Compulsion and Decree

جبر و قدر

The question of Compulsion and Decree (Jabr wa Qadar) — the extent to which human actions are free or determined — is one of the most contested issues in Islamic theology. The two extreme positions are: (1) Pure Jabr (compulsion) — the view that human beings have no freedom whatsoever and are entirely compelled in all their actions. (2) Pure Qadar (free will) — the view of the Mu'tazila, that human beings create their own acts entirely independently of Divine causation.

The sound position, which the author endorses following the masters of Sufism and orthodox theology, is 'the position between the two positions' (amr bayn al-amrayn): Human beings have a real but secondary and delegated agency ('aqd ikhtiyār) within the encompassing Divine decree. The human being chooses, but that choice itself is encompassed within the Divine Will and Knowledge. Neither pure compulsion nor pure independent free will does justice to the reality.

The Relation of the Created (Hādith) to the Pre-Eternal (Qadīm): How does the temporal, created order relate to the eternal, pre-eternal Being of Allah? This is one of the deepest metaphysical questions. The Sufi masters resolve it by noting that the relationship itself is eternal in the Divine Knowledge, even though the external manifestation of created things occurs in time. The 'gap' between Creator and created is bridged by the Divine Names and the 'ayn thābita.