saffanah
speak good or silent
Free Will
According to Quran and Sunnah
According to Quran and Sunnah
The term "free will" is a christian term, and it should not be used by Muslims. Until you can find a hadith or ayat that says "free will," stay away from the words and use the words Allah subhana wa ta'ala and His Messenger use to describe the will of mankind in relation to his Creator.
Here is the Merriam Webster dictionary definition of "free will." There is shirk involved in the use of this term.:
Main Entry: free will
Function: noun
Date: 13th century
1 : voluntary choice or decision <I do this of my own free will>
2 : freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention .
It is better for us to be selective in our words, and select the words from the verses of Al-Quran and Sunnah. Instead of trying to explain our will as being "free," we should simply describe it as it has already been described to us in Quran and Sunnah.
Allah's Will is not like mankind's will. When we will to do something, it may or may not happen. When Allah Wills something, that is exactly what happens.
And had Allâh willed, He could have made you (all) one nation, but He sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. But you shall certainly be called to account for what you used to do. [Qur'an 16:93]
Some people have a hard time accepting that Allah swt created some people for the hellfire; they attempt to explain it away by perpetuating the belief that Allah swt only created good and evil happened all by itself, beyond Allah's control. They cannot accept that Allah would create people to sin and therefore it must have been an "accident" of some type. This is straight out shirk, the greatest sin.
Why did Allah permit evil, why did Allah swt create beings capable of evil, why, why, why? Well, ask yourself this first: Why did Allah, swt, create (at all)? This is His Choice, and if you don't like it, well, then you wouldn't be here in existence if you had your way, anyway!
So let us all examine ourselves and be sure there's not a part of us that is not content with Allah's decision to allow evil at the hands of man.
Christianity teaches that one of the angels, Lucifer, had "free will", and disobeyed Allah/God and created a rebellious army against Allah/God. All of this happened as though Allah/God had no control over it - after all, "how could God allow evil except that it wasn't by choice." Some sects of christianity even go so far as to state there is no such thing as hell - after all, how dare God create such a thing? Subhan'Allah.
Do we similitude the way Allah swt creates with the way mankind creates? If we create something, we not only don't know its future with certainty, but we also don't have absolute control over it. For instance, we create a computer program, but it "crashes" sometimes, because we made a mistake. Or we create a xlock that ticks as we created it to - but we don;t know exactly when it will stop ticking and we can't completely control that when creating it. We can estimate, but we have no certainty in our control over the future.
Allah swt KNOWS ALL AND IS IN CONTROL OF ALL. Not just sorta in control, and not just some or most of the time.
"There is nothing like unto Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer." (v.42:11)
Let us not forget "the people of the garden" (see Qur'an Surah Al-Qalam) who transgressed by not saying "insha'Allah" (if Allah Wills it) when referring to something they willed.
And finally, where is the "free" in "free will?" Name one thing that you can do that is free from Allah's Will.
(For) each and every matter there is a Decree (from Allâh). [Qur'an 13:38]
Verily, this (the Qur'ân) is no less than a Reminder to (all) the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinns).To whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight, And you will not, unless (it be) that Allâh wills, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists). [Qur'an 81: 27-29]
Allâh! Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter . And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursî ["throne"] extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. [This Verse 2:255 is called Ayat-ul-Kursî.]
Action Items for the Muttaqun:
Fear Allah, azza wa-jall (may Allah be hollowed and glorified) and know that it is Allah, subhana watala, who decides your fate.
Do not question what is already written, for it was written by Allah to happen.
Example: Saying, "That shouldn't have happened!" is a statement against the Qadar.
Do not use the Qadar as an excuse for your actions. You do not know the future, even though it was already written. So you are responsible for your action or inaction.
Hadith Narrated by Jabir Ibn Jarir recorded from Jabir bin `Abdullah that he said, "O Messenger of Allah! Are we performing deeds for something that has already been predetermined or is the matter based upon what we are just doing (now)'' The Prophet replied, (It is a matter that has been predetermined.) Then Suraqah said, "Then what is the purpose of deeds'' The Messenger of Allah then said, (Everyone who does deeds will have his deeds made easy for him.) Muslim also recorded this Hadith.
Call upon Allah, subhana watala, for your strength, support and sustenance.
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