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English translation
76. 'Abdullâh bin Mas'ud said: "The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ, the true and truly inspired one, told us that: 'The creation of one of you is put together in his mother's womb for forty days, then it becomes a clot for a similar length of time, then it becomes a chewed lump of flesh for a similar length of time. Then Allâh sends the angel to him and commands him to write down four things. He says: "Write down his deeds, his life span, his provision, and whether he is doomed (destined for Hell) or blessed (destined for Paradise)." By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! One of you may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is no more than a forearm's length between him and it, then the decree overtakes him and he does the deeds of the people of Hell until he enters therein. And one of you may do the deeds of the people of Hell until there is no more than a forearm's length between him and it, then the decree overtakes him and he does the deeds of the people
of Paradise until he enters therein.”(Sahih)
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Commentary
Man's good and bad deeds, his life span, his provision, and his going either to Paradise or to Hell—all these things—even the angels only come to know when told by Allāh at an appropriate time. The angels then write those things which had been decreed and recorded in the Preserved Tablet since eternity.
Everyone has a predetermined life span, and will not die before that. No one should, therefore, abdicate his faith out of his fear for life, but be prepared to lay down his life in defence of his faith.
Everyone's quota of provision is predetermined, which he is sure to get anyhow. Man's test lies in what means he adopts to get it. He shall get his allotted provision even through lawful means, and what is not destined for him, he will not get it even through unlawful means. We must, therefore, put our trust in Allāh and try to earn our livelihood only through lawful means.
We must not decide, of our own, about someone's being of Paradise or of Hell, for Allāh alone knows who is designated for Paradise or destined to be the fuel of Hell-fire. We must, however, have faith in Allāh's mercy, and keep the hope that a person whom we believe to be virtuous shall, by the grace of Allāh, be admitted to Paradise. Nevertheless, we must have the belief that the people whom Allāh or His Messenger ﷺ expressly named as going to Paradise or Hell shall surely go there. Cases in point are the inevitability of Abu Lahab's (and his wife's) being consigned to Hell-fire — as mentioned in the Qur'anic Surah of that name — and the certainty of a place in Paradise for each of the Ten Companion who have already been given the glad tiding of admittance to that blessed abode.
