And it is for this reason that when their rights are...

And it is for this reason that when their rights are trampled they regard the transgressor as deserving rebuke and punishment, never willing to condone him on the basis that he had been 'compelled' into performing this act (on the part of Allah (s.w.t.) ) or regard punishing him as being unjust, or say: he could not refrain himself from committing the act, for Allah (s.w.t.) or nature or the environment forced him into it. This is another proof of the inherent nature of ikhtiyar (choice).

Furthermore, we do not observe any of those who follow the belief of jabr (compulsion), adhering to this belief in the course of their daily activities; rather, in their interaction with the people, they always look upon them as individuals, who possess freedom and choice. All the world's inhabitants, by setting up judicial systems for meting out punishments to the offenders, have practically acknowledged man's freedom of will.

All the educative institutions of the world too have implicitly accepted the opinion that man performs actions by means of his own will and inclination, and it is possible, by means of education, to distance him from errors, lapses and deviated thinking. Interestingly, in the above verses, the word (شقوا) is in the active voice whereas the word (سُعِدُوا) is in the passive.

This difference in expression could be a subtle allusion to the point that man advances upon the path of wretchedness by his own self, yet in order to advance upon the path of prosperity, he requires Divine assistance, in the absence of which he shall never be successful.

Undoubtedly, only those who have stepped out in this direction out of their own choice and will, and have developed within themselves the worthiness to benefit from such support, shall come to receive it.[^1] [^1]: Tafsir-e-Namuna, vol. 9, pg. 236 Previous…