they who were decreed (kutiba'alaihim) to be slain would have gone forth to the places where they lie.' ¹ ' There is a man who, without knowledge, wrangleth about God, and followeth every rebellious Satan; concerning whom it is decreed (kutiba'alaihi), that he shall surely beguile and guide into the torment of the flame, whosoever shall take him for His Lord.' ²

With regard to the first of these two passages there is nothing in the verse which demands that the reference be to an eternal decree, It is necessary to repeat even to weariness that while all that comes to pass happens in accordance with the will and commands of God, the commands, which are but the outward expression and embodiment, so to speak, of God's will, are given in the course of history, in time, not in eternity, and are often spoken of as written. In the second of the two passages there seems to be no doubt that the reference is to the judicial decision of God of which we have more than once spoken, and which is recorded in the following verse. 'He said, "Begone; but whosoever of them shall follow thee, verily, Hell shall be your recompense; an ample recompense."' ³

So far in our study of these words we cannot say that we have come on anything which can be regarded as being akin to the orthodox Muhammadan doctrine of Predestination.

3. The third word we take up is qada (to decide, to decree, to settle finally, to end). As may be seen from the various shades of meaning in the words employed to

translate qada, the word expresses many allied conceptions.

In many passages the word conveys simply the idea of the completion or fulfilment of some action. 'And when the prayer is ended' (qudiyat). ¹ 'Be not hasty in its recital while the revelation of it is incomplete' (min qubli an yuqha ilaika wahyuhu). ² ' Whichever of the two terms I fulfil' (qadaitu). ³ 'Some have fulfilled their course, (qada nahbahu) and others await its fulfilment.' ⁴ 'Should God hasten evil, upon men as they fain would hasten their good, then were their end decreed' (laqudiya ilaihim ajluhum.)³ This last verse may be taken as a typical example of the misuse of the word decreed as a frequent translation of the word qada. The decree here spoken of cannot be an eternal decree, for it is clearly conditional, and the verse itself states that the condition is not fulfilled; God does 'hasten evil upon men'. Similarly, the decree referred to in the following passage cannot be the eternal decree of God, for it is said that it will never be decreed. ' But for infidels is the fire of Hell; to die shall never be decreed them.' ⁶

In other passages, the word qada is used to express a definite decision of the divine will whereby something is determined and settled irrevocably, but there is nothing in the Qur'an to lead us to believe that this decision is regarded as an eternal decree of the Almighty; most of