THE PROBLEM OF FREE WILL IN ISLAMIC THOUGHT: THE EXAMPLE OF IBN ARABĪ

Abstract

Human actions are divided into two parts as voluntary and compulsory. There is no question of whether the compulsory actions are the result of human will. However, the debate on the question of whether voluntary acts are the product of human will be as old as human history. The issue of free will has been included in the study of philosophy, theology, psychology, and even medicine in modern times. The free will and the responsibility of humans arising from his actions have been discussed under the titles of kaḍā-qadar (destiny) and acts of humans throughout the history of Islamic thought. In the early periods of Islam, when these debates were intense, Muslims were divided into various schools according to their views on kaḍā and qadar. Ibn Arabī, one of the most important figures of theoric Sufism, bases free will based on the principle that divine knowledge is connected to al-a‘yān al-sābitah.