Analyzing Life Events Based on Divine Providence and Human Free Will in Nahj al-Balagha
Keywords:
Holy Quran, Human Free Will, Divine Providence, Life EventsAbstract
The relationship between divine providence and human free will has always been among the most foundational and challenging themes in Islamic theology. This article, through an analytical-critical approach, explores the integration of these two concepts in Nahj al-Balagha and argues that Imam Ali presents a dialectical and balanced vision of their interrelation. Contrary to deterministic or libertarian perspectives, Imam Ali views divine will as a wise and encompassing framework within which human choice attains meaning. A semantic analysis of the terms mashīʾa (divine will) and ikhtiyār (free will) in classical theological and lexical sources offers a clearer understanding of his perspective. According to Imam Ali, while human will is not absolute, it remains real and accountable, forming the basis of moral responsibility and religious obligation. Through a detailed examination of sermons and letters in Nahj al-Balagha, this article demonstrates how Imam Ali distinguishes between mashīʾa in the ontological realm and ikhtiyār in the moral-legal realm, thereby offering a Shi‘a-based resolution to the classical dilemma of predestination and free will. Ultimately, the study emphasizes that belief in divine providence alongside human free will not only fosters inner peace and trust in God on the personal level but also cultivates responsibility, justice-seeking, and ethical conduct in collective life.
Downloads
References
Akbarnjad, M., & Tohidi, F. (2017). Investigating the Relationship between Divine Will and Human Free Will in the Interpretation of Verses 23 and 24 of Sūrah al-Kahf. Research Journal of Qur’anic Exegesis and Language(Autumn/Winter), 129-146.
al-Baghdādī, A. a.-Q. (1988). al-Furūq bayna al-Firaq. [n.p.].
al-Bāqillānī, A. B. (1957). al-Tamḥīd. [n.p.].
al-Bāqillānī, A. B. (1987). Tamḥīd al-Awāʼil wa Takhliṣ al-Dalāʼil. Muʼassasat al-Kutub al-Thaqāfīyah.
Bāqīzādeh, R. (2012). Divine Pre-knowledge and Human Free Will. Kamāl Andisheh & Yās-i Behesh.
Darwīsh, M. a.-D. (1994). I‘rāb al-Qur’ān wa Bayānah. Dār al-Irshād.
Dīrbāz, A., & Amjadyān, Q. (2011). “Qadā wa Qadar and Its Relation to the Issue of Free Will”. Ensān-Pazhūhī-yi Dīnī, 8(26).
Du‘ās, Ḥamīdān, & Qāsim. (2004). I‘rāb al-Qur’ān al-Karīm. Dār al-Munīr & Dār al-Farābī.
Ḥillī, Ḥ. i. Y. (1959). Anwār al-Malakūt fī Sharḥ al-Yāqūt. [n.p.].
Ḥillī, Ḥ. i. Y. (1979). Kashf al-Murād fī Sharḥ Tajrīd al-I‘tiqād. [n.p.].
Ḥillī, Ḥ. i. Y. (1984). Anwār al-Malakūt. [n.p.].
Ḥillī, Ḥ. i. Y. (2006). Bab Hādī ‘Ashar. Dār al-Fikr.
Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, M. i. M. (1988). al-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth wa al-Athar. Mu’assasat Maṭbū‘āt Ismā‘īlīān.
Jābir, Q. Ḥ. (1987). Philosophy and Mu‘tazila in Nahj al-Balāghah. Al-Jam‘īyah al-Jāmi‘īyah for Studies, Publication & Distribution.
Jarjānī, A. (1907). Sharḥ al-Mawāqif. Maṭba‘at al-Sa‘ādah.
Jarjānī, A. (1985). al-Ta‘rīfāt. [n.p.].
Raghib Isfahānī, Ḥ. i. M. (1991). al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qur’ān. Dār al-‘Ilm al-Dār al-Shāmīyah.
Rāzī, F. a.-D. (1934). Kitāb al-Arbaʿīn fī Uṣūl al-Dīn. [n.p.].
Rāzī, F. a.-D. (1962). al-Barāhīn. University of Tehran Press.
Tabāṭabā’ī, S. M.-Ḥ. (1987). Tafsīr al-Mīzān. Vol. 6. Islamic Publications of the Jāmi‘at al-Mudarrisīn.
Tabāṭabā’ī, S. M.-Ḥ. (1996). al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān. Intishārāt Jāmi‘at al-Mudarrisīn.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Masoumeh Ahmadi Motamayel (Author); Ali Hossin Ehteshami; Seyed Hamid Hoseini (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
