Compulsion or Freedom

Compulsion or Freedom
By Sayyed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi
The most vital difference amongst the Muslim sects; is the question of compulsion or freedom of man in his actions.
There are four groups:
1. The Mu'tazilah say that man is completely free to do whatever he wished, and that Cod has no power over his actions at all. This view is known as tafwiz delegation of power by God to man. This group is also known as Qadariyyah.
2. The Mujabbirah (also known as Jabriyyah) say that "man has no power over any of his actions. He is a tool in the hands of Allah like pen in our hand." This view is known as jabr-compulsion.
3. The Asha'irah say that man has no power or will of his own in his actions; but he still 'earns' or "acquires" the action. The term they use to describe their belief is kasb which literally means to earn, to acquire. What they actually mean is a riddle.
4. The Shi'ah Ithna-'Asharis says that man is neither completely independent of Allah nor compelled by Allah, but the actual position is between these two extremes. The Shi'ite belief is known as al-amr bayna '1-amrayn. This will be explained later on.
It will be seen that the theories of Mu'tazilah, the Mujabbirah and the Shi'ah are easily understood for what they stand. But the Ashairah's theory of kasb is as incomprehensible as the Christians' belief of three-in-one god. it is clear that they have used the term kasb as a mask to hide their actual belief which is completely identical to the Mujabbirah's belief of compulsion.
'Allamah Shibli Nu'mani, a famous Sunni scholar of India, says, "Those who were bold enough, openly adopted the belief in compulsion and came to be known as Jabriyyah. Those who were hesitent to use the word jabr, used the guise of 'kasb' and 'iradah'. This guise was invented by Abu '1-Hasan al-Ash'ari." I, therefore, will treat both the Jabriyyah and the Asha'irah as one.
And as the present days' Sunnis are all Asha'irah and as the topic under discussion is of vital importanca, I propose to deal with it in some detail.
THE SUNNIS' BELIEF
The position of the Sunnis in this respect has been explained by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali as follows: 'No act of any individual even though it is earned (kasb) by him, is independent of the will of Allah for its existence; and there does not occur in either the physical or the extra-terrestrial world the wink of an eye, the hind of a thought, or the most sudden glance, except by the decree of Allah, of His power, desire and will. This includes evil and good, benefit and harm, success and failure sin and righteousness, obedience and disobedience, polytheism and true belief."
It will not be out of place to mention that this belief was invented by, and under the influence of, Banu Umayyah to provide a respectable mask to their debauchery and tyranny As 'Allamah Shibli Nu'mani has admitted in his book 'Ilmu'l-Kalam:
"Although all the causes were present which were responsible for the differences in faith, yet the political differences started the ball rolling. The reign of Banu Umayyah was full of cruelty and bloodshed; and in reaction to that there was a Spirit of revolt among the common people. But the well-wishers of the government always silenced the people by saying that 'whatever happens takes place according to the will of Almighty, and as such people should not raise their voice at all. Everything was destined beforehand; and whatever happens, good or bad, happens according to the will of Allah; and we should bow down to that."
I think this disclosure-that the idea of jabr (and its disguised version known as 'kasb') was nothing but a weapon of tyrant rulers to subdue the oppressed masses-is more than enough to discredit this belief.
THE SHI'ITE BELIEF
1. Al-Amr Bayna '1-Amrayn
The Shi'ah Ithna-'Asharis, on the other hand, say that we know the difference between falling down from a roof-top and coming down by ladders. The second act is done by our own power, will and intention; while the falling down is not so. And we know that our actions are not like falling down from the roof-top; instead they are like coming down the ladder with out own will and power Therefore, what we do are our own actions and should not be attributed solely to Allah.
Again, we see that there are some of our actions for which we are either praised or blamed, while for other happenings we are neither praised nor condemned. It clearly shows that the first category is within our power and will, and the second category is beyond our wll and power. For example, we may be advised to treat an ailment in this or that way, but we cannot be advised to recover from the illness. It means that getting treatment is within our power, but getting well is not within the sphere of our activities.
Therefore, we say that there are many things and aspects of life which are within our power and will, while some others are not within our power, Those things for which we can be advised praised or blamed, are within our power and will. And the commandments of religion (the Shariah)' come under this category, because we have been advised or ordered to do this and not to do that, and because we are praised when we obey those commands and blamed when we disobey them. Therefore, it is absolutely wrong to say that our sins and righteousness, our obedience and disobedience, our true beliefs and wrong belief are by decree of Allah and His desire and will.
Shaykh as-Saduq says, "Allah possesses foreknowledge of human actions, but does not compel them to act in any particular manner"
But neither does this mean that man is completely independent of Allah. In fact, the power and will to act as we like is given to us by Allah. Thus Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said, "There is no compulsion (by Allah), nor is there absolute delegation of power (from Allah to man); but the real position is between these two extremes, al-amr bayna '1-amryan.
The following example clearly portrays this "middle position". Suppose a man's hand is totally paralysed to an extent that he cannot move even a finger A doctor has fitted an electrical device on his hand which, on being switched on, enables the man to use his hand freely in a normal way. The device is activated by a remote control which the doctor keeps in his own custody. When the doctor switches the device on, the man uses his hand in any way he intends, but when the device is off, he cannot do nothing. Now if the device is on and the patient does any work, can that work be attributed independently to him? No because the power comes from that device which is fully controlled by the doctor, Then can it be attributed to the doctor? No, because the man had done it by his own free will and choice. This is exactly the position of our activities. We are not under compulsion because the will and choice is ours; nor are we completely independent, because the power to do whatever we intend to do comes from God.'
And at what point does our ability to do things start? Imam Musa al-Kazim (peace be upon him) said, "A man acquires that ability when four conditions are fulfilled:1. when there is nothing to hinder his plans; 2. his health , 3. the faculties (needed for that work) are up to the required standard; and 4. Allah provides him the occasion of that work. When all these conditions are fulfilled, a man becomes capable of acting according to his own free will."
When asked for an example, the Imam said, "Let us suppose that there is a man, without any hindrance, of good health and proper strength; yet he cannot commit adultery unless he finds a woman. When he gets a woman (and the fourth condition is fulfilled), then it is up to him to choose one of the two alternatives: either he controls his evil emotions and saves himself as (Prophet) Yusuf did, or he commits adultery. If he protects himself from that sin, it will not be by compulsion of Allah (as some people think). And if he commits the sin, it does not mean that he was above the power of Allah (as others think)."
2. Predestination & the Day of Judgement
According to our point of view, if any one believes in predestination, then he cannot at the same time believe in the day of judgement (qiyamat). If Allah decrees every act which is done by us, then why should He inflict punishment upon us for those sins, evils and transgressions, for polytheism, disbelief and immoralities which He Himself predestined for us. It will be gross injustice.
Here is a talk of Imam Musa al-Kazim (peace be upon him) in his childhood with Imam Abu Hanifah, the founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni laws:-Abu Hanifah once went to meet Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him).
The Imam was inside his house and Abu Hanifah was waiting for him to come out. In the meantime, a small child came out and Abu Hanifah, just to pass some time, asked him, "0 child, from whom is the action of man?" The child at once said, "0 Abu Hanifah, there are only three imaginable sources:
either the man himself is the originator of his action; or God is the doer of that action; or both together are the originators of that action. Now if God is the doer of the actions of man, then why does He inflict punishment on man for the sins? Is it not injustice (zulm)? And Allah says, "Verily Allah is not unjust to His creatures." And if both man and God are partners in that crime, then is it not gross injustice that the powerful partner (i.e., Cod) punishes the weaker partner (i.e., man) for an action which both of them performed together? And as these two alternatives are proved to be illogical and impossible, the third theory is proved to be correct that man does his actions by his own power and will."I
Abu Hanifah kissed the forehead of the child. That child was Musa, later known as al-Kazim, the seventh Imam of the Shi'ahs.
3. Abu Hanifah' & Bahlul.
Imam Abu Hanifah, of course, believed that man does nothing by his own will apd power inspite of the clever and logical discourse 'Of Imam Musa al-Kizim, mentioned above, he did not change his belief. Once his heory led to a tragi-comic event.
Bahlul means wise and chief. It was the name of a famous companion of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq who lived up to the last days of Imam 'Ali an-Naqi and saw Imam Hasan al-'Askari also. As a twist of fate, he is commonly referred to as Bahlul 'Majnun' (Bahlul, the lunatic). This is so because he pretended to be insane in order to save himself from the responsibilities of judgeship offered to him by the Caliph Harun ar-Rashid. But, wise as he was, he took advantage of his supposed lunacy and always censured great people of his time (including the kings) for their short-comings.
Once he heard Imam Abu Hanifah (who lived in Kufa) telling his disciples that," I have heard three things from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq which I think are wrong." The disciples asked what those things were. Imam Abu Hanifah said:
"First of all, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq says that Allah cannot be seen. But it is wrong. If a thing does exist, then it must be seen. Secondly, he says that Satan will be punished in Hell. But it is absurd. Because Satan was created from fire: how can fire do any harm to a thing or person made of fire?
Thirdly, he says that a man's action is done by his will and power, and that he is responsible for it. But it is wrong because all the actions of man are done by Allah's will and power, and Allah is, actually, responsible for it."
The disciples' applaud had just begun when Bahlull took a lump of clay and sent it hurtling towards Abu Hanifah. It hit him on the forehead, he cried in anguish and pain. The disciples caught Bahlul, and Abu Hanifah took him to the judge.
The judge heard the complaint and asked Bahlul whether the allegation was true.
Bahlul: "0 Judge! Imam Abu Hanifah alleges that he is suffering from a searing pain in his head because of the clay which hit him. But I think he is lying. I cannot believe him until I see the pain."
Abu Hanifah: "You really are mad! How can I show you the pain? Has anybody ever seen a pain?"
Bahlull: "But 0 Judge, he was just teaching his disciples that if a thing does exist, then it must be seen. As he cannot show the pain, I submit that according to his own belief, he is not suffering from any pain at all"
Abu Hanifah: "Oh! my head is splitting because of the pain."
Bahlul: "0 Judge, there is another matter which I just remembered. He was also telling his disciples that as Satan is made of fire, the fire of Hell cannot do him any harm. Now man is made of clay, as the Qur'an says, and it was a lump of clay which hit him. I wonder how can he claim that a lump of Clay did harm to a man made of clay?"
Abu Hanifah: "0 Judge! Bahlul wants to go Scot free by his verbosity. Please, take my revenge from him."
Bahlul: "0 Judge, I think lmam Abu Hanifah has very wrongfully brought me in this court. He was just teaching his disciples that all the actions of man are done by Allah, and that Allah is responsible for those actions. Now, why did he bring me here? if he really is suffering from the effect of that lump of clay, he should file suit against Allah who did hit him with that clay. Why should a poor harmless person like me be brought to the court.
When all I am supposed to do was in fact done by Allah?"
The judge acquitted Bahlul.
Reference: ImamReza.net