Can we do what we want?
Question

                I have some questions about Islam, could you explain them for me? Are all of man’s actions, such as birth, death, his day-to-day behaviour, and all that he thinks about doing decreed by Allaah? Is our life programmed by Allaah before we are born? Or do we have freedom of choice and can we decide and do whatever we want, without that being controlled by Allaah? In brief, do we do whatever we want or what Allaah has created us to do?.
Praise be to Allah.It should be 
    noted that some of our circumstances are forced on us, and and we have no 
    choice in it, such as the day when a person is born, the colour of his skin 
    and eyes, and when he will die. All of these are matters over which people 
    have no control, rather they happen to them by force. Given that these are 
    matters in which people have no choice, they do not have anything to do with 
    Paradise or Hell, torment or blessing. 
But some 
    actions are the subject of choice, such as whether to believe or disbelieve, 
    or worldly matters such as choosing what to eat or drink, and where to 
    live. 
There is 
    nothing of that nature which is entirely outside the will and decree of 
    Allaah. 
But how does 
    that happen? 
Belief in 
    al-qadar (the divine will and decree) is one of the pillars of faith. The 
    Muslim’s faith cannot be valid unless he accepts that everything comes from 
    Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“Verily, 
    We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things 
    before their creation as written in the Book of Decrees  
    Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz)”
[al-Qamar 
    54:49]
Indeed, the 
    names of Allaah include al-Qaadir, al-Qadeer and al-Muqtadir (which refer to 
    His being All-Powerful). 
The heart of 
    the matter is that Allaah possesses the attributes of knowledge, power and 
    will. 
Based on 
    that, if people who do deeds want to do them, whether they are sins or acts 
    of obedience, then Allaah inevitably knows that, indeed He knew that in 
    eternity past, before He even created the universe. 
Then after 
    He knew it, He wrote it with Him, then when they wanted to do it, He willed 
    that they should do so. If He did not will that, then they would not do it. 
    He is All-Powerful,  and He is the Creator of people’s deeds because He is 
    the Creator of the human beings who do them. 
So all the 
    deeds of mankind are written with Allaah, because Allaah has prior knowledge 
    of them. This does not mean that Allaah compels people to do what they do, 
    rather they have freedom of choice with regard to their deeds. Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 
“Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or 
    ungrateful”

    [al-Insaan 76:3]
But their 
    actions are not compelled by Allaah, for Allaah does not force His slaves to 
    do anything. 
Imaam Ibn 
    Abi’l-‘Izz al-Hanafi said concerning a similar matter: 
If it is 
    said, How can Allaah will something that He is not pleased with and does not 
    like? How can He will it and create it? How can His will be reconciled with 
    His hatred for it? 
It should be 
    said (in response) that this is the question which has caused divisions 
    among the people and has caused them to follow different paths and 
    opinions. 
It should be 
    noted that what is willed may be of two types: that which is willed or 
    wanted for itself, and that which is willed or wanted for something else. 
That which 
    is willed or wanted for itself is that which is wanted and loved for what it 
    is and for the goodness it contains. So it comes under the heading of aims 
    and goals.  That which is willed or wanted for something else may not be 
    what is wanted, but it serves a purpose; it may not serve any purpose in and 
    of itself, even though it may be a means to attain that which he wants and 
    is aiming for. So it may be something that is disliked in and of itself, but 
    he may seek it because it serves a purpose and helps him reach what he 
    wants. So in this case he will have two opposing feelings, his dislike (of 
    the means) and his desire (for the end). There is no contradiction, as these 
    feelings are related to different things.  This is like unpleasant medicine 
    which the one who takes it knows will cure him, or like cutting off a wasted 
    limb when he knows that will save the rest of his body, or travelling a 
    difficult route when he knows that it will bring him to what he wants and 
    loves. The wise man would rather accept the disliked thing on the basis that 
    he is likely to get good results even though the ultimate end may not be 
    quite certain. So how about Allaah, from Whom nothing is hidden? He may 
    dislike something but it may not be against His will for it to exist, 
    because it may be a means to an end, and it may be a means to something that 
    Allaah likes. For example, Allaah created Iblees, who is the cause of the 
    corruption of religions, deeds, beliefs and human wills; but nevertheless he 
    is a means to a lot of things that Allaah likes, which result from the 
    creation of Iblees. For these things to exist is dearer to Allaah than if 
    they did not exist at all.
Sharh 
    al-‘Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah, 252-253.