Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

LESSON SEVENTEEN: THE MEANING OF THE ONENESS OF THE GOD

Introduction

The word monotheism from the lexical point of view means ‘oneness or unity ’, but in philosophy, scholastic theology, ethics (akhlāq), and mysticism it has been applied with various different meanings. However it gives the same basic meaning in all of these sciences, but when viewed from different aspects it can be regarded differently, such as ‘the different forms of oneness’ or ‘the different levels oneness’. The investigation of these offshoots cannot be comprised in these writings.

Therefore from this angle it is sufficient enough that we bring the most significant and befitting arguments for our explanation:

The negation of plurality

The initial and distinguished meaning of monotheism is that very believing in the unity of God and negation of plurality and multiplicity outside its essence. This belief is in complete opposition to polytheism, and the belief in two or more gods who are independent and apart in their existence from each other.

The negation of composition

he second terminological meaning of monotheism is to believe in oneness, and to believe that the essence is self-evident and not composed of actual or potential parts.

This meaning is usually interpreted as the negative attributes (al-sifāt al-salbiyyah) (mentioned in lesson ten), because our mind is more familiar with compositional concepts as compared to the concept of self-evidence.

a. The negation of attributes as additional to the essence

The third meaning of monotheism is to believe in the unity of the attributes of essence with the essence of God Himself, and the negation of considering the attributes as being additional to the essence. This is known as the unity of Divine attributes (tawhīd al-sifāti). Furthermore this Divine unity of attributes in the traditional texts is known as the negation of attributes, which is in opposition to those Ashirites (ashā’irah) who have regarded the Divine attributes as additional to the Divine essence, and believed in the Eight Ancients (qudama al-thamāniyah).

The proof for the unity of Divine attributes is that, if all of the Divine attributes have separate referents or affirmations then they can be solely imagined through a few possibilities:

It would be either that the referents or affirmations would be assumed to be within the Divine essence, which necessitates the Divine essence being compound, and this we have already proved as being impossible.

Or that the referents are imagined to be outside the Divine essence, and are regarded as possible existents. However if they were assumed as being necessary existents then it would bring about plurality in the essence and polytheism, which cannot be considered by any Muslim. However if they are assumed as being possible existents then it means that the Divine

essence, which is deficient of those attributes, has created them and has then later been given them. For example the essence even after lacking ‘life’ creates an existent by the name of life and through this creation the essence comes to life, the same is the case for knowledge and power.

It is impossible for the cause that bestows existence to be deficient of the perfections of creation. More significantly the provision of its creation and the cause that bestows existence retains life, knowledge and power, and is also attributed with the different attributes of perfection!

By the nullification of these assumptions it becomes clear that the Divine attributes do not have distinctive referents and are not separated from the Divine essence. On the other hand they are single self-evident concepts abstracted from the Divine almighty essence.

b. The unity of Divine actions

The fourth terminology used for monotheism, which in the parlance of philosophy and scholastic theology is known as the unity of Divine actions, is that God the Almighty is self- sufficient in His works, He does not need anybody or anything and no existent can aid Him.

This subject is proven with the understanding of the peculiarities of the cause that bestows existence, which is self-existing when compared to its effects, because the effect of this particular cause with all its existence is dependent upon this cause. This is known in philosophical terminology as the manifestation of need and dependence (‘ayn al-rabt wa-l-ta’alluq) to the cause and the effect does not have any independence of its own.

In other words:

Everything that is actualised is because of Him and is obedient to the realm of power, sovereignty, and true and original mastership. The power and mastership of others is in line with Divine power and an offshoot of it. The ownership of a slave’s (‘abd) possessions is perpendicular to the ownership of his master. Hence how can it be possible that God the Supreme requires aid from someone who with all its existence is dependent upon Him.

c. Independent effectuality

The fifth meaning of monotheism is independent effectuality. This means that the Divine creation is not independent from God and the influences that are made by them (the creation) are with the permission of God and under the strength that has been provided by God the Supreme. The only existent that can influence independently - without the aid of any other creation - and in all time and space is the Divine essence of God. The actions and influences of others are vertical to the influences and actions of Him and are at the dispersal of God the Supreme.

On this base, the Noble Qur’an associates the actions in nature and in the corporeal world (like the ownership of humans and jinn) to God. For instance a tree giving fruit, or the falling of rain and emergence of a plant from a seed are all related to God. The Qur’an continuously emphasises that humans must focus upon and realise that these actions in the natural and corporeal world are parallel with the actions God.

In order to bring our mind towards the realisation of this reality we have brought the following relative example:

If a supervisor of a firm orders his workers to undertake a project, and the project reaches success, the credit will go to the supervisor, even though the instrumentality of the project was in the hands of the workers. The supervisor is referred to as the intelligent and effective agent, due to accomplishment of the project.

The original action is also comprised of consequent levels, and from this aspect Divine Will establishes the existence of every agent. From another view they are like mental forms, which are established by the one who imagines. From this point of view the influences of every agent and of the one who influences on a higher level is dependent upon the Divine original will and permission of God:

“[This is] as Allah has wished! There is no power except by Allah!” (al-Kahf:39).

d. The two important results achieved

The result of the unity of Divine action is that nothing other than God deserves worship, because as we have indicated before, a being does not deserve to be worshipped by just being a creator or a lord. In other words Divinity (ulūhiyyah) is the necessary condition of lordship and creatorship.

From another angle, the result of monotheism in the latter meaning is that the entirety of human reliance must be upon God, and in all of works He must be trusted and solely from Him help must be requested. Man’s fear and hope ought to be from Him, and when the sources for the completion of needs are out of reach, one must not despair, because God is capable of furnishing all needs from His distinctive and hidden source.

Living under such monotheistic circumstances results in mankind enjoying a special Divine authority (wilāyah) and having a unique and tranquil soul:

“Look! The friends of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve” (Yūnus:62). These two results have already been placed in the verse that a Muslim recites at-least ten times a day:

“You [alone] do we worship, and You [alone] do we turn for help” (al-Fātiha:62).

e. The resolution of a doubt

It is possible that one may question, that if the necessity of perfect monotheism is that humans seek help exclusively from God, they should not then seek intercession from the saints of God.

The answer to this is that if by seeking intercession from the friends of God in the meaning that they are independent and without the permission of God, acts or fulfills the need of the seeker; this type of intercession is not harmonious with monotheism.

However if it is the case that they are the means through which the bounties and mercies of God can be reached, and then there is no contradiction in it. On the other hand these intercessions are considered as the illustrations of monotheism in worship, and obedience, because it has been originated from His command.

Nevertheless, someone may question as to why has God regulated these types of intercession? And as to why God has ordained humans to seek intercession from His saints? The answer to these questions would be that the command of God is with wisdom and the wisdom behind these ordinances can be categorised in the following way:

For the recognition and understanding of the great station of servanthood, motivation for others in the performance of worship and obedience, which are the means of reaching this station.

In order to prevent those who become arrogant from their worship and consider themselves as having a position and station in the realm of perfection.

This trait had been found to be in those who have departed from the Divine authority of the Prophet’s household (a) (ahlul-bayt).

Questions:

1- Give the terminological and lexical meaning of monotheism.

2- What is the proof for the unity of divine attributes?

3- How can one establish the unity of divine actions?

4- Explain the meaning of monotheism through independent effectuality.

5- What are the two most significant results?

6- Is seeking intercession from the saints of God considered as contradictory to monotheism? Why?

7- What is the wisdom behind God’s decree for seeking intercession?

LESSON EIGHTEEN: FREEWILL AND DETERMINISM

Introduction

As indicated in the previous lesson, monotheism in independent effectuality is of significance in the Islamic sciences, which substantially play a great role in the composition of man. Due to this very fact the Noble Qur’an has emphasised upon this subject several times in different occasions. The Noble Qur’an, in order for the correct realisation of this issue has created distinctive grounds and regarded all phenomena to be dependent upon the Will, consent, and the Divine decree and destination of God.

However true realisation of this subject requires intellectual capacity and developed thinking, and from another side it requires correct teaching and explanation. Those who fall short in their intellectuality or those who did not utilise the teachings of the Infallibles, who were the true interpreters of the Noble Qur’an, deviated and presumed that monotheism in independent effectuality means that all causation is specified to God. They illustrated the negation of all causation from any intermediary cause, such as the existence of heat is parallel to the existence of fire or the existence of becoming quenched is created correspondently to drinking. In other words there is no effect of fire upon heat or the drinking of water upon being quenched, and these imaginations are totally against the clearly defined and undisputed verses of the Noble Qur’an.

The unfortunate effect of this intellectual perversion is manifested when the actions and capabilities of man are investigated. This means that the result of this investigation is that all human actions are entitled to God and human activity with regards to its action is completely negated, and due to this, none can be considered as responsible for their action.

In other words: one of the destructive conclusions of this distorted thinking is fatalism and the negation of responsibility for man, which means denying the most important characteristic of the human soul. Furthermore this assumption also becomes absurd and vain for any ethical, legal, and educational system and likewise for the Divine Islamic legislative system. If man does not have any freewill or choice for his actions then there will be no question of responsibility, reward or chastisement for the actions performed. It also necessitates the absurdity and purposelessness of the universe.

However, from the noble verses, the immaculate traditions and intellectual arguments, one can understand the purposefulness of the universe. The purposefulness of the universe is to create grounds where humans by their activity, out of freewill, carry out their worship and obligation towards God and reach high levels of perfection, proximity to the Divine and acquire unique mercies from God.

Besides, if there were no such thing as human volition then there would be no meaning of responsibility. There would also be no eternal recompense or bounties for the actions provided. Furthermore the purpose for creation would be defective resulting in the mechanism of creation being as a puppet

show, where humans are the puppets acting without any determination, and at the end of the day some are rewarded and some are punished for their actions!

The substantial cause for the expansion of these inclinations was the evil political desires of the tyrannical regimes, which nullified and rectified their ill actions and behaviours and hampered resistance from over throwing them.

From another angle, those who were aware of the weak elements of this thought but had no vision of how to associate between absolute monotheism and the negation of determinism and were also remote or did not benefit from the teachings of the Prophet’s household (a), acknowledged delegation. They regarded human activity to be completely out of the realm of Divine activity. This itself become another branch of distorted thought, which deprived them from achieving great results from the Islamic sciences.

However those who had the capacity to recognise this knowledge, and were aware of the rightful teachers and interpreters of the Qur’an, saved themselves from this distortion. They regarded their free-activity as being due to the power that God had granted them and accepted the responsibility, which was derived from it. From another standpoint they accepted the Divine independent effectuality on a higher level and realised the outcomes of this great wisdom.

In the enlightening traditions of the household of the Prophet (a) under the section of freewill, capability (istitā’ah), Divine decree and destiny, we find the denial and negation of determinism and predestination. Also there are many narrations, which have ordered disqualified individuals to avoid delving too deeply into these issues, to prevent deviation and misunderstanding.

The issue of Divine decree and destiny comes in different dimensions, which requires an independent research and investigation that cannot be compounded to this writing.

However by focusing upon the importance of this subject we will be outwardly discussing this issue. Those who are interested in the precise details of this subject, and its intellectual principles must refer to the detailed discussions in philosophy.

The explanation of human volition

The power to decide and choose is one of the most obvious factors for man, because every man by presence is aware of these qualities, which are undoubtedly identical to other psychological qualities. In addition to this, even if he doubts, then the existence of the doubt itself is understood by the (knowledge of) presence. Hence in this case it becomes impossible for him to doubt with regards to these dispositions.

Likewise every individual who is the slightest bit observant can realise whether he is willing to speak or not, or whether he wants to wave his hand or not and if he wants to eat or does not want to eat etc.

The decision-making in order for carrying out an act is seldom dependent upon the animalistic instincts such as hunger that intends food or thirst that desires one to drink water. Occasionally this may be prompted from the intellect and ambitions, such as an ill person taking a bitter pill in order to

gain health or avoiding a certain type of tempting food to remain healthy, or a student on the path of knowledge who for unveiling the truths shuts himself away from the materialistic pleasures and faces numerous difficulties, or a sincere soldier who even sacrifices his life for reaching high levels of objectiveness in offering.

In reality the humanistic value is only known when a prohibition occurs and an individual in order to reach moralistic excellence, eternal spiritual perfections, and proximity towards the Divine acceptance, shuns the animalistic and low desires.

Every action provided that, if it is determined with greater awareness and freewill has more effect upon the ascent and the descent of a soul depending on the realisation of the action.

It is unquestionably correct to say that the capacity of resisting the low desires of the soul in every individual is not at the same level, though more or less man benefits from this Divine gift of volition and will. However through a sufficient amount of effort and extra practice, one can improve the capacity for opposing the lowly desires through this Divine bestowal.

Therefore there is no reason for being skeptical with regards to the existence of human volition (freewill) and will, and one must not become confused with distinctive arguments and doubts that are posited upon this self-evident subject.

Nevertheless, as indicated earlier, human volition is considered as a self-evident principle in the educational, ethical, and religious systems. Hence if this were not the case then there would be no meaning to recompense and chastisement.

The cause for the deviation from this self-evident truth and inclination towards the concept of determinism (fatalism) is due to some spurious doubts, which must be answered so that there is no place left for confusions and suspicions. For this reason we will be attending briefly to these spurious doubts below.

a. The resolution of spurious doubts concerning determinism

The most substantial arguments of fatalism are as follows:

1. The will of man takes it form due to the stimulation of intrinsic and internal tendencies. The existence of these tendencies is neither in control of man nor the stimulation of it through external means. Thus there is no room for human volition and determination.

The answer to this is that the agitation of internal tendencies creates the grounds for the will and decision-making, but does not make the decision to carry out the action. The only way that it will be considered as a compulsion is when there is deprivational steadfastness. The proof for this is that when we are in the process of decision-making, we calculate the pros and cons of the decision or we hesitate in making a decision.

2. On the basis of the various sciences, it has been proven that tendencies are hereditary and also that the environmental and social surroundings determine their configuration. The difference in the mannerisms and behaviour of man is due to the very fact that there is diversity in the human social and environmental surroundings.

This very reality more or less is also accepted in the religious documents, thus on these bases one cannot accept that the actions of man emanates from freewill.

The answer to this argument raised is that the acceptance of freewill and will does not mean the denial of these aspects of tendencies, but it means that humans even after being effected by these environmental, social, and hereditary conditions can still resist and decide at the time of the arousal of inclinations. It is certain that the requirement of the struggle against these tendencies requires much pain and hardship, due to the fact that these are more effective towards achieving perfection, and the rewards after passing these troubles are always bigger. Also these psychological complexes and difficulties may affect the level of punishment, diminishing it.

3 Another one of the spurious doubts of the determinist is that God the Supreme has knowledge of the entire phenomena and actions of man before they act upon it, and that the knowledge of God is impeccable. Therefore all of the actions have to take place according to the eternal knowledge of God, and departure from them is impossible. On this basis there is no room for freewill and choice for man. The answer to this doubt would be that the knowledge of God is implicated with every action that takes place and the attribute of man being free in his decision-making or having the freewill is also known by God. Hence if determinism is established then it will be against divine knowledge. For example, God the Supreme is aware of an action that an individual is going to take in a certain situation, not only that but God is also aware of the relationship of this action with the will and freewill of that agent (individual). Therefore the knowledge of God does not contradict the freewill and will of man. Another doubt of the fatalist is with regards to the divine decree and destination, which according to them is not compatible with human freewill, and hence we will be discussing this subject in the following lesson.

Questions:

1. Explain the cause for the inclination towards fatalism.

2. What are the distorted effects of this thought?

3. Explain briefly the freewill and will of man.

4. Do the internal tendencies contradict with freewill? Why?

5. What are the differences between those who are influenced by the difficult circumstances and complicated psychological conditions, and those who are not?

6. Do the genetically, social and environmental surroundings effect freewill? Why?

7. Does the knowledge of God contradict the thought of freewill? Why?

LESSON NINETEEN: DIVINE DECREE AND DESTINY

The concepts of destiny and decree

The term destiny (qadar) means dimension and pre-determination (taqdīr) means measurement, and measuring and building something to determine a size. The term decree (qadā’) is used in the meaning of bringing to an end, finishing, and judgement (which, figuratively, is a kind of finishing of finishing). Occasionally decree and destiny are used as synonyms in the sense of destiny (masīr).

By destiny it is implied that God has decided the limits and dimensions, time and space, quantity and quality of the phenomena, which are established through the influence of gradual causes and agents. Likewise decree is known as the final and inevitable termination of a phenomenon after creating their grounds and conditions.

According to these definitions the classification of divine destiny is prior to the classification of divine decree and they are comprised of hierarchical degrees, which include conditions that are immediate, intermediary, and remote and by the innovation of some means and conditions they are transformed. For example the gradual development of a foetus from a sperm to an embryo goes through different stages, which includes distinctive time and space, and finally its deliverance, which is considered from the realm of its destiny. However the classification of instant decree is related to the generation of all factors and conditions and at the same time it is inevitable as the Noble Qur’an has referred:

“And when He decides on a matter, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is”(al-Baqarah :117).

As has already been indicated, occasionally decree and destiny are used as synonyms, and due to this it is divided into certain and uncertain, and from this aspect we find in our traditions and supplications that the decree can be averted through giving charity, supplication and strengthening the blood-kinship.

Objective determination and epistemic-determination

Occasionally the divine pre-determination (taqdīr) and decree are known as the knowledge of God, with regards to the conditions and grounds for the birth and actualisation of a phenomenon. This is named as epistemic-decree, and destiny (qada’ wa qadar ‘ilmi). Similarly the objective decree and destiny (qada’ wa qadar ‘ayni) are known to be related to the gradual evolution of a phenomenon and its realisation in the realm of the external world (its materialisation).

On the accounts of the traditions and the noble verses of the Qur’an, all knowledge with regards to the past and present realisation and future actualisation of the phenomenon in the external world is epitomised upon ‘the safe tablet’ (lawh mahfūz). Those by the permission of the Divine have access to the ‘tablet’ and are aware of the past and future of things. Furthermore there are other tablets of lesser degree in which the incomplete and conditional futuristic knowledge is present.

Those who are aware of this have limited information, which is susceptible to substitution. Apparently the following noble verse asserts upon these two forms of destinies sarnevest}:

“Allah effaces and confirms whatever He wishes and with Him is the Mother of the Book” (al-Ra’d:39).

Alteration in the conditional destinies is known as change (badā) in an earlier ruling in the religious text.

At any instance believing in the epistemic-decree and destiny will not influx any enigmas other than that of Divine eternal knowledge (‘ilm azali). In our previous lessons we have refuted those fatalistic arguments with relation to Divine knowledge.

However believing in the objective decree and destiny, and particularly believing in determined destiny will influx several doubts and enigmas, which must be resolved.

Nevertheless a brief answer was provided in the discussions on independent effectuality.

The relation of destiny and decree to human volition

We know that the requirement for believing in the Divine objective decree and destiny is that all phenomena from beginning to end, and even the conditions of actualisation are subservient to the wise design of God the Supreme. Furthermore the reaching of this phenomenon to its final stage is also in consonance with the Divine will.

In other words the existence of every phenomenon is related to Divine will, without which no existent can come into being. Likewise the beginning of everything is based upon the Divine decree, without which no existent would take the limited forms or reach its (end) final stage. The explanation of these relationships and constituents in reality is the gradual teachings of the oneness of God. This in the meaning of it being independent in effectuality, which is of the foremost level and plays an important role in the being and becoming of man, as indicated in our previous lessons.

However the proving of the origination of a phenomenon by the authorisation of God and even by the will of God is perhaps easier than the final stages of a phenomenon entangled with the Divine decree, which requires more complex proofs. Besides, it is difficult to combine the belief in Divine decree with human volition (free-will) in the building of one’s own future. For this reason the school of the theological scholars (ash’arites) who acknowledge the Divine decree, have inclined towards determinist thought, and those who could not maintain this thought, have completely denied it and accepted absolute human volition. Moreover, they have interpreted all of those verses and the traditions opposing their thought, which can be seen in their detailed books relating to this topic.

The genuine doubt mentioned, is that if human acts in reality are based upon the will of man, then how can one establish the relationship between it and Divine decree?

And if it is grounded upon Divine decree, then how can it be known to be the choice of man or be complied with human volition?

Hence on this basis, for the refutation of doubt and for the combination of human volition and Divine will, one must demonstrate the different

proofs for proving that an effect can have several causes in a way that the different voluntary actions (f ‘al) of man are related to human volition and also to Divine decree.

a. Different types of influences from distinctive causes

The effect of several causes in the appearance of a phenomenon can be imagined in the following ways:

1. Certain cause next to each other or together make an influence such as the mixing of water, grain and temperature etc. that influences the seed to sprout and grow into a plant.

2. Each and every one of the causes influence a phenomenon periodically during the stretch of its (a phenomenon’s) life such as the flight of an aircraft is dependent or influenced periodically by several machines.

3. The effect, which results from certain causes due to the sequential inducement, such as the effect of the intention of man to write upon the hand and the effect of the hand upon the pen.

4. The effect, resulting from certain vertical causes in such a fashion that each and every one of them depends on other causes (existence). This is contrary to the assumption above were the pen was not dependent upon the hand and the hand was not contingent upon the intention.

In all of these forms certain causes were required for the formation of an effect, hence the effect of Divine will and human will upon the voluntary action of man pertains to these realities.

However, the combination of two separate causes upon an effect (or for the origination of an effect) is not possible, taking into consideration that the causes are those which bestow existence (‘illah muwjidah), or if there is a combination of two causes, the combination of which, is impossible.

b. Resolution of a doubt

With the explanation which has been provided, it has become clear that relating the voluntary actions of man to God the Supreme is not contradictory, however Divine will and human will are considered as being parallel to each other.

In other words, the contingency of the action and the agent is on one level, however their existence is compared to God the Supreme on a higher level, in such a way that the existence of man and the existence of the matter is dependent upon Him.

The influence of human-will as being a part of a complete cause in the accomplishment of a work does not contradict the thought that all parts of the complete cause are acknowledged to God. It is God who has the power in his hand by which He gives the existence to man, the universe and to all affairs, there is nothing that can be considered as being independent from Him. The voluntary actions of man are also dependent and not beyond the radius of the Divine will. Therefore these two wills are not horizontal to each other and it is not impossible for them to co-exist.

Human will in its very existence is dependent upon Divine will and the Divine will is necessary for the realisation (actualisation) of any action:

“But you do not wish unless it is wished by Allah, the Lord of all the worlds” (al-Takwīr:29).

c. The influence of belief upon destiny and decree

To believe in Divine destiny and decree other than it being a reason for the perfection of man in the dimension of the intellect, also has a tremendous effect upon the actions of man. Some of these actions have already been discussed, however we will mention a few more below:

One, who believes in the return of all occurrences to the wise will of God, which is related to the Divine decree and destiny, will never be afraid or confused with regards to these occurrences. Furthermore such a person will not despair at fear and suffering, but will see such incidents as the Divine plan of God, and will gladly receive them and master the great art of patience, trust, consent, and submission. Moreover the joys and the status of the world, which leads towards arrogance and intoxication, will not carry him away. These are those very effects, which the Noble Qur’an has mentioned:

“No affliction visits the earth or yourselves but it is in a Book before We bring it about -that is indeed easy for Allah- so that you may not grieve for what escapes you, nor exult for what comes your way, and Allah does not like any swaggering braggart” (al-Hadīd:22- 23).

In every instance one must remember that the false understanding of the issue of destiny and decree or independent effectuality will result in the acceptance of oppression, irresponsibility and indolence. However one must know that the felicity and success and also the eternal misfortune of man are the outcomes of his actions. As the Noble Qur’an has mentioned:

“Whatever [good] it earns is to its benefit, and whatever [evil] it incurs is to its harm” (al-Baqarah:286).

“And that nothing belongs to man except what he strives for” (al-Najm:39).

Questions:

1. Give the lexical meaning of decree and destiny.

2. What is meant by Divine decree?

3. Why is Divine decree and destiny separated into certain and uncertain?

4. What is appearance (badā)?

5. Explain objective and epistemic decree and destiny?

6. What is the ‘guarded tablet’ and what is its relationship to the certain and uncertain destiny?

7. Explain the difficulties of combining human volition with Divine decree and destiny. Briefly explain the deviation of the school of the Asharite theologians.

8. What are the different types of influences upon an effect?

9. How can the doubt of the fatalist be refuted with regards to divine destiny and decree?

10. What is the influence of belief upon Divine decree and destiny?