And it is related that once upon a time the Prince of Believers...

And it is related that once upon a time the Prince of Believers, on whom be peace, avoided a slanting wall and went to the other side. He was asked: O Prince of Believers, do you run from the destiny ( qada ) of Allah? He replied: I run from the destiny (qada) of Allah to His decree (qadar). And (Imam Ja'far) as-Sadiq was asked concerning charms ( ruqya , plural ruqan), whether to some extent they avert Allah's decree (qadar).

And he replied: They form part of (Allah's) decree.[^9] [^1]: For gada' see EI, ii. 603 and for qadar, EI, ii. 605 (both by Macdonald). Also R. Levy, Sociology of Islam, ii. 45 -47. [^2]: Tawhid, 292. Sh. Mufid does not accept this as a properly authenticated report, Tas. (Mur. iii. 60-61 ). He explains that Ibn Bibawayhi has cited "rare" traditions. Qada' has four meanings أحدهما الخلق و الثاني الأمر و الثالث الاعلام و الرابع القضاء (p.60), and then he cited verses of the Qur'an in support.

A further explanation will be found in Mur. iii. 283. [^3]: Tawhid, 292. Adopting the reading of N تتكلمه. D has تتكلفه which would mean "Do not trouble yourself about it, or do not attempt to unravel its mystery". Sh. Mufid explains that this prohibition has two applications: it applies to people who after discussion may lose the true faith and be confused; and it applies also to people who question the wisdom of Allah's creation, and its causes and effects, Tas. (Mur. iii. 282 - 283).

[^4]: So N سرّ من سرّ الله و ستر من ستر الله و حرز من حرز الله D has سر من اسرار الله و ستر من استار الله.. الخ [^5]: Meaning that within the things which are God's secrets, it has an exalted rank. [^6]: The correct reading appears to be that of D: لا ينالونه بحقيقته الرَّبانيّة و لا بقدرته الصمدانية [^7]: Reading تضيء neither يضيء D, nor N قضى is correct [^8]: Tawhid, 306. [^9]: Tawhid, 294-295.

It is significant that the whole of this chapter is based upon the fundamental dogma that the human mind is utterly incapable of comprehending the secrets of gada' and qadar. (There is also a clear distinction between qadr and qadar فالقَدْر بالفتح فالسُكون ما يقدّره الله من القضاء و بالفتح ما صدر مقدوراً عن فعل القادر: MB, 31020). A useful discussion is by Levy (op. cit.) ; whether originally there was a distinction is extremely doubtful.

Qada' appears to be "predestination" strictly, that is, God's will that a certain thing should happen; and qadar is the actual happening of the event in consequence of such predestination.

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