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.
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.]
Related Links:
Qadar
Happiness
Action Items for
the
uttaqun:
-
Remove the words "free
will" from your speech and just refer to man's will as being subjugated to
Allah's Will.
-
Quote Qur'an and Sunnah
as much as possible, without adding Words to what was revealed.
Remember... Allah, subhana watala,
sees everything we do!
