Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics

(Jacob Rumans) #1

nevertheless have free will, their claim is based on a limited
selection of Koranic verses — especially those texts that
mention disbelievers in Islam and stress their need to repent.
The scholars use the notion of free will to avoid the
unwelcome implications of the Koranic passages that depict
Allah declining to guide people to the truth, and to argue
that ‘‘infidels’’ are responsible for their choice to reject
Allah and His prophet Muhammad. But free will is a
relatively new idea in Islam, and lacks significant traditional
support.



  1. Is Allah, then, responsible for human sin?


In many verses, Allah is held responsible for the choices
of individuals: in fact, some Ahadith suggest that Allah has
actively devised sins for mankind. Says Muhammad: ‘‘Allah
has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of
adultery whether he is aware of it or not.’’ Another version
of this Hadith puts it even more strongly: ‘‘Allah decreed
that all humanity will have their share of adultery, whether
they like it or not. . . .’’[18]


Muslim apologists, in their attempts to win converts,
ignore all this and try to convey the idea that there is free
will and responsibility in Islam. One of the Koranic texts
often used is Sura 36:67: ‘‘And if it had been Our Will, We
could have transformed them [into animals or lifeless
objects] in their places. Then they should have been unable
to go forward, nor they could have turned back.’’ The
presumption is that men are now able to ‘‘go forward’’ or
‘‘turn back,’’ that is, make choices for which they are
responsible.

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