The issue of Divine Will and human action

ZIKR LESSON 15.12.07.

The issue of Divine Will and human action.

Ibn Arabi speaks of two divine commands. In respect of the first command, God says,
" Be!" and the whole cosmos comes into existence. In respect of the second, He says
To human beings, "Do this and avoid that, or you will fall into wretchedness." The first command is known as the "engendering command" [al-amr al-takwini] or the command without intermediary, that is without the intermediary of a prophet. The second is known as the "prescriptive command" [al-amr al-taklifi] [responsibility] or the command by intermediary. All created things obey the engendering command, so in this respect there is no evil in existence. But when the prescriptive command, the revealed law, is taken into account, then some obey and some disobey. People bring both good and evil down upon themselves in respect of the prescriptive command.

The prescriptive command is referred to in many verses of the Quran, which tell human beings to pray, fast offer zakat etc. The engendering command, is however, God’s desire "irada" for creation; "His command, when He desires a thing, is to say to it "Be!", and it is" 36:82. Nothing can disobey God’s desire, but man and jinn are free to disobey the command whereby He prescribes the Law for them. In general Ibn Arabi prefers to apply the term "command" only to the engendering command, which cannot be disobeyed, than to the prescriptive command, which can be disobeyed. If the Creator really commands something, how can the created thing disobey the command? To explain this further Ibn Arabi says that the prescriptive command is not really a command at all. It is called a command in grammatical terms only to indicate that it takes an "imperative mood". For instance human beings exist as entites whether dead or alive, but "life" and "death" are two different relationships which are attributed to them according to various situations. The Divine Command as a rule cannot contradict the Divine Desire. Since man follows the engendering command in any case, it is the prescriptive command which brings into existence the possibility of opposing God. If there was no revelation there would be no opposition.
The lifting of prescription takes place in the next world, when works are no longer relevant to human becoming, hence disobedience is impossible.
In short, the nondelimited perfection of the Divine Reality is made possible only by the existence of imperfection. To be "other than God" is to be imperfect. It is to lack the divine attributes beginning with Being. But it is precisely the otherness "ghayriyyah" which allows the cosmos and all the creatures within it to exist. If the things were perfect in every respect, they would be identical with God Himself, and there would be nothing "other than God". Hence it is imperfection that separates creatures from their Creator and makes possible the existence of the cosmos. Without imperfection , existence’s perfection could not be actualized. All things are "imperfect" and therefore totally adapted to the role they play in creation.

Both mankind and jinn, called in Quranic terms, the two weighty ones [al-saqalain] are born into an ambiguous situation., which from their own point of view, remains ambiguous until death. God , however, knows their destiny for all eternity. Their freedom allows them to make choices which effect their becoming. Whatever they do, they follow the engendering command, the command of the Desire, [al-amr al-iradi], but the extent to which they follow the prescriptive command determines whether they will join the felicitous in the Garden or the wretched in the Fire.
Because of the peculiar human situation, people are born with the possibility of actualizing a kind of perfection. Unlike other creatures, they are not fixed in a specific ontological situation, but can change their situation through the gifts they have been given such as knowledge, desire, and speech, and by following the prescriptive command.
The moment an animal is born it is clearly this or that. An elephant, a mouse, a mole and will never be other than that. But when a human being is born, only God knows what that person will be. He has the potentiality to become any one of a tremendous variety of human types, unbeliever, believer, friend of Allah etc.

The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William Chittick.



The relation between Divine Will and Divine Wish parallels the relation between Compassion and Mercy: with the latter being a part of the all encompassing former.[He Wills that we live but wishes that we obey]. Additionally, while the Divine Will represents Allah’s ordained cosmic plan, the Divine Wish guides proper human interactions with Allah. The translator of The Bezels of Wisdom, R.W. J. Austin summarizes of the Divine Will (also crucially referred to as the Creative Command), "everything it wills comes into existence, there being no question, in the case of Will, of obedience or disobedience . . . [The Divine Wish, the] Obligating Command has everything to do with obedience or disobedience, since conformity is the sine qua non of salvation" (Ibn al-‘Arabi, Introduction, 31). Again, the levels of human agency are clearly demarcated. As with creative Compassion, Divine Will operates irrespective of human involvement, however the obligating Mercy of the Divine Wish calls for humans to return to Allah through salvation. [He will feed you even if you disobey Him. The sun will shine for you and the rain will fall for you even though you disobey. You will, however, enjoy His Grace of rewards only if you conform to His obligations i.e merit due to the fulfillment of obligations will be due only after they have been carried out. For instance, you will be guided if you seek guidance.
Hazrat Inayat Khan. Sufi Mysticism.
The will is the same, whether it be human or divine. The only difference is that in one aspect it is the whole, in the other aspect it is a part. In one aspect it is almighty, in the other it has only a certain might, or a certain power; in one aspect it is unlimited, in the other it is limited
The difference between the divine and the human will is like the difference between the trunk of a tree and its branches. As from the boughs other twigs and branches spring, so the will of one powerful individual has branches going through the will of other individuals. So there are the powerful beings, the masters of humanity. Their will is God's will, their word is God's word, and yet they are branches, because the trunk is the will of the Almighty. Whether the branch be large or small, every branch has the same origin and the same root as the stem."

In Sufi terms these two aspects of will are called Qaza and Qadr. Sometimes we think, 'If I could see that friend it would be so pleasant', and at the same time there comes a desire, 'If I could have some nice flowers', and then a friend comes bringing a bunch of our favorite ones. Or we may desire to have fish to eat, and the cook brings a savory dish of fish. Sometimes this is due to the strength of one's own will, and sometimes it is the soul working in harmony with the divine will. One only knows when it is in harmony with the divine will and when not by noting the results, and the one who knows beforehand is the seer.
When things are in harmony with the divine will, everything is there; we just glance towards a thing and it is found, as in the saying, 'Word spoken, action done.' When we strive with all the material in our hands and yet cannot achieve our desire, that is when the matter is contrary to the divine will. Our success or failure all depends upon the harmony or disharmony of our individual will with the divine will.

But if our individual will is a branch of the divine will, if its source is the same, how can it ever be out of harmony? Sometimes the hand sympathizes with the foot, at other times it does not. We hurt ourselves many times just because of disharmony; we may cut ourselves, our fingers for instance. If then, I, who am one with the divine person, can cause harm to myself, and suffer thereby, why should it not be possible that the human will should be out of harmony with the divine, so that the divine suffers thereby? It is possible to act in a way contrary to the divine will, even though one is only a branch of it. In a fountain there is a big stream which flows up and then breaks into many drops. The stream is like the divine will, and the different drops like the wills in us. One drop goes higher, another lower, one falls to the left, another to the right, one goes north, another south. But the source of all this activity is one; it is one thing that turns into so many, scattering in all directions. Thus from unity there has come variety.
The limited being cannot claim the perception of the Unlimited; thus we cannot regard our own will as being the universal Will unless our will is in harmony with the will of God. We should therefore practice harmonizing our will with that of our fellow men, by tolerance, patience, endurance; because in this world every ego is working for itself, however near or dear another may be. Everyone thinks, 'What can I make another person do for me?' He wants everybody to be in harmony with his way of life. That is why there is a world full of rebellion, like the thorns in the rose bush.
It may seem a great sacrifice and torment to practice patience, but it is the only way to get out of the whirlpool; it is the only way that one can conquer life's difficulties. If anybody has ever conquered, he has only done so by this means; never by the means of resistance, but always by the way of resignation. All teachers have taught this way, saying, 'Prostrate thyself on the ground; prostrate thyself before God; kneel down.' Some of us fail to appreciate this, but the messengers do not leave anything unspoken; it is we who do not understand what they say. People fight for their religions; if we were just to learn the one instead! The question should always be: have we learned our own religion? To have learned it means to practice it and see its benefit. However fast we may try to run away from it, we will still find this lesson to learn. We have to make ourselves strong and prepared to withstand all that befalls us. Therefore we must develop our will power first by such morals, and be able to harmonize our will with others.



Special Logic of the Holy Qur'an Regarding the Question of Human Compulsion and Liberty
by
Martyr Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari
We previously said that the Muslim theologians started discussing and analyzing the question of human compulsion and liberty in the second half of the first century of the Hijri era. This question is the oldest scholastic problem. Somehow the scholastic theologians could not analyze the question correctly with the result that they deviated from the right path. Some of them supported the theory of predestination and others that of absolute human liberty. The Holy Qur’an, the hadiths of the Holy Prophet and the sayings of the Holy Imams clearly say that everything is governed by the destiny ordained by Allah, and at the same time describe man as an effective factor in making or marring his fortune. They hold him responsible for all his actions. We have in the foregoing quoted some of the Qur’anic verses dealing with these points. As we have pointed out, the predestinarians have tried to explain away the verses indicating human freedom and the supporters of absolute liberty have tried to explain away the verses indicating that everything is divinely ordained. As we have seen actually there is no inconsistency between these two sets of verses. For example the Qur’an says that it is Allah who guides the people to the right or the wrong path, who bestows on them honour, power and health and who provides them with the means of living: Even the virtue and the vice both have been ascribed to His Will.
The Holy Qur’an says: "It is Allah to leave in error whom He will and to guide whom He pleases. He is the Mighty, the Wise". (Surah Ibrahim, 14:4)
"Say: O Allah! Owner of Sovereignty! You bestow sovereignty on whomever you will and you withdraw sovereignty from whomever you will. You exalt whomever you will and you abase whom you will. In Your hand is all that is good. No doubt you have power to do everything". (Surah Aale Imran, 3:26)
"Surely Allah is the provider of everything and the possessor of Mighty Power". (Surah al-Zariyat, 51:58)
"In the heaven is your providence and that which you are promised". (Surah al-Zariyat, 51:22)
The Holy Qur’an quotes Ibrahim as having said: "He gives me food and drink. If I fall sick, He cures me. He will cause me to die, and will bring me back to life". (Surah al-Shu’ara’, 26:79 – 81)
About the happy and the evil things the Qur’an says: "Say: Everything is from Allah". (Surah al-Nisa, 4:78)
But these verses do not deny the intervention of the natural causes. Hence there is no contradiction between them and the other verses which clearly show that it is man himself who chooses the right or the right or the wrong path, acquires power and honour, and earns his livelihood.
For example, the Qur’an says: As for Thamud, We showed them the right path, but they preferred blindness to guidance, consequently they were bit by the humiliating punishment of a dreadful noise which they deserved because of their misdeeds". (Surah Fussilat, 41:17)
Referring to the downfall of Pharaoh’s gang, the Holy Qur’an says: "That is because Allah does not withdraw the favour He has bestowed on any people unless they first change what is in their hearts, and that is because Allah is Hearer, Knower". (Surah al-Anfal, 8:53)
Criticizing the predestinarian belief of the pagan Arabs, the Holy Qur’an says: "When it is said to them: Give in charity out of what Allah has provided you, the disbelievers say to those who believe: Are we to feed those whom Allah would feed if He willed? Surely you are in a clear error". (Surah Yasin, 36:47)
Again the Holy Qur’an says: "Corruption has become rife in land and sea because of the misdeeds of the people". (Surah al-Rum, 30:41)
The fact is, as already pointed out, that Allah’s Will, His Knowledge and His Decrees do not nullify the system of causation. Actually this whole infinite system springs from His Will and Knowledge and its effectiveness means the effectiveness of His Will.
On this basis it is wrong to say which act is Allah’s and which is not His. Such a division is meaningless. If an act has been ascribed to some other being, it cannot be said that it is not Allah’s. The division of work between the Creator and the created is wrong. Any act of a doer is that of Allah also.
There is a hadith in the Tuhaf-ul-Uqul, which appears to be a letter written by Imam Hadi (a), the tenth Imam, to some of his supporters in Ahwaz (Iran) on the doctrines of predestination, absolute discretion and justice. In this letter he writes:
"A person asked Imam Ali (a) whether man has power and ability or he lacks them. If he has the power to do things, then how is it possible to say that there is no power nor help but from Allah?"
From the wording of the hadith it appears that the questioner believed that man had the power and ability to do things, Hence he was unable to understand how the question of Allah’s Will and Divine Decree could fit in.
In reply the Imam said to him: "You asked about ability. Do you have this ability with Allah or without Him!" The questioner was baffled. The Imam said: "If you assert that you and Allah share this ability and power, I would put you to death (because you would be claiming to be a co-partner of Allah). If you say that you have this ability without Allah, again I would put you to death (because you would be presuming that you are independent of Allah. Such a presumptions again infidelity, for independence in any affair means independence in essence).
"The questioner said: Then what should I say?"
The Imam (a) said: "You have ability by the Will of Allah, while He has it independently. If He endows you with it, that is His favour. If He takes it away from you, that means He is testing you. In any case, you should remember that whatever He bestows on you, He is still its owner. If He enables you to do a thing, that thing is still within His power".
In short, this hadith indicates that while an effect is ascribed to its cause, it is attributable to Allah also. When we ascribe an act to its normal and natural doer, we ascribe it to its non-self-existing agent, and when we attribute it to Allah, we ascribe it to its self-existing agent. It is Allah who endows things with the power and quality of producing an effect. It is He who bestows the ownership of anything on anyone. But there is one basic difference between the bestowal of ownership by Allah and the transfer of ownership by a man. After a man has transferred the ownership of a thing, it is no longer his property. But Allah continues to be the owner of a thing even after He has bestowed it on anyone else. His bestowal is not inconsistent with His continued ownership. It is only a manifestation of His being the owner. Similarly Allah endows things with the quality of producing an effect, and at the same time He is the Master of all effects. There are many other hadiths which support this view.


It is related in the annals of the prophets that once Prophet Moses (as) met the Devil and said to him - had he not refused to bow before Adam he would not have been damned forever. The Devil said, "What could I do? It was my destiny." The Prophet said, "Did you know that?" The Devil replied, "No." "Then it is your fault," the Prophet said. It transpires that from what Prophet Moses (as) said, that all actions on the part of man without prior knowledge of what is written in his fate are his actions based on his free will. When somebody kills his enemy he does so because of the feelings of vengence or hatred against him, and not because of the fact that it was so written in his fate since he did not know about it. This shows that the truth lies not in predestination alone or free will alone; it is both. That is why when Hadhrat Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq was asked about it, he said."The truth lies in between the two." He is also reported to have said, "Man can do what he wills, but cannot will what he wills."