when he drinks, or when he does anything that lies within his sphere of choice, he is acting freely, under no compulsion whatsoever. I, for example, have chosen to speak right now; plainly no one is forcing me to do so. At the same time, this utterance is decreed. By “decreed” I mean that it is written in the Divine decree even as I voluntarily choose to say it. I could just as readily fall silent, simply to show anyone who doubts my claim that this speech of mine is a matter of choice.

Therefore, human free choice—as an observable reality—admits no debate. Whoever contests it is merely engaging in sophistry and casting doubt on what is self-evident; once a person reaches that stage, discussion with him comes to a halt.

Human actions, then, are of two kinds: voluntary and involuntary. As for the involuntary, there is nothing to discuss—neither from the standpoint of the Sharia nor from that of plain fact. The Sacred Law addresses only the voluntary actions, and that is the reality. When we keep this principle firmly in mind, we can grasp the earlier verse, “We placed coverings upon their hearts,” for that placing is part of the universal decree. We must also recall the previous verse, “His command, when He wills a thing…,” where the will in question is the cosmic will. Yet this does not mean that the person upon whom the covering is placed is coerced.