Predestination, Fate and the Middle Road in Between

a man came to him and sat with his legs folded underneath in front of the Imam and said, ‘O Amir al-Mu’minin, tell us about our journey against the people of Sham (Syria). Was it because of Allah’s decree and determination or not?’ ‘Amir al-Mu’minin Ali said, “Yes, O Shaykh, every hill that you climbed and every valley that you crossed was because of the decree and the determination of Allah.”’ The Shaykh then said, ‘Will my tiring efforts be counted in the sight of Allah, O Amir al-Mu’minin?’ “The Imam said, ‘Be patient, O Shaykh. I swear by Allah that He will grant you a great reward for your journey wherever you traveled, for your stay wherever you rested and for your return when you were headed back. In none of these conditions that you went through were you coerced or compelled.’ The Shaykh then said, ‘How can we not be considered compelled or coerced when all of our journey, rest and return were because of the decree and determination of Allah?’ “The Imam said, ‘Do you think it was all due to unavoidable decree and binding determination? Had it been so all the reward, punishment, commandments, orders and warnings from Allah would remain invalid and meaningless. The promise and warnings would fall apart. No one could blame the sinners and no one would praise the people of good deeds. The sinners could have been more deserving than the people of good deeds could, and the latter ones could have deserved more punishment. Such can only be the belief of the idol worshippers, the enemies of the Beneficent, of the party of Satan, the determinist of this Ummah (nation) and her Zoroastrians. ‘Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, has obligated people on the basis of their freedom and choice. His prohibitions serve as warnings. He rewards a great deal for very little of deeds. Disobedience to Him is not due to His weakness or His defeat. Obedience to Him is not due to compulsion and coercion. He has not given the power to people in the absolute sense. He has not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without a purpose. He has not sent the messengers and the prophets to warn and promise people just to play a trick. Such could only be the belief of the unbelievers. Woe is for the unbelievers to suffer in the fire.’ “The Shaykh then recited the following lines that he composed instantaneously: ‘You are the Imam whose obedience, one day, we hope, Salvation it will bring and forgiveness from the Beneficent (God). Explain you did our issue that was vague. May your Lord reward (your) favor with (His) favor.’”

“Whoever thinks that Allah orders people to commit sins has ascribed lies to Allah and whoever thinks that good and evil are from Allah has ascribed lies to Allah.”
(See also Hadith No. 6 below).

I asked the Imam (a.s.), ‘Has Allah left all the matters to people?’ The Imam said, ‘Allah, Most Exalted, is by far above and beyond such things.’ I then asked, ‘Has He compelled them to commit sins?’ The Imam said, ‘Allah’s justice and His judgment are far above and beyond such things.’ The Imam further said, ‘Allah has said, “O sons of Adam, I have more credit in your good deeds than you yourself do and you have more responsibility for your bad deeds than I do. You commit sins with the power that I have given to you.’”

abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.), said to me the following: “O Yunus do not say what pre-determinists say. The pre- determinists do not say what people of paradise say or what people of hell say or what Satan says. The people of paradise say, ‘. . . all praise is due to Allah for His guiding us. We could never have been guided without Allah’s guiding us.’ (7:43) The people of hell say, ‘Lord, our misfortune overwhelmed us and we became lost,’ (23:107) and Satan said, ‘My Lord for your making me to rebel . . .’ (15:39) “I then said, ‘I swear by Allah that I do not say what they say but I only say that there will be nothing unless Allah will want, will, measure and decree.’ The Imam (a.s.), said, ‘O Yunus, it is not that, ‘there will be nothing unless Allah will want, will, measure and decree.’ O Yunus, do you know what is want?’ I said, ‘No, I do not know.’ The Imam said, ‘It is the first mention of something. Do you know what is will?’ I said, ‘No, I do not know.’ The Imam said, ‘It is the intention to do something. Do you know what measurement is?’ I said, ‘No, I do not know.’ The Imam said, ‘It is the figure, the position, the limits of survival and extinction.’ “The Imam further said, ‘The decree is the readiness and the production of substance.’ I then asked permission to kiss his head and said, ‘You just opened for me something of which I was unaware.’”

“Allah created the creatures and He knew what they will do. He commanded and prohibited them. He has not commanded them to do anything but that He has placed there a way for them not to obey the command (if they so wanted). They do not obey or disobey except by Allah’s permission.”

“The Messenger of Allah (sw) said, ‘Whoever believes that Allah has commanded to do evil and sin has ascribed lies to Allah. Whoever thinks that good and evil are without the wish of Allah, has considered Allah without authority. Whoever thinks that sins are without the power from Allah, has ascribed lies to Allah and whoever ascribes lies to Allah, He will make him to enter the Fire.’”

“In the mosque of Madina there was a person who spoke of the issue of predetermination and people had gathered around him. I said to him, ‘O you, can I ask you a question?’ He said, ‘Yes, you may do so.’ I then said, ‘Can there be a thing in the kingdom of Allah the Majestic, the Glorious, that He may not want?’ He remained thinking for a while and then said to me, ‘O you, if I said that there can be something in His kingdom He does not want it means that He is defeated. If I say that there is nothing in His kingdom that He may not want I am giving you permission to commit sin. “I then told the story of that determinist to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), who said, ‘He (the determinist man) looked for his own interest. Had he said something else he would have been destroyed.’”

“I asked the Imam (a.s.), ‘Has Allah compelled the servants to sin?’ The Imam replied, ‘No, He has not compelled them.’ I then asked, ‘Has He left all matters to them?’ He replied, ‘No, He has not done so.’ I asked, ‘Then how is it?’ The Imam then said, ‘It is a way of kindness from your Lord in between.’”

“Allah is more kind to His creatures than to compel them to sin and then punish them. Allah, the Most Majestic, is by far beyond willing something that cannot come into existence.” The two Imams (a.s.) were asked if there was a third reality between compulsion and predetermination. They replied, ‘Yes, there is something bigger than what is between the sky and the earth.’”

“He was asked about compulsion and predetermination. He said, “There is no compulsion and no predetermination. It is something between the two. In this there is the truth that is known only to a scholar or one whom the scholar has taught.”

“Once a man said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause, has Allah compelled people to sin?’ The Imam said, ‘Allah is just and by far beyond compelling people to sin and then punishing them for it.’ The man then said, ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause, has He then left all matters to the servants?’ The Imam said, ‘Had He left all matters to the people He would not have restricted them with commandments and prohibitions.’ The man then said, ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause, is there a stage between the two?’ The Imam said, ‘Yes, there is something bigger than what is between the heavens and the earth.’”

“Once I asked abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.), ‘Certain persons of our people believe in compulsion and others believe in people’s capabilities. The Imam said, ‘Write down, “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, (Imam) Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), has said that Allah, the Most Majestic has said, ‘O son of Adam, through My will it is you who wish. With My power you fulfill your obligations to Me. With My bounties you become strong to sin. I made you to hear and see. Whatever good you receive is from Allah. Whatever evil befalls you is from your own soul. It is because I have more credit in your good deeds than you do and you are more responsible for your bad deeds than I am. It is because I am not questioned about what I do and they are the ones who are questioned about their deeds. I have organized for you all things that you want.’”

“There is no compulsion and no total freedom but it is a matter between the two.” The narrator has said, ‘I asked what is, “it is a matter between the two?” The Imam (a.s.), said, ‘One example of this is the case of a man whom you may see that sins and you try to stop him but he does not listen. You then leave him alone and he sins. That is because he did not listen to you and you left him alone; if you were considered as ordering him to sin, it is not true.’”

“Allah is by far Gracious and beyond ordering people to do what they are not capable of doing. Allah is by far Majestic and beyond a situation wherein things may exist in His kingdom that He does not want.”