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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Discursive Theology Volume 1 Lesson 16: The Divine Will and Decree One of the Attributes of Perfection of God is that of will ( irādah ) and decree ( mashiyyah ), as Al-murīd (the Desirous or Willing) is considered one of the Divine Names. In the Holy Qur’an, the words mashiyyah , irādah and al-murīd have not been used for God, but in many verses the phrases shā’ Allāh , yashā’ Allāh , arād Allāh , aradnā , yurīd Allāh , and nurīd have been used.

In view of these action words, the attributes of mashiyyah and irādah and the nouns shā’ī (decree-giver) and murīd can be abstracted and used as the Attributes and Names of God.

In addition, the usage of the said Attributes and Names can also be found in Prophetic traditions.[^1] Some theologians have regarded will and decree as an attribute while others have treated them as two separate attributes, and something has been transmitted regarding the dimensions of the difference between the two.[^2] What can be inferred from the Qur’anic usages of these two words is that mashiyyah is only used in cosmic ( takwīnī ) matters while irādah is used in cosmic as well as legislative ( tashrī‘ī ) matters.

Keeping in view the totally of [relevant] verses of the Qur’an and traditions, it can be argued that with respect to God, irādah and mashiyyah refer to an attribute.

Some Views on the Essence of Will Different views have been expressed by philosophers and theologians on the essence of will ( irādah ) with respect to God and whether it is one of the Attributes of Essence or one of the Attributes of Action: God’s will in relation to His Actions (cosmic will) is identical with the origination of actions and His will in relation to human actions (legislative will) is the command to execute the actions.

Shaykh al-Mufīd[^3] has subscribed to this view.[^4] ‘Allāmah al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī who has also regarded the cosmic will of God as one of His Attributes of Action has said, “The will which is attributed to God is abstracted from His Action or from the Action itself which is realized outwardly, or from the total realization of the Action.”[^5] The cosmic will of God means His knowledge that the action which is consistent with order is the best.

This view is popular among the Muslim philosophers.[^6] The cosmic will of God means His knowledge that an action encompasses what is good for the human beings and all other creatures.