Free will and Judgment in Islam

The belief in AlQadr by Muslims refers to the idea of predestination. It means everything in this world is done with the approval from Allah SWT. However, it does not imply the fact that the decisions and actions made by individuals are not free choices. Instead, the concept of predestination is related to the fact that Allah knows everything which is going to be done by the humans in this world.

1. Concept of Free Will

Allah SWT has said in Quran that,

The Lord has created and balanced all things and has fixed their destinies and guided them (Surah 87:2-3).

The concept of free will in Islam is critical for the basic purpose of making this world. Allah SWT has created the world in order to test the humankind which cannot be done until the free will is provided to the people. Therefore, humans have been given the authority to perform deeds according to their minds which will be judged by Allah SWT on the Day of Judgement. On that day, Allah SWT will reveal all the deeds of humans along with their beliefs to decide whether they will go to Jannah or Hell.

2. Human Nature and Free Will

The free will in Islam is associated with the things which Allah has already decided for us. Allah SWT has decided which person will be born in what area and to what family. Similarly, He has provided us the natural capabilities in different forms. For example, someone is good in scientific knowledge while other is a brilliant speaker. However, the concept of free will is inter-related with already associated things with the personality.

3. What is the Freewill which Humans Have?

The free will for humans in this world has two categories; World and Hereafter. Humans have the authority to put efforts into the capabilities which Allah SWT has provided him/her naturally. Due to this, we can observe many inventions and new things in the world. Similarly, it is due to the free will of the human that there are issues and problems for the other people. For example, it is human efforts that created the Atom Bomb which can be disastrous for billions of lives in the world.

The second category of free will in Islam is related to human nature and the life hereafter. It is entirely in the hands of humans on how to behave, what ethics to observe and the decisions that impact the lives of others. Every human who is involved in immoral activities can be observed to be taking decisions on its own. There is no internal force which is compelling the person to do it. Besides this, every human is provided with the natural consciousness regarding good or bad. Due to this, societies have made laws and regulations on what actions are legal or not.

Allah has delivered the message through his prophets that although I know everything, yet I will not involve my knowledge in this circle. Rather, I will let the humans choose their future by themselves. However, there some duties and restrictions made by Islam. If someone is looking to follow the path of Allah and his prophets then he/she has to follow these restrictions. This means although a person is free to choose his/her actions but if the purpose is to please Allah SWT then he/she has to avoid those actions which are disliked by its creator.

In Quran, Allah SWT has said that,

It is not fitting for a believing man or a believing woman to have an option in their affairs when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Prophet, and whoever disobeys Allah and His Prophet has indeed strayed into a clearly wrong path. (Surah 33:38)