Confused regarding this specific hadith

Question

So I was reading this article, and I read these 2 ahadith in it. and it goes like this,

Allah created some people for hell and some people for paradise.

My initial understanding of this hadith was that, as people live out their lives. The people who do good will goto heaven and people who do bad will goto hell, both groups of people are given free will. So it is very fair and I dont have any issue with it.

but then this next hadith confuses me,

Each one of you will find it easy to do what he was created for.

This above hadith makes it sound very unfair to me, for example lets say I was created for hell that means God created a tendency in me to commit sins and made it harder for me to do good deeds.

While the people God chose for heaven, he made a tendency in them to do good deeds and made it hard for them to commit sins.

So this kind of negates the whole free will thing. It basically means that God has chosen favourites and the system is rigged as the chances of person created for Hell commiting sins by design is higher than the chances for person created for Heaven to commit sins.

Also can be intrepreted as not all humans were created equal, as it is unfair towards the person created for Hell, as God literally made it easier for him to commit sins at no fault of his.

I am a Muslim and I believe in Allah and his Prophet (PBUH) and this hadith could be weak or I am misinterpreting it, so please if anybody knows, can you please clarify for me.

Thank you

Answer 1

(I created jinn and mankind only to worship Me) Quran (51:56) Allah has created us for worship, so worshipping is made easy for everyone, but it is easy doesn't mean everyone will di it, it means whoever wants to worship he can do it easily. So whoever will do it will go to Paradise and whoever won't do it will go to hell.

Answer 2

This is not a confusion regarding this specific hadith, but rather a confusion on one of the six pillars of Iman itself: Qadr.

Qadr is to believe:

1. Allah knows everything that has happened and will happen.

2. There is a record of everything that will ever occur written in the Lawh al-Mahfooz (Preserved Tablets)

3. Anything that occurs is because of Allah's will, and anything that does not occur is because Allah did not will it.

4. Allah creates all things, including people's actions.

We also believe in free will, and free will is defined as: people's actions are their fault, they weren't forced by Allah i.e. Allah is not at fault.

There are other definitions free will could be given, which we wouldn't subscribe to. An example would be to say: Free will is for a person to be able to choose differently if he wanted.

This would not be accepted by us because:

• We do not accept that the different choice could have happened.

• Allah already knew what action would be taken and He willed it to occur.

Our understanding of free will is to say the action was the fault of the person because he chose an action and was happy with it.

Some people might say: If an alternative was not possible, he cannot be at fault.

We would say: The alternative was not possible because this person's choice was known since eternity by Allah, not because his action was forced. So, we do not accept that the possibility of an alternative is needed for something to be his fault.

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The hadith says:

Allah created some people for hell and some people for paradise.

That means Allah created people that He knew and willed would go to Paradise, and He created people He knew and willed would go to Hellfire.

Him knowing this and then willing it is not because they were forced but because He knew their actions since eternity.

If Allah only created people He knew would go to Paradise, there would be no test. It would just be a world of people that would always be good.

Obviously, hearing this, one might be tempted to say: If my destination is already determined, why should I even work?

That is exactly what the companions said, and the Prophet (SAW) told them this does not make sense to do. That is because:

Each one of you will find it easy to do what he was created for.

In simple terms, you do not yet know what you were created for. If you become lazy and stop working, it would have been that you were always destined to become lazy and end up in Hell. If you decide to still continue working, it would have been that you were always destined to end up in Paradise.

This ignorance of our fate is what makes all the difference. You do not know where you will go, so work and you will work on what you were destined. If you choose to not work, you are doing what was destined.

Answer 3

This is the issue of Compatibilism. Compatibilism = 1) Acknowledging divine decree 2) Acknowledging Human free will. This has been a topic debated even pre-Islam and you can find it in books of Greek Philosophers too like Stoicism.

The stoics used to argue that even if there is pre-destination,the human is ultimately responsible for his actions and not blame it on Pre-destination which would lead to collapse of social order and society.

Allah created some people for hell and some people for paradise.

The above hadith acknowledges Gods decree ( Predestination ).

And say, 'The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills—let him believe; and whoever wills—let him disbelieve" - Al Kahf 29

Similarly the above aayah can be used for free-will claim.

But this creates a paradox. If anything impacts free-will of a human then it doesn't remain a free-will. So does Gods predestination impact the free-will? if yes, then its not really a free-will. If no, then whats the point of predestination?

You're not the first one to be confused regarding Free-will and Qadr. This topic of compatibilism remains as one of the most debated historically.

Some argue that the limitations of Human mind cannot really understand such grandiose of a concept.

Some resources for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvbnaT5DQ9w&t=678s