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

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 informed the angel who comes
to the foetus in his mother’s womb with the decree of how long his life will
last. Then when the time for their lives to end comes – whether they die
naturally or as a result 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 decreasing that lifespan is cut
off. The one who takes good care 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 brought to account for his
transgression of the limits set by sharee‘ah if he killed unlawfully. 

The Mu‘tazilah – who are one 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
evidence for 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 to write the
lifespan of each individual when he is 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 be delayed or brought forward at all. 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‘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]. 

In Saheeh Muslim it 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 refuge from 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, knew and 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 a wall or building,
another would die by burning or by drowning, or other causes. Allah, may He
be glorified, created life and death and He created the causes of life and
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
would have 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 will happen.  

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 of
the 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 from Sharh 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 ordained that an individual should die, this is known to the
angels who write down the individual’s provision, lifespan, deeds and
whether he is doomed to Hell or destined for Paradise, as it says in as-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 one of you is put
together in his mother’s womb for forty days as a nutfah (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) or blessed (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 from Majmoo‘ 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 in Saheeh Muslim and elsewhere that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah decided the
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 in
Saheeh al-Bukhaari that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “There was Allah and there was nothing before Him, and His
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 and the 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‘raaf
7:34]. 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
another person 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 by Allah 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 in a 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 to write 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 would
still 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 may not 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 still going 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 would it 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 from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa,
8/516-518 

And Allah knows best.