Quran 7:179 does say that many jinn and humans are "created for Hell", but it does not mean that innocent people are forced into unbelief and then punished. In Sunni Islam, Allah's decree is real, and human responsibility is also real: people are judged for what they choose and earn after Allah gives them capacity and establishes His proof, not for a helpless state imposed on them unjustly.
What Quran 7:179 Actually Says
The verse states:
ولقد ذرأنا لجهنم كثيرا من الجن والإنس لهم قلوب لا يفقهون بها ولهم أعين لا يبصرون بها ولهم آذان لا يسمعون بها أولئك كالأنعام بل هم أضل أولئك هم الغافلون
And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.
Quran 7:179
The verse does not stop at "created for Hell." It immediately describes the people meant by it: they have hearts, eyes, and ears, but they do not benefit from these faculties in recognizing and following guidance. Their blame is heedlessness, rejection, and moral failure, not a lack of any capacity to be addressed by Allah's command.
The Quran elsewhere shows that the people of Hell recognize their own failure:
And they will say, "If only we had listened or reasoned, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze."
Quran 67:10
The Wording Does Not Mean "Forced Into Disbelief"
The verb in the verse means that Allah created, brought forth, and spread His creatures. The phrase "li-Jahannam" is literally "for Hell." That wording affirms Allah's knowledge and decree of their final end, but it does not by itself mean that they were coerced into disbelief and then punished while innocent.
Arabic can use the letter "li" for an end or outcome, not only for the intention of the immediate actor. A clear Quranic example is the story of Musa:
Then the family of Pharaoh picked him up so that he would become to them an enemy and a grief...
Quran 28:8
Pharaoh's family did not intend to raise an enemy; that was the outcome Allah knew and decreed. Likewise, Quran 7:179 speaks of people whose final abode is Hell under Allah's decree. Even if the phrase is taken as Allah's decreed assignment of them to Hell, the same verse states why they deserve blame: they turn away from the faculties and signs by which guidance is recognized.
Divine Decree Is Not Compulsion
Ahl al-Sunnah does not reduce qadar to mere foreknowledge. Allah knows, writes, wills, and creates all things. At the same time, He gave human beings a real will and capacity by which they choose and acquire their deeds. The Quran joins both truths:
For whoever wills among you to take a straight path. And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
Quran 81:28-29
The authentic hadith about the written decree also answers the exact fatalistic question. The Companions asked whether they should simply rely on what was written and stop acting:
The Prophet (PBUH) said: "There is none among you but his place has been written, either in Paradise or in Hell." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, should we not rely on what has been written for us and leave deeds?" He said: "Act, for everyone will be facilitated for that for which he was created."
Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim 2662
The Prophet's answer was not "leave deeds." It was "act." A person is not commanded to act on the hidden decree; he is commanded to act on Allah's revealed guidance. The decree is Allah's knowledge and rule over creation, not an excuse for a servant to abandon obedience or justify sin.
Allah's Justice and Mercy
Islam rejects the idea that Allah punishes people unjustly. The Quran states:
Allah does not charge a soul except with what it can bear...
Quran 2:286
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
Quran 17:15
Whoever does righteousness, it is for his own soul; and whoever does evil, it is against it. And your Lord is not unjust to the servants.
Quran 41:46
Therefore, Hell is not filled with people wronged by Allah. It is the just end of those whom Allah knew, wrote, willed, and created, and who themselves chose disbelief, arrogance, and heedlessness by the will and capacity Allah gave them. His decree is perfect, and His judgment is never unjust.
So the concise answer is: yes, Allah created every person while knowing and decreeing his final end, and some are described as created for Hell because that will be their final and just outcome. But no, Islam does not teach that innocent people are compelled into disbelief and then punished. The hidden decree is never an excuse for sin; the revealed command is the duty in front of us.
Related questions include divine decree (qadar), human responsibility, and the fate of those who never received the message.