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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Shi'ite Encyclopedia (chapter 11) Free Will and Fatalism INTRODUCTION This article deals with the perplexing issues of Free Will and Fatalism. Both viewpoints, the Sunnis's and Shia's, will be presented, as the purpose is to be as fair and objective as possible. This is a VERY sensitive subject, and needs a lot of attention. I will NOT cover every detail such that I am not qualified, nor do I have all the resources.

Nonetheless, I will cover as much as is necessary for you to understand your responsibility before Allah (SWT). Now, to get to the topic at hand, I will start with what the Sunnis believe, and then state what the Shia believe. This peace is taken from Dr. al-Tijani's second book "Ma'ah al- Sadeeqeen -- With the Truthful Ones (1989)", pp 133-148. I have quoted him where appropriate, and added my own remarks elsewhere.

Please refer to those pages for consultation, as well as the books of history, hadith, and philosophy. FREE WILL AND FATALISM Dr. al-Tijani starts out by expressing his own experience with the concepts of Free Will (Qadariyyah) and Fatalism (Jabriyah).

He was always baffled, as I was, by what the Sunni scholars preach in sermons and by what their books state about EVERYTHING being the Will of Allah (SWT): Drinking wine is the Will of Allah (SWT), sleeping, killing, evil, adultery, marriage, knowledge, health, accidental death, and even whether you end up in hell or heaven was judged before you were born! How can that be?

How can Allah (SWT) state in the Quran: "Allah is never unjust in the least degree: If there is any good (done), he doubleth it, and giveth from His Own Self a great reward. [4:40]" Then Allah (SWT) states: "Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: Nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His servants.

[41:46]" Again, among many other places, Allah (SWT) asserts: "Verily Allah will NOT deal unjustly with man in aught: It is man that wrongs his own soul (and other souls). [10:44]" How can these verses be reconciled with what the Sunnis preach? It is either that Allah (SWT) is right, and the scholars are wrong, or vice versa? Of course, for the believer, the answer to that question is quite obvious.

However, the Quran also states: "But ye will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.