this, discovered the harmonies which lie hidden behind the inner
experience. Man, however, is much more conservative in the sphere
of religion. The old idea of God, in an attenuated form, still lingers
in the mind of the religious people and obscures their vision. The
task of emancipating religion lies in casting aside this idea from our
mind and accepting the idea presented by the Divine Revelation
(Qur'an). In order to grasp this new idea, however, it is necessary to
give some thought to a few aspects of the Divine Will. The Will of
God has an infinity of aspects, but three of them are of special
interest to us as moral beings. What we have to say is based wholly
on the Qur'an which contains significant remarks on the Divine Will
and its modes of working in different spheres. In fact, we shall only
be expounding the views set forth in the Qur'an as to the way the
Will of God functions in itself, and in relation to the two main parts
of the created world.
II. Divine Will According to the Qur'anFirstly, the Divine Will will be considered as it is in itself, in other
words, as pure Will. Can we say anything more about the Divine Will
than that it must be radically different from the will which we
experience in ourselves? The answer is that, within certain limits, we
can characterise it with the help of Qur'an. The first thing we note
about the Divine Will is that it is absolutely free, subject to no
restraint from outside itself. Again, it is incessantly and
spontaneously active, not being dependent on any environment
either for stimulation or for an outlet to its activity. It is self-
subsistent and self-sufficient. It does not act upon a pre-existing
material, confining itself to merely fashioning and rearranging it. Its
activity is essentially creative. Indeed, it is the fountainhead of
creative power. As a fountain-head, it is constantly exuberant with
creative energy. Every moment new forms spring into existence at
its behest:
But His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it:
Be, and it is (36:82).
Again;
Allah does what He will (14:27),
Allah does what He intends (22:14).
The Working of the Divine Law 140