by
sharee'ah if he killed unlawfully.
The Mu'tazilah – who areone of the misguided groups – said that if a
person was not killed and did not die of sickness, he would live a
longer life! This is false and there is no evidencefor it in the
Qur'an or Sunnah, and it is not the opinion of any of Ahl as-Sunnah;
rather Allah has decreed the lifespan for each one of His creation and
He has decreed the means by which their lives will end. There is only
one lifespan (for each individual); it is known to Allah, may He be
exalted, and He has informed His angels of it whom He commanded
towrite the lifespan of each individual when heis in his mother's
womb.
Shaykh Ibn Abi'l-'Izz al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has decreed the lifespan of
all creatures so that when the appointed time comes, it will not
bedelayed or brought forward at all. Allah, mayHe be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"when their term is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they
advance it an hour (or a moment)"
[al-A'raaf 7:34; an-Nahl 16:61]
"And no person can ever die except by Allah's Leave and at an appointed term"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:145].
InSaheeh Muslimit is narrated that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: Umm Habeebah, the wife of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him and may Allah be pleased
with her) said: O Allah, allow me to enjoy the company of my husband
the Messenger of Allah, my father Abu Sufyaan and my brother
Mu'aawiyah. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "You have asked Allah concerning lifespans that are already set,
days the number of which is already predetermined, and provisions that
are already ordained. Nothing will ever be brought forward before its
time and nothing will ever be delayed from its time. If you had asked
Allah to grant you refugefrom punishment in the Fire and punishment in
the grave, that would have been better."
The one who is killed has died at his appointed time. Allah, may He be
exalted, knewand decreed and ordained that one person would die
because of sickness, another would die because of being killed,
another would die as a result of the collapse of awall or building,
anotherwould die by burning or by drowning, or other causes. Allah,
may He be glorified, created life and death and He created the causes
of lifeand death.
But according to the Mu'tazilah, the one who is killed had his
lifespan cut short, and if he had not been killed he wouldhave lived
until his appointed time! So he had two lifespans. But this is a false
notion, because it is not befitting to suggest that Allah, may He be
exalted,ordained for him a time knowing that he would not live until
that time, or that He ordained two times for him, like one who is
ignorant and does not know what willhappen.
The reason why it is obligatory to carry out retaliatory punishment
(qisaas) and hold the killer accountable is because he has committed a
forbidden action and done something haraam that is the means of ending
a life.
Therefore we may understand the words ofthe Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), "Upholding ties of kinship increases the
length of one's lifespan," as meaning that it is a means of living a
long life, and that Allah has decreed that this person would uphold
ties of kinship, and because of that he would live for this length of
time; were it not for that reason he would not live for that length of
time, but He decreed and ordained this cause and effect. By the same
token, He decreed that another person would sever ties of kinship and
would live until such-and-such a time, as we said with regard to
killing or otherwise.
End quote fromSharh al-'Aqeedah at-Tahhaawiyyah, p. 100, 101
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said,commenting on the verse"and then has decreed a stated term (for
you to die). And there is with Him another determined term (for you to
be resurrected)" [al-An'aam 6:2]: With regard to the time when it is
ordainedthat an individual shoulddie, this is known to the angels who
write down the individual's provision, lifespan, deeds and whether he
isdoomed to Hell or destined for Paradise, as it says inas-Saheehayn,
where it is narrated that Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) – who is the most truthful one – told us: "The creation of any
oneof you is put together in his mother's womb for forty days as
anutfah(sperm drop); then he becomes a 'alaqah(a piece of thick
coagulated blood) for a similar period; then he becomes like a chewed
piece of flesh (mudghah) for a similar period., then the angel is sent
to him and is instructed to write down four things. It is said: Write
down his provision, his lifespan, his deeds and whether he is doomed
(to Hell) orblessed (destined for Paradise). Then the soul is breathed
into him." This lifespan is the appointed time of death which Allah
may make known to whomever He wills among His slaves. With regard to
the other"determined term", i.e., the resurrection, no one knows it
except Him.
End quote fromMajmoo' al-Fataawa, 14/489
He (may Allah have mercy on him) was also asked about the one who is
killed: Did he die at his appointed time or did the killer cut his
life short?
He replied:
The one who is killed is like anyone else among the dead; no one dies
before his appointed time and the appointed time is not delayed for
anyone. Rather all animals and trees have their appointed lifespan and
appointed time of death which cannot be brought forward or put back.
The appointed time of a thing is the end of its life; its life is the
period of time for which it will remain and its appointed time is the
end of its life. It is proven inSaheeh Muslimand elsewhere that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah
decidedthe decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created
the heavens and the earth. And His Throne was above the water." And it
is proven inSaheeh al-Bukhaarithat the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "There was Allah and there was nothing before
Him, andHis Throne was above the water. He wrote all things in the
Book and He created the heavens and the Earth." According to another
version: "… Then He created the heavens andthe Earth." And Allah, may
He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):"when their term
is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour
(or a moment)" [al-A'raaf7:34]. Allah knew what would be before it
came into existence, and He decreed that. He knows that a person will
die of a stomach disease or of pleurisy, or will die as a result of a
wall or building collapsing, or by drowning or other causes, and that
anotherperson will die as a result of being killed, either by poison
or by the sword or by stoning or by other means. The fact that Allah
knows that and has decreed it, indeed the fact that He willed all
things and created all things, does not prevent praising (someone for
doing good deeds) or blaming (someone for doing bad deeds), rewarding
or punishing. Rather if the one who killed a person did so as
commanded byAllah and His Messenger – as in the case of the mujaahid
who strives in jihad for the sake of Allah – Allah will reward him for
that. But if he kills a person whom Allah and His Messenger forbade
him to kill – as in the case of bandits and aggressors – Allah will
punish him for that. And if he kills a person ina manner that is
permissible – as in the case of qisaas or retaliatory punishment –he
will neither be rewarded nor punished, unless he had a good or bad
intention in either case.
There are two types of appointed times (of death); that which is
absolute and is known to Allah, and that which is conditional. Thus we
may understand what is meant by the words of the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) – "Whoever would like his provision to
be expanded and his lifespan increased, let him uphold ties of
kinship." Allah commanded the angel towrite down a lifespan for him
and said: "If he upholds ties of kinship, then increase it by
such-and-such," but the angel does not know whether it will be
increased or not. However, Allah knows what the outcome will be, and
when that appointed time comes it will neither be brought forward not
put back.
If the slain person had not been killed, some of the Qadaris (those
who deny the divine decree) said that he would have lived! And some of
those who deny cause and effect said that he wouldstill have died. But
both of them are wrong, for Allah knew that he would die by being
killed. If (hypothetically speaking) He decreed something other than
what He knew would happen, this would be a decree for something that
would not happen; if it were to happen, how could it happen? This is
something that some people may or maynot know. If we assume that Allah
knew that he was not going to be killed (at that particular time), in
that case either He decreed that he is stillgoing to die at that
particular time, or He decreed that he would live until some other
time. To be certain of one of these two scenarios, which then does not
happen, is ignorance. This is like one who says, "If he does not eat
what is decreed for him of provision, either he will die or be given
some other provision"; and it is like one who says, "If this man did
not impregnate this woman,would she be barren or would some other man
impregnate her?" or, "If he did not cultivate this land, would someone
else cultivate it or wouldit remain barren, with nothing planted in
it?" or "If the one who learned the Qur'an from this man did not learn
it from him, would he have learned from someone else or not learned at
all?" And there are many similar examples.
End quote fromMajmoo' al-Fataawa, 8/516-518
And Allah knows best.