A Quranic Journal

This verse means that the evil and the good have been made clear to him, according to Ibn Abbas. Ibn Jarir reported from Abu'l-Aswad, "Imran ibn Husain asked me, 'Tell me if the acts done by people and the trouble they are facing are preordained for them by Allah or if they are doing them out of their own free will, since after the coming of the Messenger of Allah they have no place against Allah.' I said, 'No, it is foreordained for them by Allah.' Imran then said, 'Would it not then be an injustice if they were punished for their deeds?' I shuddered and said, 'The Creator and Master of everything is Allah. No one can question His actions, but He can call anyone to account.' This answer pleased him and he said, 'I asked you the question only to test you.' Then he added, 'Once, a Bedouin Arab asked the Prophet this question, and he gave the same answer you did. When he [the Bedouin] objected, the Prophet said, "One is bound to do deeds that lead him to his foreordained destination. If he is a dweller of Paradise, he will do such acts as will lead him to Paradise; if he is a dweller of Hell, he will do such acts as will lead him to Hell." Then he recited these verses.'"