Question:

I would like to know if we can change our destiny and I know there are two types of destiny a) That which is fixed and cannot be changed, e.g. death, Rizq, etc. and b) That which is suspended by actions, e.g. how to do good/bad deeds. I would like to know in type A if our marriage to our partner be decided as well?

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Whatever a person acts is predestined before his creation whether it is his marriage or something else.

However as you mentioned, the divine decree is divided into two types: Mubram and Mu'allaq: Mubram refers to inevitable fate and is not changeable, and Mu'allaq refers to that which is in the records of the Angels. It is the one meant in the verse (which means): {For every term is a decree. Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book} [Quran 13:38-39]. This verse is evidence that Allah confirms whatever He wills and eliminates or abrogates whatever He wills.

And it is the one meant in the narration of the Prophet who said: "Nothing prevents fate except supplication, and nothing prolongs life except good deeds."

The aforementioned details prove that marrying a certain person is an inevitable decree which does not change. If Allah has written in the Preserved Tablet that a certain man will marry a certain woman then it is inevitable and will definitely occur.

There is no contradiction between this fact and the dependence of fate on some reasons; acceptance of the husband in this case, because Allah Himself predestines a matter and also its reason.

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb