In the world of being...

In the world of being, the Divine generative will governs the entire corpus of existents, including human beings, and as such, no creature has the will or choice to violate it, as is pointed out in the following verses: “Then He turned to the heaven, and it was smoke, and He said to it and to the Earth, ‘Come!

Willingly or unwillingly!’ They said, ‘We come heartily.’ ; (3) And: “There is none in the heavens and the earth but he comes to the All-beneficent as a servant.” (4) The human being has been created as a willing and volitional creature based on the Divine generative will of action and thus cannot divest himself of free choice and will. So whether he likes it or not, he must act on his own accord, choose the path he desires to follow and determine his own fate.

He has no choice in being a volitional creature, just as he has no say in choosing his parents, his gender, or his appearance. The Legislative Will of Action This will is identical to Divine legislation for the willing and volitional human being (5). In the very act of lawmaking for humanity, no one can share the authority with Allah and no one is capable of changing the laws before they reach the people.

Therefore, the angels, Prophets, and successors of the Prophets are duty bound to convey to the people the exact rules revealed to them without the slightest change and to interpret and clarify them only in the framework designated by Allah. It is in the stage of implementing these injunctions that the human being has been given the capacity to obey or disobey [on his own accord].

Hence, by making the right decision, the human being can conform his will to the will of Allah, the Supreme, and being satisfied with the Divine generative will, can decide to abide unconditionally by the Divine legislative will thereby securing his final felicity and meriting the leisure and serenity of Paradise—to such an extent that Allah will satisfy his wishes, whatever they may be, very quickly: “…but those who have faith and do righteous deeds will be in the gardens of paradise: they will have whatever they wish near their Lord.

This is the greatest grace.” (6) As they preferred Divine satisfaction over their own, Allah will in return be pleased with them and will reward them so abundantly that they would be happy with what they have done and with their Lord. (7) To be continued NOTES: __________________ 1. For this would mean that the human being is independent of Allah in his existence. (Tr.) 2.