📖 Free to believe
The Qur'an says that the truth is from your Lord, so let whoever wills believe and whoever wills disbelieve (Qur'an 18:29). It also says that Allah showed human beings the way, whether they are grateful or ungrateful (Qur'an 76:3).
Muslim Beliefs about the Universe and Human Beings » Al-Qadr: Free Will and Predestination in Islam
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 1.4 (Islam)
- What Muslims mean by al-Qadr, and what they believe Allah has decreed
- How Muslims hold predestination and free will together
- The different emphases of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims
- Why Muslims say 'insha'Allah', and why they believe people are judged for their actions
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Unlock This CourseAl-Qadr: Allah's decree
In Free Will, Determinism and Predestination you met predestination: the religious idea that God has already decided what will happen. Islam has its own teaching on this, called al-Qadr.
The Arabic word qadr means 'measure'. The Qur'an says that Allah created everything in due measure (Qur'an 54:49). Muslims believe nothing takes Allah by surprise and nothing happens outside his power.
Key terms:
- Al-Qadr: Allah's decree. The belief that Allah knows and has measured out everything that happens.
- Insha'Allah: 'if Allah wills'. Said by Muslims when they speak about the future.
- Tawakkul: trusting in Allah after doing your own best.
- Fatalism: giving up on effort because 'it is all decided anyway'.
- Adalat: the justice of Allah. One of the five roots of religion for Shi'a Muslims.
Muslims often explain al-Qadr in four steps:
- Allah knows. He knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen.
- Allah has written. The Qur'an says that no disaster strikes the earth or a person unless it was in a record before it happened (Qur'an 57:22). Many Muslims call this record the Preserved Tablet.
- Allah wills. Nothing happens unless Allah allows it.
- Allah creates. Everything that exists is made by him.
The Qur'an tells believers to say that nothing will happen to them except what Allah has decreed for them (Qur'an 9:51). Many Muslims find comfort in this when life is hard.
The limits of human freedom
Muslims believe a person does not choose everything. Nobody picks when or where they are born, their parents, their body or their natural talents. Nobody picks the time of their death either. The Qur'an says that no soul can die except by Allah's permission, at a fixed time (Qur'an 3:145).
The Qur'an also says that people cannot will anything unless Allah wills it (Qur'an 81:29). So for Muslims human freedom is real, but it is a gift that works inside limits Allah has set.
Free will: a real choice
If everything is decreed, do people choose anything? Muslims answer yes. The Qur'an speaks clearly about choice.
📝 Life is a test
The Qur'an says that Allah created death and life to test which of you is best in what you do (Qur'an 67:2). Muslims argue that a test only makes sense if the choices are real.
How do the two beliefs fit? Most Muslims say that knowing is not the same as forcing. They believe Allah is outside time, so he sees a whole life at once. His knowledge of a choice does not make the choice for the person.
One way to picture it: a weather forecaster knows it will rain tomorrow, but the forecast does not cause the rain.
The Qur'an also rejects the excuse 'Allah made me do it'. It describes idol worshippers who said that if Allah had willed, they would not have worshipped idols. The Qur'an replies that they have no knowledge and are only guessing (Qur'an 6:148).
Sunni and Shi'a emphases
All Muslims believe both that Allah is in control and that people answer for their choices. The two main branches of Islam stress different sides.
📜 Sunni Muslims
Belief in al-Qadr is one of the six articles of faith. In a well-known hadith, the Prophet Muhammad said that faith includes believing in al-Qadr, 'the good of it and the bad of it'. Many Sunni scholars teach that Allah creates every act, and the person earns it by choosing it. So the stress falls on Allah's power and knowledge.
⚖️ Shi'a Muslims
Shi'a Muslims also believe in Allah's decree, but al-Qadr is not listed among their five roots of religion. Adalat, the justice of Allah, is. They argue that a just God would never punish people for acts he forced on them. Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth of the Imams (the leaders Shi'a Muslims follow), taught that the truth is neither compulsion nor complete freedom, but a position between the two.
The difference is one of emphasis. Sunni Muslims do not say people are puppets, and Shi'a Muslims do not deny Allah's control.
Insha'Allah: living with al-Qadr
The Qur'an tells Muslims never to say of anything 'I will do that tomorrow' without adding 'if Allah wills' (Qur'an 18:23-24). So Muslims say insha'Allah when they talk about plans: 'I will see you on Friday, insha'Allah.'
The phrase shows humility. Muslims believe a person can plan and work, but only Allah decides what happens. It is a promise to try, never an excuse.
🐪 Tie your camel
In a hadith, a man asked the Prophet Muhammad whether he should tie up his camel or leave it loose and trust in Allah. The Prophet told him to tie it and trust in Allah. This is tawakkul: effort first, then trust.
🙏 Effort and acceptance
Muslims reject fatalism. A Muslim who is ill should see a doctor and pray. When the result comes, belief in al-Qadr helps them accept it with patience and without envy.
Why people are held responsible
Muslims believe every person will stand before Allah on the Day of Judgement and answer for their life. You will study this in Akhirah: Resurrection, Judgement, Paradise and Hell. Here are the reasons why Muslims think the judgement is fair.
- The choices were theirs. The Qur'an says that each soul gets the good it has earned and bears the wrong it has earned (Qur'an 2:286).
- Nobody is asked for too much. The same verse says that Allah does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear.
- There is a record. Muslims believe angels write down each person's deeds (Qur'an 82:10-12). On the Day of Judgement each person will be told to read their own record (Qur'an 17:14).
- Only those who could choose are judged. A hadith says the pen is lifted from three: the sleeper until they wake, the child until they grow up, and the person who has lost their reason until they recover.
- Intention counts. A hadith says that actions are judged by their intentions.
So for Muslims responsibility follows freedom. Where there was no real choice, there is no blame.
Common mistakes
Do not write that Muslims are fatalists who think effort is pointless. The camel hadith teaches the opposite. Do not write that Shi'a Muslims reject Allah's decree: they accept it and stress his justice. And 'insha'Allah' does not mean 'maybe' or 'probably not'. It means 'I intend to, if Allah wills'.
Exam-style question
Paper 1 style. Parts (a) and (b) test AO1. Parts (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.
(a) Identify three things that religious believers may say a person does not choose for themselves. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings about free will in this religion. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why there are different views about predestination in this religion. [6 marks]
(d) 'If God has decided everything in advance, it is unfair to punish people for what they do.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
Model answer
(a) 1. When they are born (1). 2. Who their parents are (1). 3. The time of their death (1).
(b) Muslims believe people are free to choose whether to believe (1), because the Qur'an says let whoever wills believe and whoever wills disbelieve (1). Muslims also believe life is a test from Allah (1), which means the choices people make must be real, or the test would be meaningless (1).
(c) Sunni Muslims stress al-Qadr because it is one of the six articles of faith. A hadith says faith includes believing in al-Qadr, the good of it and the bad of it. This means they stress that Allah knows and has measured out everything.
Shi'a Muslims stress Adalat, the justice of Allah, which is one of their five roots of religion. They argue that a just God would not punish people for acts he forced on them, so human freedom must be real.
The views also differ because the Qur'an teaches both sides. It says nothing happens except what Allah has decreed, but also that each soul gets what it has earned. Muslims weigh these teachings differently.
(d) Plan. For: punishment is only fair if a person could have done otherwise; the Qur'an says people cannot will unless Allah wills; hard determinists say nobody deserves blame for what was fixed; Shi'a Muslims agree that forced acts could not justly be punished.
Against: Muslims say Allah's knowing is not forcing; the Qur'an says each soul gets what it has earned and rejects the excuse that Allah willed the sin; life as a test needs real choices; children and those without reason are not judged, so the judgement is fair; atheists reject the 'if', because they believe no God decides anything.
Possible conclusion: judge each point as you go, then pick a side. For example: I disagree. The statement would be right if deciding meant forcing, but Muslims believe Allah decrees a world in which people truly choose, so they can fairly be judged.
Exam tip
In part (d), look hard at the word 'decided'. Ask whether God knowing or allowing a choice is the same as God making it. Your whole answer can turn on that difference.