The issue of free will and Predestination is a ancient philosophical debate. We have covered it before here. For many, they understand the notion of free will, it makes sense, we would have to have free will for us to be responsible for our deeds. We also feel it, when we choose to do something, we can feel the agency in ourselves. So why not just say we have complete free will? What is the non-free will element in humanity?
Types of Will and Predestination
The issue of compulsion of will, seems on the surface to be a non issue. It was the position of the Mu’tazila to have complete free will, and the Jabarites to have complete compulsion. The Asharites, the majority ancient sect effectively choose the compulsion path, but then added some caveats after receiving criticism and created (ironically) a new strange scenario called “occasionalism”. I feel this is more of a way out of the philosophical trap they have manufactured for themselves. There is also the differentiation between good deeds and bad deeds.
Here is a table summarizing the classical positions :
| Theological Issue | Shia (Imami) | Ash‘ari | Mu‘tazili |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who creates human actions? | Allah creates the ability, opportunity, means; human creates the act through choice. | Allah creates the act itself. Human does not create anything. (This is functional jabr.) | Human creates his own acts. Allah has no direct creation in human acts. |
| Is the human truly free? | Yes, partial freedom — “a matter between two matters” (neither compulsion nor total independence). | No real freedom — human only “acquires” (kasb) the act after Allah creates it. | Yes, full freedom — human has total control over his acts. |
| Role of God in good deeds | Major role: gives tawfīq, guidance, strength → but human chooses. | Total role: Allah creates the good deed entirely. | Minimal role: provides initial faculties only. |
| Role of God in evil deeds | 0% creation; God does not compel or create evil. Human is fully responsible. | Allah creates the evil act just like good — human only acquires it. | 0% creation; human creates it alone (independent of God). |
| Human responsibility for good deeds | Shared (Allah’s support + human choice) | Almost none — Allah created the act. | Full responsibility |
| Human responsibility for evil deeds | 100% — human chose it, God did not support it. | Human “acquires” what Allah created; responsibility is asserted but logically weak. | 100% |
| Qur’anic proof used | “There is no compulsion…”, “Whoever does good…”, “Whatever good comes to you is from Allah; whatever evil comes to you is from yourselves.” | “Allah creates everything…” (39:62), “You do not will unless Allah wills.” | “God does not wrong people but they wrong themselves.” |
| Key theological slogan | الأمر بين الأمرين (al-amr bayn al-amrayn): a middle path. | الكسب (kasb): acquisition, not creation. | التفويض (tafwīḍ): delegation — human acts are independent. |
| Critique of the doctrine | Rejects both extremes: jabr and tafwīḍ. | Widely criticised as “jabr in disguise.” | Accused of making humans creators independent of God. |
| Primary learned from | Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (a) | al-Ash‘arī, al-Baqillānī, Ghazālī, Rāzī | Wāṣil ibn ʿAṭā, ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd |
The three ways in which Humans are Compelled
So we where does compulsion start and finish? It must be subtle as, if we have an overwhelming force of compulsion on us, then we have no free will, and our responsibilities for our deeds also diminishes. As the table shows, there is a nuance here, the compulsion element from God is in the good deeds only. So here is how the compulsion happens and to what degree.
- Fitrah – A natural inbuilt instinct to do what is generally and simply seen as good. Eg don’t steal, help the sick, care for the young.
- Religion Commands it – God sent prophets with guidance, and explained the good, and the benefits.
- The promise of Reward and Punishment. – doing what is good is rewarded, and doing what is bad is punished.
So for example, the position we have is this. God made us naturally incline to what is good, he then explained it to our rational senses using religion, then said if you can do that, you get rewarded.
So for example, if I was a teacher in school and I made children practice picking up litter for 1 week, so it became a habit, then told then the benefits of picking up litter, such as tidy place, avoiding tripping on things. Then said if you pick up litter, I will give you sweets at the end of the week. If a child then goes on to pick up litter, did I force them? Were they compelled? One would have to say “no, but..”
Free Will , but not Free Want?
So as we described above, the claim is not really that God has compelled us, eg removed our free will, but rather he has compelled us to want to do good.
Husayn ibn Ali al-Washsha’ from Hammad ibn ‘Uthman from Abu Basir from Abu ‘Abdillah 
, who said:
“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.”
Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu‘alla ibn Muhammad from al- Husayn ibn Ali al-Washsha’ the following from abu al-Hassan al-Rida ,:
“Once I asked the Imam , ‘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.’”
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hassan Za‘lan from abu Talib al-Qummi from a man, from Abu ‘Abdillah who said:
“I asked the Imam , ‘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.’”
Muhammad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah has narrated from Husayn ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Yahya from those he has narrated from, from abu ‘Abd Allah , who said the following:
“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 , 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.’”