The Generative Will of Action: This is Allah’s (awj) will in establishing the objective destiny and portion; that is, it pertains to the systems governing the cosmos, how things come about and operate, and their certain and definite ends This is manifested in the creation of creatures in different shapes, different ways, and in different times.
In the world of being, the Divine generative will governs the entire corpus of existents, including human beings, and as such, no creature has the will or choice to violate it, as is pointed out in the following verses:
“Then He turned to the heaven, and it was smoke, and He said to it and to the Earth, ‘Come! Willingly or unwillingly!’ They said, ‘We come heartily.’”[8];
and,
“There is none in the heavens and the earth but he comes to the All-beneficent as a servant.”[9]
The human being has been created as a willing and volitional creature based on the Divine generative will of action and thus cannot divest himself of free choice and will. So whether he likes it or not, he must act on his own accord, choose the path he desires to follow and determine his own fate. He has no choice in being a volitional creature, just as he has no say in choosing his parents, his gender, or his appearance.
The Legislative Will of Action. This will is identical with Divine legislation for the willing and volitional human being.[10] In the very act of lawmaking for humanity, no one can share the authority with Allah (awj) and no one is capable of changing the laws before they reach the people.
Therefore, the angels, prophets, and successors to the prophets are duty bound to convey to the people the exact rules revealed to them without the slightest change and to interpret and clarify them only in the framework designated by Allah (awj). It is in the stage of implementing these injunctions that the human being has been given the capacity to obey or disobey [on his own accord].
Hence, by making the right decision, the human being can conform his will to the will of Allah (awj), the Supreme, and being satisfied with the Divine generative will, can decide to abide unconditionally by the Divine legislative will thereby securing his final felicity and meriting the leisure and serenity of Paradise—to such an extent that Allah (awj) will satisfy his wishes, whatever they may be, very quickly;
“…but those who have faith and do righteous deeds will be in the gardens of paradise: they will have whatever they wish near their Lord. This is the greatest grace.”[11]
As they preferred Divine satisfaction over their own, Allah (awj) will in return be pleased with them and will reward them so abundantly that they would be happy with what they have done and with their Lord.[12]
Therefore, the human being can, on his own accord, will that which Allah (awj) wills and be satisfied with Allah’s (awj) existential and legislative satisfaction—refusing to want or to seek anything but that which Allah (awj) wants from him and that which He pleases.[13] In so doing, the human being has willed in accordance to the Divine generative and legislative wills, although the human will and potency themselves have been bestowed to the human being by this same Divine generative will, and as such his existence and will is an extension of the will and existence of Allah (awj). This concurrence entails no contradiction and thus is not impossible for it is not the concurrence of two complete causes in the generation of one effect.
At the same time, the human will and volition has not been denied to him. Rather, because Allah (awj) has given him the permission to will and choose, he determines what path he wants to follow and in doing so ends up willing what Allah (awj) has willed.
If the human being disobeys and violates the legislative will of Allah (awj), doing what Allah (awj) dislikes, he has done so on his own accord and as such, has headed towards an awful fate. But this disobedience is not a violation of Allah’s (awj) generative will, for He has, through His own generative will, created the human being willing and volitional, and as such has given him the capacity to defy His legislative will. Accordingly, this defiance does not signify the human being’s overcoming the will and power of Allah (awj). He can deprive the hopeless human being of his will and power whenever He desires and it is concerning this that He says,
“Do those who commit misdeeds suppose that they can out-manoeuvre Us? Evil is the judgment that they make.”[14]
To sum up: In the realm of generative will and the act of Divine legislation itself, the human will cannot exert any influence whatsoever, and hence the question of the concurrence of Divine will and human will does not arise at this stage.
When it comes to the level of abiding by the legislative will, the human will is ontologically an extension of Divine will. If he obeys the Divine injunctions, he has on his own accord aligned his desire to what Allah (awj) desires and as such, is pleased with the Divine generative will, and with this correct decision, has secured a felicitous end for himself. If he disobeys, if he does not make Allah’s (awj) desire his own desire, he has acted only to his own disadvantage, without in any way damaging the creation or harming Allah (awj) for Allah (awj) has through His generative will, granted him the capacity to defy and disobey but has at the same time, through His legislative will, warned him of the consequences.
Thus by making the wrong decision of disobeying Allah (awj), he has incurred Allah’s (awj) wrath. Although, he might arrogantly think that in doing so he has overcome Allah’s (awj) will, the reality of the matter is that the creature can never, even while disobeying, escape the Divine domain, power, and will. The creature is always in need of that Most Sacred Essence.
It is to this that the following verse speaks:
“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah; and whatever ill befalls you is from yourself.”[15]
Although in essence, everything is from Allah (awj) for nothing can occur without His consent, but the issue is that He does not deem misdeeds and evil appropriate for the human being, and it is the human being himself who, in misusing his free will, chooses evil.[16]
However we do admit that to conceive and comprehend the relationship of human volition to Divine will- i.e. the immutable cosmological system- is difficult. It is precisely for this reason that those who are not in touch with Divine revelation and the school of Ahlul Bayt (ع) have strayed to antipodal extremes in this regard.
One group, the Mu’tazilites, concluded that the human being has been granted absolute autonomy, and as such is the only agent involved in his actions—and for this they have been termed The Delegators[17]; another group, the Ash’arites, saw the human being as lacking any role in conducting his actions, hence being compelled in his actions, without free will and the right to choose- and for this they have been termed The Compelled Ones. But the truth and the right path is the intermediate path, that is, neither the theory of compulsion nor delegation.
The generative will of Allah (awj) concurs with human will in a vertical manner. If the human being obeys, the Divine legislative will and the human will are in harmony, but if he disobeys, his will and action are despised by Allah (awj). But the latter does not imply liberation from Divine dominion and sovereignty or the overcoming of the will and power of Allah (awj). Such disobedience only signifies being removed from Divine mercy as a result of the individual’s own misuse of volition and free will.
Notes:
[3] Surat al-Takwir (81), Verse 29:
} وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشَآءَ اللٌّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ {
also see Surat al-Insan (76), Verses 30-31:
} وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشَآءَ اللٌّهُ إِنَّ اللٌّهَ كَانَ عَلِيماً حَكِيماً. يُدْخِلُ مَنْ يَشَآءُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ وَالظَّالِمِينَ أَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً {
[4]Surat al-Najm (53), Verse 39:
} وَ أَنْ لَّيسَ لِلإِنْسَانِ إِلاَّ مَا سَعـى{
[5]Surat al-Fussilat (41), Verse 46:
} مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحاً فَلِنَفْسِهِ وَ مَنْ أَسَآءَ فَعَلَيْهَا وَ مَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلاَّمٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ{
[6] For this would mean that the human being is independent of Allah (awj) in his existence. (Tr.)
[7] The reason why this is being said here is that those who have refuted the concurrence of Divine will with human will have first assumed that the only manner in which two causes can concur is if they were parallel in their agency and causation. And because this type of concurrence is obviously impossible, they concluded that the human being is independent in his will. While their mistake stems from their lack of conceiving two or more causes related in a vertical and hierarchical manner; i.e. cause B receiving its existence and efficacy from cause A; and cause C in turn receiving its existence and efficacy from cause B, and so on. (Tr.)
[8]Surat al-Fussilat (41), Verse 11:
} ثُمَّ اسْـتَوَى إِلـى السَّمَآءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلأَرْضِ اِئْـتِـيَا طَوْعاً أَوْ كَرْهاً قَالَـتَا أَتَـيْـنَا طَائِعِينَ {
[9] Surat Maryam (19), Verse 93:
} إِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمٌوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ إِلاَّ آتِي الرَّحْمٌنِ عَبْداً {
[10] That is, this concept is abstracted from the act of legislation itself and externally has no instance but the legislation itself. However, the human mind abstracts it from the concept of legislation itself and treats it as a different entity, although externally both concepts refer to the same thing. (Tr.)
[11]Surat al-Shura (42), Verse 22:
} وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فِي رَوْضَاتِ الْجَنَّاتِ لَهُمْ مَا يَشَآءُونَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ ذٌلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الكَبِيرُ {
Also see: Surat Qaf (50), Verse 35; Surat al-Nahl (16), Verse 31; Surat al-Zumar (39), Verse 34; Surat al-Furqan (25), Verse 16
[12]Surat al-Bayyinah (98), Verse 8:
} جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَداً رَضِيَ اللٌّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذٌلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ {
Also see: Surat al-Mujadalah (58), Verse 22; Surat al-Tawbah (9), Verse 100; Surat al-Ma’idah (5), Verse 119
[13]Surat al-Insan (76), Verse 30; Surat al-Takwir (81), Verse 29:
} وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشَآءَ اللٌّهُ{
[14] Surat al-’Ankabut (29), Verse 4:
} أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّـيِِّـئَاتِ أَنْ يَسْبِقُونَا سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ {
Also see: Surat al-Zumar (39), Verse 51:
} فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّـئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَالَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْ هٌؤُلاَءِ سَيُصِيبُهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَمَا هُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ {
[15]Surat al-Nisa` (4), Verse 79:
} مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللٌّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّـئَّةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ...{
[16] Surat al-Nisa` (4), Verses 78-79:
} ...وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُوا هٌذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللٌّهِ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّـئَّةٌ يَقُولُوا هٌذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللٌّهِ ... مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللٌّهِ وَمَــا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَّةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ... {
[17] The name arises from the fact that they assume that Allah (awj) has delegated His authority to the human being in the realm of his volitional actions and so He does not take part in human actions. (Tr.)
