Is man compelled or does he have free will?
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The questioner : Is man compelled or does he have free will?
The Shaykh : If I were to say to this person,The questioner : Are you compelled when you asked this question, or did you ask it by your own choice?
In my knowledge, he will say that he asked it by his own choice. So, there is no doubt that man does what he does by his own choice. Man goes and comes, prays, performs ablution, fasts, pays zakah, performs Hajj, buys and sells, marries and gives in marriage, and so on, all by his own choice. No one compels him to do any of that. For this reason, you find that he chooses one thing over another. For example, he chooses to enter the College of Sharia rather than the College of Engineering, even though it is the same university. Who compelled him to do this? Did anyone compel him?
In reality, it is by his own choice. And if man did not act by his own choice, then his punishment for sins would be injustice, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is free from injustice. There are many verses in which Allah the Exalted attributes actions to man:[Az-Zalzalah 99:7-8] [Al-Kahf 18:29] [Ali 'Imran 3:152] There are many verses on this point, and reason bears witness to this. It is not possible for a sane person to stand firm on the claim that man is always compelled, because this is refuted by sense perception, let alone by the Shari'ah.
But the question remains: is this choice independent of the will of Allah?
The answer is: No. You did not will anything except that we know that Allah had willed it before. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[At-Takwir 81:28-29] So, if a man wills to eat and then eats, we know that Allah the Exalted had willed before his will that he would will to eat and then eat. And if a man wills to buy and sell, and then buys and sells, we know that Allah the Exalted had willed that, meaning He willed that he would will to buy and sell, and so on. Thus, the will of Allah precedes, and the will of the created being is the immediate subsequent will.
We do not know that Allah has willed something for us except when it happens. For this reason, this statement I have just made is not an argument for the sinner who disobeys Allah and says that Allah willed it. Because we say to him: What informed you that Allah willed it?
You cannot know that Allah willed something except if you did it, and your action occurs by your own choice, without doubt. For this reason, we did not find this word, "compelled" or "having free will"? I have never seen it in the speech of the earliest predecessors.
But some of the later scholars said it, and it spread among the people because it is a resonant word. Otherwise, it is known that man has free will:[Al-Kahf 18:29] And man's disbelief is by his choice, and his faith is by his choice. The meaning of "choice" is not that if you wish, you believe, and if you wish, you disbelieve. Rather, the meaning is that the occurrence of disbelief is by your choice, and the occurrence of faith is by your choice.
Based on this, we say: Man has free will in the sense that he does a thing by his choice, but we know that if he chooses something and does it, it is by the prior will of Allah.
Yes, there are things that are not by man's choice. If a man travels, for example, and is involved in an accident, this is not by his choice. If a man does an action while forgetful, this is not by his choice. For this reason, Allah does not hold a person accountable for forgetfulness, nor for error, nor for the action of a sleeping person, because he is not one who has choice.
The questioner : May Allah bless you for this clarification.
The Shaykh : If I were to say to this person,The questioner : Are you compelled when you asked this question, or did you ask it by your own choice?
In my knowledge, he will say that he asked it by his own choice. So, there is no doubt that man does what he does by his own choice. Man goes and comes, prays, performs ablution, fasts, pays zakah, performs Hajj, buys and sells, marries and gives in marriage, and so on, all by his own choice. No one compels him to do any of that. For this reason, you find that he chooses one thing over another. For example, he chooses to enter the College of Sharia rather than the College of Engineering, even though it is the same university. Who compelled him to do this? Did anyone compel him?
In reality, it is by his own choice. And if man did not act by his own choice, then his punishment for sins would be injustice, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is free from injustice. There are many verses in which Allah the Exalted attributes actions to man:
(7) So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, (8) And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.
فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَه * وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهso whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve
فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْAmong you are some who desire this world, and among you are some who desire the Hereafter
مِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الآخِرَةَBut the question remains: is this choice independent of the will of Allah?
The answer is: No. You did not will anything except that we know that Allah had willed it before. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(28) For whoever wills among you to take a right course. (29) And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ * وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَWe do not know that Allah has willed something for us except when it happens. For this reason, this statement I have just made is not an argument for the sinner who disobeys Allah and says that Allah willed it. Because we say to him: What informed you that Allah willed it?
You cannot know that Allah willed something except if you did it, and your action occurs by your own choice, without doubt. For this reason, we did not find this word, "compelled" or "having free will"? I have never seen it in the speech of the earliest predecessors.
But some of the later scholars said it, and it spread among the people because it is a resonant word. Otherwise, it is known that man has free will:
so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve
فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْBased on this, we say: Man has free will in the sense that he does a thing by his choice, but we know that if he chooses something and does it, it is by the prior will of Allah.
Yes, there are things that are not by man's choice. If a man travels, for example, and is involved in an accident, this is not by his choice. If a man does an action while forgetful, this is not by his choice. For this reason, Allah does not hold a person accountable for forgetfulness, nor for error, nor for the action of a sleeping person, because he is not one who has choice.
The questioner : May Allah bless you for this clarification.