888 - Muhammad ibn Abi Harun and Muhammad ibn Ja'far informed me that Abu al-Harith narrated to them, saying: I heard Abu 'Abd Allah [Ahmad ibn Hanbal] when he was asked about the Decree (al-Qadar). It was said to him: "They say that Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, does not lead anyone astray; He is too just to lead someone astray and then punish him for that." He replied: "Did Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, not say: {Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills} [Al-Muddaththir: 31]? Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, has ordained obedience and disobedience, and He has ordained good and evil. Whoever is written as happy (sa'id) is happy, and whoever is written as wretched (shaqiyy) is wretched."