Is there an „Eternal Decree“ in the Preserved Tablet?

Question

Selam aleikum,

I saw this Hadith on a topic about predestination:

And the Prophet (r) also said, “The first thing that Allaah created was the Pen and He said to it, ‘Write!’ It (the Pen) asked, ‘O Lord! What shall I write?’ He said, ‘Write the Decree of everything (that will occur) until the Hour is established.“ (Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 3, p. 1317, no. 4683 and authenticated by al-Albaanee in Sharh al- ‘Aqeedah at-Tahaawiyyah, p. 264 and in as-Silsilah, vol. 1, no. 207)

So it says, write the events until the Day of Jugdement, as i understand it. But I read from two sources, that they call this Eternal Decree, but the phrase „until the Hour“, wouldn’t that be limited to a specific term? The Sources:

https://www.muslim-library.com/dl/books/english_Predestination_Qadar.pdf https://yaqeeninstitute.org/justin-parrott/reconciling-the-divine-decree-and-free-will-in-islam

Does every scholar consider it this way (so it just also contains the events until the Hour and more than that) or did I misunderstood it?

Answer 1

Answering your question whether the Preserved Tablet reaches beyond the Last Day.

You already cite the most important source

He said: Write what was decreed about everything till the Last Hour comes.

The Preserved Tablet ends with the Last Hour. The decree ends with the Last Hour:

Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 4708 (EN:4691)

One of you will do the deeds of those who go to Paradise so that there will be only a cubit between him and it or will be within a cubit, then what is decreed will overcome him so that he will do the deeds of those who go to Hell and will enter it; and one of you will do the deeds of those who go to hell, so that there will be only a cubit between him and it or will be within a cubit, then what is decreed will overcome him, so that he will do the deeds of those who go to Paradise and will enter it.

From the Quran, the Bible and the Sunna Hadith, I have not found any indication that the "time" after the Last Hour has been decreed. In fact, the term of the "Last Hour" implies that time will no more be thereafter. Pre-Quran revelation explicitly speaks that the Book of Life will be opened on the Last Day. The earliest source is the Book o Henoch (c. 200 BC, Jewish book of revelation, not in the Bible)

1. Henoch 47:3

In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon the throne of His glory, And the books of the living were opened before Him: And all His host which is in heaven above and His counselors stood before Him.

Revelation of John 20:15 (c. 90 A.D, last book of the Christian Bible)

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.

So according to all revelation, the Preserved Tablet reaches until the Last Day.

P.S. I found the most explicit indications in Hadith and less reputed Jewish and Christian sources; the Quran, and the Gospel contain some less explicit indications. The Holy Quran mentions the tablets but not the way to answer your question:

7:145

And We inscribed for him in the Tablets all kinds of enlightenments, and decisive explanation of all things. “Hold fast to them, and exhort your people to adopt the best of them. I will show you the fate of the sinners.”

Answer 2

I have read from two sources that they call this eternal decree but the phrase until the Hour. Wouldn't that be limiting?

The Hour refers to the hour of judgement.

The Hour is limiting because all life, all events, all everything in our lives, in this world, in this universe - past, present & future - is limited.

Only Allah is unlimited, being beyond all limits including His own - whatever this might mean.

The Hour being a limit cannot refer to the whole of eternity and given that we have:

Write the Decree of Everything [that will occur] until the Hour is established

We see that the Tablet contains the doings of all men and women until the Hour of Judgement is upon mankind.

And Allah knows best.