Islamic Theology

FREEWILL AND PREDESTINATION

SEPI (Saman khalid) IBA
Qadaa and Qadr

 Qadha: TO judge, decide, settle

 Qadar: Measure out, assess, determine
Fatalism and Determinism
Jabariyyah (No freewill)
 To fatalists, preceding events do not cause the events that follow,
nor does a fated event take place according to a natural law. Events
happen because of a decree of God or of some supernatural power.
 Jabariyyahs stated that evil acts will not be punishable, but good
deeds will be rewarded.

 Determinism says that every event has a cause that necessarily

precipitates the event. In the concept of determinism, there is no
human free will. So any decision taken is viewed as the natural
and inevitable result of influences like bio-chemical conditions,
desires, passions, and external circumstances beyond the control of
the individual.
Verses on Allah’s Decree

 [And not an atom’s weight in the earth or in the sky escapes your
Lord, nor what is less than that or greater than that, but it is
(written) in a clear Book.](Yunus 10:61)
 [No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is
recorded in a decree before We [Allah]. That is truly easy for
Allah. In order that you may neither despair over matters that
pass you by, nor exult over favors bestowed upon you. For Allah
loves not any vainglorious boaster](Al-Hadid 57:22-23)
 [And say not of anything, “I shall do it tomorrow,”
unlessAllah wills]( Al-Kahf 18:23-24)
Qadariyyah & Mu’tazilites
(All for Human freewill)
 If someone benefits us, we consider them to be our benefactors
in totality.
 It is *they* who are so kind, generous, and have willed to act in a
certain way
 Man is the creator of his actions.
Verses on human freedom and
responsibility
 [Corruption has spread on land and sea on account of what
people’s hands have wrought] (Ar-Rum 30:41)
 [Whatever misfortune happens to you, is because on the things
your hands have wrought, and for many (of them) He grants
forgiveness. ] (As-Shura 42:30)
 [If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and
have faith, they will enter Heaven and not the least injustice will be
done to them] (An-Nisaa’ 4:124)
 [It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe,
and let him who will, disbelieve] (Al-Kahf 18:29)
 [O our people, respond to God’s summoner and believe in him] (Al-
Ahqaf 46:31)
Conclusion: Man has CHOICE
(ikhtiyar), and ACQUIRES actions
(does iktisab)but does not create
them
 in Islam, there is no contradiction between belief in divine
preordainment on the one hand, and the freedom of humans on
the other, because Allah’s will and plan are universal in scope,
within which there is provision for a free and active role for
humans, enabling them to consciously fashion their own destiny.
 [ We have shown the path to humans, and they are free to
choose the right path and be thankful or to choose the
path of ingratitude]  (Al-Insan 76:3)
Wisdom in this:

 Predestination (At a universal level, things are predestined and

unfold in a wise manner) At an individual level, things are
predestined, such as where a person is born , which religion his
parents ascribe to, his physical features, and certain attributes
and characteristics… but he is free to make moral choices.
 Freewill: Within this framework he will be accountable for the
choices he makes and the actions he commits.
 Presdestination also results in tranquility as a person accepts the
tragedies in life as “meant to be”