Short answer
Yes. Allah knows and has written everything, yet He gave each person real choice, and we are judged on what we choose. His knowledge does not force us: it records what we will freely do. Sunni scholars call our part kasb (acquiring the act) and Allah creates the act.
Belief in qadr, its good and its bad, is an article of faith. In Maturidi creed, a person has a real, Allah-given choice (ikhtiyar) by which he earns reward or punishment, while Allah is the Creator of all acts. This rejects both the view that humans are forced (Jabriyya) and the view that humans create their own acts (Qadariyya).
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
In the hadith of Jibril, belief in qadr (divine decree), its good and its bad, is one of the six articles of faith. The Prophet ﷺ said Allah wrote the measures of all creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. Nothing happens outside His knowledge and will.
The Quran holds both truths together. "Whoever wills, let him believe; and whoever wills, let him disbelieve" (18:29). And "You do not will except that Allah wills" (76:30). We choose; our choice happens within His will, not against it. When the Companions asked whether they should rely on what was written and stop working, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Act, for each person is eased toward what he was created for," and recited the verses about giving and taqwa from Surah al-Layl.
The scholars explain it this way. Allah's knowledge is complete and timeless: He knows what you will freely choose. Writing it down records the choice; it does not cause it. You do not feel forced when you choose to pray or to sin, and Allah judges you by that real choice. Maturidi scholars give this human choice a strong place, while Ash'ari scholars stress that Allah creates both the act and the power to do it; both reject compulsion.
Two practical rules come from this. Do not blame qadr for your sins: repent, since the choice was yours. And when a hardship comes that you could not prevent, accept it as Allah's decree with patience, since what reached you was never going to miss you. Scholars also advise against arguing endlessly about the mystery of qadr, since our minds cannot hold Allah's full wisdom.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Kahf 18:29
وَقُلِ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ ۚ إِنَّآ أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّٰلِمِينَ نَارًا أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا ۚ وَإِن يَسْتَغِيثُوا۟ يُغَاثُوا۟ بِمَآءٍۢ كَٱلْمُهْلِ يَشْوِى ٱلْوُجُوهَ ۚ بِئْسَ ٱلشَّرَابُ وَسَآءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا ﴿٢٩﴾
And say, "The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve." Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose walls will surround them. And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like murky oil, which scalds [their] faces. Wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place.
Humans have a real choice.
Quran, Surah Al-Insaan 76:30
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا ﴿٣٠﴾
And you do not will except that Allah wills. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
Human choice happens within Allah's will.
Quran, Surah Al-Qamar 54:49
إِنَّا كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقْنَٰهُ بِقَدَرٍۢ ﴿٤٩﴾
Indeed, all things We created with predestination.
Everything is created according to Allah's decree.
Sahih Muslim 2653
Sahih... كَتَبَ اللَّهُ مَقَادِيرَ الْخَلاَئِقِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ ...
"Allah wrote the measures of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth."
Shows that everything is written by Allah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4945
Sahih... اعْمَلُوا فَكُلٌّ مُيَسَّرٌ ...
"Act, for everyone is eased toward (what he was created for)."
Shows that belief in qadr must not stop a person from acting.
Sahih Muslim 8
Sahih... أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ...
"That you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers and the Last Day, and believe in the decree, its good and its bad."
Belief in qadr is an article of faith.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fiqh al-Akbar (Imam Abu Hanifa), Section on qadr and the acts of servants. States that the acts of servants are their own earning and Allah's creation, by His will and knowledge.
- Kitab al-Tawhid (Abu Mansur al-Maturidi), Section on the acts of servants. The Maturidi account of real human choice within Allah's creation.
- Sharh al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya (al-Taftazani), Section on the acts of servants and kasb. Explains kasb and rejects both compulsion and the view that humans create their acts.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.