Is man compelled or given free will? And are the deeds he performs from the will of Allah?
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Question:
This is a message from the listener Jihad Rashid, from Iraq, the Tameem Governorate. His first question says: There is a group of people who say: All the deeds that a person performs are from the will of Allah. We hope you will clarify this issue: Is man given free will or compelled?
Answer:
This issue may be confusing for some people, and man is both given free will and compelled; he is given free will because Allah gave him a voluntary will, and gave him a desire by which he acts in the matters of his religion and his worldly life, so he is not forced and overpowered, no, rather he has a choice and he has a desire and he has a will, as He said (peace and blessings be upon him):[At-Takwir 81:28] And you do not will except that Allah, the Lord of the worlds, wills [At-Takwir:28-29] And He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Muddaththir 74:55] And they do not remember except that Allah wills [Al-Muddaththir:55-56] And He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Anfal:67] And He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Isra:18].
So the servant has a choice, and he has a will, and he has a desire, but this will and this desire do not occur except after the will of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so He -Exalted and Majestic is He- is the One who disposes of His servants, and the Manager of their affairs; so they cannot will anything, or desire anything, except after the will of Allah for it, and His cosmic, decreed will (Glorified and Exalted is He), so whatever happens to the servants, and whatever happens from them, is all by the prior will of Allah, and a prior decree, so the deeds and the sustenance and the lifespans and the wars, and the removal of a ruler, and the establishment of a ruler, and the fall of a state, and the rise of a state; it is all by the will of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), as He said (peace and blessings be upon him): [Aal 'Imran:26] (Glorified and Exalted is He).
So the point is: that He -Exalted and Majestic is He- has a will in His servants and a desire that the servants do not surpass, and it is called: the cosmic will, and the desire, so what Allah wills happens, and what He does not will does not happen, and from this is His saying, Exalted is He: [Al-An'am:125] And He said, the Exalted: [Ya-Sin:82].
So the servant has a choice, and he has a will, but his choice and his will are following the will of Allah and His desire (Glorified and Exalted is He), so the acts of obedience are by the decree of Allah, and the servant is thanked for them and rewarded, and the acts of disobedience are by the decree of Allah, and the servant is blamed for them and punished and sinful, and the argument is established, the argument is for Allah alone (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Al-An'am:149] (Glorified and Exalted is He), [Al-An'am:35] So He, Exalted is He, if He had willed, He would have guided them all, but He has the perfect wisdom, in that He made them two groups: a disbeliever and a Muslim, and everything is by His will (Glorified and Exalted is He) and His desire, so the believer should know this well, and be clear in his religion, so he is one who has a choice, he has a will, and he has a desire, he is able to eat, drink, trade, speak, obey, disobey, travel, stay, give to so-and-so and withhold from so-and-so, and so on, he has a desire in this, and he has the ability, he is not overpowered and not prevented, but these things that happen from him do not happen except after they precede from Allah, after the will of Allah -Exalted and Majestic is He- and His desire for this deed precedes it [At-Takwir 81:28] And you do not will except that Allah wills [Al-Insan:29-30].
So He, Exalted is He, is the One who guides His servants, as He said (peace and blessings be upon him): [Yunus:22] So He is the One who guides His servants, and in His hand is their salvation and their happiness and their misguidance and their destruction, He is the One who disposes of His servants, He guides whom He wills, and He misguides whom He wills (Glorified and Exalted is He), He gives to whom He wills, and He withholds from whom He wills, He makes happy whom He wills, and He makes miserable whom He wills, no one objects to Him (Glorified and Exalted is He).
So it is necessary for you -O servant of Allah- to be clear in this matter, and to reflect on the book of your Lord, and the Sunnah of your Prophet -may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him-; so that you know this clearly in the verses and the hadiths, so the servant is one who has a choice and he has a desire, and he has a will, and in the same matter he has nothing from himself, rather he is owned by Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and decreed by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), He manages him as He wills (Glorified and Exalted is He), the will of Allah is effective, and His prior decree passes through it, and he has no argument with the prior decree, so Allah knows their conditions and nothing is hidden from Him (Glorified and Exalted is He), and He is the Manager of His servants, and the Disposer of their affairs -Exalted and Majestic is He-, and He has given them a will and a desire and a choice by which they act, yes.
This is a message from the listener Jihad Rashid, from Iraq, the Tameem Governorate. His first question says: There is a group of people who say: All the deeds that a person performs are from the will of Allah. We hope you will clarify this issue: Is man given free will or compelled?
Answer:
This issue may be confusing for some people, and man is both given free will and compelled; he is given free will because Allah gave him a voluntary will, and gave him a desire by which he acts in the matters of his religion and his worldly life, so he is not forced and overpowered, no, rather he has a choice and he has a desire and he has a will, as He said (peace and blessings be upon him):
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ Then whoever wills will remember it.
فَمَنْ شَاءَ ذَكَرَهُ Some Muslims desire the commodities of this world, but Allah desires [for you] the Hereafter. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
تُرِيدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ الآخِرَةَ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌWhoever should desire the immediate - We hasten for him from it what We will to whom We intend
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَاءُ لِمَنْ نُرِيدُSo the servant has a choice, and he has a will, and he has a desire, but this will and this desire do not occur except after the will of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so He -Exalted and Majestic is He- is the One who disposes of His servants, and the Manager of their affairs; so they cannot will anything, or desire anything, except after the will of Allah for it, and His cosmic, decreed will (Glorified and Exalted is He), so whatever happens to the servants, and whatever happens from them, is all by the prior will of Allah, and a prior decree, so the deeds and the sustenance and the lifespans and the wars, and the removal of a ruler, and the establishment of a ruler, and the fall of a state, and the rise of a state; it is all by the will of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), as He said (peace and blessings be upon him):
Say, "O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.
قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌSo the point is: that He -Exalted and Majestic is He- has a will in His servants and a desire that the servants do not surpass, and it is called: the cosmic will, and the desire, so what Allah wills happens, and what He does not will does not happen, and from this is His saying, Exalted is He:
So whoever Allah wants to guide - He expands his breast to [contain] Islam; and whoever He wants to misguide - He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky
فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِHis command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is.
إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُSo the servant has a choice, and he has a will, but his choice and his will are following the will of Allah and His desire (Glorified and Exalted is He), so the acts of obedience are by the decree of Allah, and the servant is thanked for them and rewarded, and the acts of disobedience are by the decree of Allah, and the servant is blamed for them and punished and sinful, and the argument is established, the argument is for Allah alone (Glorified and Exalted is He):
Say, "With Allah is the far-reaching argument. If He had willed, He would have guided you all."
قُلْ فَلِلَّهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَBut if Allah had willed, He would have united them upon guidance. So never be of the ignorant.
وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَمَعَهُمْ عَلَى الْهُدَى فَلا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَFor whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ So He, Exalted is He, is the One who guides His servants, as He said (peace and blessings be upon him):
It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea
هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِSo it is necessary for you -O servant of Allah- to be clear in this matter, and to reflect on the book of your Lord, and the Sunnah of your Prophet -may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him-; so that you know this clearly in the verses and the hadiths, so the servant is one who has a choice and he has a desire, and he has a will, and in the same matter he has nothing from himself, rather he is owned by Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and decreed by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), He manages him as He wills (Glorified and Exalted is He), the will of Allah is effective, and His prior decree passes through it, and he has no argument with the prior decree, so Allah knows their conditions and nothing is hidden from Him (Glorified and Exalted is He), and He is the Manager of His servants, and the Disposer of their affairs -Exalted and Majestic is He-, and He has given them a will and a desire and a choice by which they act, yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.