judgment. The verse, “There is no compulsion in deen (2:256), bears
witness to the immense importance that the Qur’an attaches to
human freedom. This view of freedom has been admirably
expressed by Iqbal:
Thus the element of guidance and directive control in the ego’s activity
clearly shows that the ego is a free personal causality. He shares in the
life and freedom of the Ultimate Ego who, by permitting the
emergence of a finite ego, capable of private initiative, has limited this
freedom of His own free will. This freedom of conscious behaviour
follows from the view of ego-activity which the Qur’an takes. There
are verses which are unmistakably clear on this point:
‘And say: The truth is from your Lord: Let him, then, who will, believe:
and let him who will, be an unbeliever’ (18:29).
‘If ye do well to your own behoof will ye do well: and if ye do evil
against yourselves will ye do it’ (17:7).(16)
Of course, God alone is absolutely free. But God, exercising His
free will, has granted man, the finite self, a measure of freedom. If it
implies a restriction on God’s power, it is, as is obvious, a self-
imposed restriction, and as such does in no way detract from God’s
omnipotence. As a verse in the Qur’an puts it, “God has prescribed
for Himself Rahmah (i.e. the responsibility of His creature’s
development and growth)” (6:54). It means that Rahmah flows from
God’s self. It is not imposed on Him by any external agency. God is
Raheem because Rahmah is an essential Divine attribute. We too feel
really free when our actions are in full accord with the basic
characteristics of our self. When we impose restrictions on our
freedom, it is for the sole purpose of turning it to the best account.
These restrictions do not detract from our freedom, nor are they
derogatory to our status as free agents. Freedom, properly
channelised, is the necessary condition of human development,
both individual and social. This freedom is the basic postulate of the
Qur’anic social order, which will be described later on.
The third verse, “He begetteth no one nor was He begotten,”
refers to another important Divine attribute. God, as the Absolute
Self, is self-subsistent. The self, qua self, does not come into being
through the natural process of procreation. Man, of course, is a
living organism and, as such, like other animals, is begotten by his
parents and, in his turn, begets children. But this is true only as far as
his body is concerned. The body, whether human or animal, is a part
The Self of Man and Its Destiny 80