Predestination in the Quran and Sunnah and refuting its misconceptions about them

Abstract

This research aims to respond to the suspicion of determinism that appeared at the beginning of the second century AH at the hands of Jahm bin Safwan, the founder of the Jahmite sect - the Jabriyah - which is based on the fact that man has no will or choice, and that he is forced to do his actions. They relied on verses from the Holy Quran and hadiths from the Noble Prophetic Sunnah that they thought indicated determinism, because they mixed up determinism and destiny, and believed that destiny means compulsion. This research aims to respond to these suspicions that they thought indicated determinism from the Qur’an and Sunnah. In this research, the analytical approach was followed by reading the information related to the subject, then analyzing some information, especially those related to determinism, then criticizing these suspicions and responding to them and deducing some responses to them. The most important results of the research were that destiny and compulsion do not have the same meaning, and that the Holy Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah did not use the word compulsion at all, and that many texts of the Holy Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah showed that man has a choice and is not forced to do his actions, and that the verses and hadiths that were used as evidence by those who said compulsion do not indicate it. If understood correctly, and combined with other verses that indicate choice.