Between Compulsion and the Divine Decree

The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah occupies the center between the Jabriyyah and the Qadariyyah. The Jabriyyah go to extremes in affirming qadar (the divine decree) until they strip the servant of all choice. They claim, “The servant has no volition; every act of his is forced upon him. He is merely an instrument moved by destiny—his prayer, his fasting, and all his deeds occur without any choice, like a machine that is set in motion.” Such a doctrine is false.

The Qadariyyah, on the other hand, exaggerate in asserting human choice and therefore deny the decree. They regard the servant as independent in his actions, outside Allah’s will and determination, and maintain that he possesses an autonomous will, saying, “He creates his own deeds, and Allah has no role in them.” This is the doctrine of the Muʿtazilah.

Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah take the balanced path. They hold that the servant indeed has choice and volition and acts by that choice, yet he never steps outside Allah’s decree and foreordainment. His actions are Allah’s creation, even as they are his own deeds and acquisitions. He is the one who commits sins and performs acts of obedience, while Allah is the One who has pre-measured them. Hence he is punished for his crimes and rewarded for his obedience. If he acted without any choice, there would be neither reward nor punishment. For that reason, the insane and the minor are not held accountable, and likewise the one who is coerced and thus devoid of choice is not answerable.