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Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Hughes, Thomas Patrick
“God created Adam, and touched his back with his right hand, and brought forth from it a family; and God said to Adam, ‘I have created this family for Paradise, and their actions will be like unto those of the people of Paradise.’ Then God touched the back of Adam, and brought forth another family, and said, ‘I have created this for hell, and their actions will be like unto those of the people of hell.’ Then a man said to the Prophet, ‘Of what use will deeds of any kind be?’ He said, ‘When God createth His servant for Paradise, his actions will be deserving of it until he die, when he will enter therein; and when God createth one for the fire, his actions will be like those of the people of hell till he die, when he will enter therein.’ ”
“ ‘There is not one amongst you whose place is not written by God, whether in the fire or in Paradise.’ The Companions said, ‘O Prophet! since God hath appointed our places, may we confide in this and abandon our religious and moral duties?’ He said, ‘No; because the righteous will do good works and the wicked will do bad works.’ After which the Prophet read this verse from the Qurʾān: ‘To him who giveth alms, and feareth God, and yieldeth assent to the excellent creed, to him will we make easy the path to happiness. But to him who is worldly and is indifferent, and who does not believe in the excellent creed, to him will we make easy the path of misery.’ ”
“The first thing which God created was a pen, and He said to it ‘Write’; it said, ‘What shall I write?’ And God said, ‘Write down the quantity of every individual thing to be created,’ and it wrote all that was and that will be, to eternity.”
“God hath pre-ordained five things on his servants; the duration of life, their actions, their dwelling-places, their travels, and their portions.”
“When God hath ordered a creature to die in any particular place, he causeth his wants to direct him to that.”
“There is not one born but is created to Islām, but it is their fathers and mothers who make them Jews and Christians and Majūsī.”
“It was said, ‘O Prophet of God! inform me respecting charms, and the medicines which I swallow, and the shields which I make use of for protection, whether they prevent any of the decrees of God?’ Muḥammad said, ‘These also are by the decree of God.’ ”
“Verily God created Adam from a handful of earth, taken from all parts, and the children of Adam became different, like the earth; some of them red, some white, and some black, some between red, white and black, some gentle, and some severe, some impure and some pure.”
“The Prophet of God was asked about the children of polytheists who might die in their infancy, whether they would go to heaven or hell. He said, ‘God knoweth best what their actions would have been had they lived; it depends on this.’ ”
“The Prophet of God came out of his house when the Companions were debating about fate, and he was angry, and became red in the face, to such a degree that you would say the seeds of a pomegranate had been bruised on it. And he said, ‘Hath God ordered you to debate of fate? Was I sent to you for this? Your forefathers were destroyed for debating about fate and destiny; I adjure you not to argue on those points.’ ”
(See Aḥādīs̤u ʾl-Buk͟hārī and Muslim, in loco.) [PRESERVED TABLET.]
The doctrine is expressed in an Arabic treatise on the subject, as follows:—
“Faith in the decrees of God, is that we believe in our heart and confess with our tongue that the Most High God hath decreed all things; so that nothing can happen in the world, whether it respects the conditions and operations of things, or good and evil, or obedience and disobedience, or faith and infidelity, or sickness and health, or riches and poverty, or life and death, that is not contained in the written tablet of the decrees of God. But God hath so decreed good works, obedience, and faith, that He ordains and wills them, and that they may be under His decree, His salutary direction, His good pleasure and command. On the contrary, God hath decreed, and does ordain and determine evil, disobedience and infidelity; yet without His salutary direction, good pleasure, and command; but being only by way of seduction, indignation, and prohibition. But whosoever shall say that God is not delighted with good faith, or that God hath not an indignation against evil and unbelief, he is certainly an infidel.”
The Rev. E. Sell, in his Faith of Islám, page 173, says:—
“There are three well-defined schools of thought on the subject.
“First.—The Jabríans (Jabarīyūn), so called from the word “jabr”, compulsion, deny all free agency in man and say that man is necessarily constrained by the force of God’s eternal and immutable decree to act as he does. They hold that as God is the absolute Lord, He can, if He so wills, admit all men into Paradise, or cast all into hell. This sect is one of the branches of the Ashʾaríans with whom on most points they agree.
“Secondly.—The Qadríans (Qadarīyūn), who deny Al-Qadr, or God’s absolute decree, say that evil and injustice ought not to be attributed to God but to man, who is altogether a free agent. God has given him the power to do or not to do an act. This sect is generally considered to be a branch of the Mutazilite body (Muʿtazilah), though in reality it existed before Wásil quitted the school of his master Hasan. As Wásil, however, followed the opinions of Mábad-al-Johní, the leading Qadrían divine, the Mutazilites and Qadríans are practically one and the same.
“Thirdly.—The Ashʾaríans maintain that God has one eternal will which is applied to whatsoever He willeth, both of His own actions and those of men; that He willeth that which He knoweth and what is written on the preserved table; that He willeth both good and evil. So far they agree with the Jabríans; but then they seem to allow some power to man. The orthodox, or Sunní belief is theoretically Ashʾarían, but practically the Sunnís are confirmed Jabríans. The Mutazilite doctrines are looked upon as quite heretical.
“No subject has been more warmly discussed in Islám than that of predestination. The following abstract of some lengthy discussions will present the points of difference.
“The Ashʾaríans, who in this matter represent in the main orthodox views, formulate their objections to the Mutazilite system thus:—
“(i.) If man is the causer of an action by the force of his own will, then he should also have the power of controlling the result of that action.
“(ii.) If it be granted that man has the power to originate an act, it is necessary that he should know all acts, because a creator should be independent in act and choice. Intention must be conditioned by knowledge. To this the Mutazilites well reply that a man need not know the length of a road before he walks, or the structure of the throat before he talks.
“(iii.) Suppose a man wills to move his body and God at the same time wills it to be steady, then if both intentions come to pass there will be a collection of opposites; if neither, a removal of opposites; if the exaltation of the first, an unreasonable preference.
“(iv.) If man can create an act, some of his works will be better than some of the works of God, e.g. a man determines to have faith: now faith is a better thing than reptiles, which are created by God.
“(v.) If man is free to act, why can he not make at once a human body; why does he need to thank God for grace and faith?
“(vi.) But better far than all argument, the orthodox say, is the testimony of the Book. ‘All things have we created under a fixed decree.’ (Súra liv. 49.) ‘When God created you and that ye make.’ (Súra xxxvii. 94.) ‘Some of them there were whom God guided and there were others decreed to err.’ (Súra xvi. 38.) As God decrees faith and obedience He must be the causer of it, for ‘on the hearts of these hath God graven the Faith.’ (Súra lviii. 22.) ‘It is he who causeth you to laugh and weep, to die and make alive.’ (Súra liii. 44.) ‘If God pleased He would surely bring them, one and all, to the guidance.’ (Súra vi. 36.) ‘Had God pleased, He had guided you all aright.’ (Súra vi. 150.) ‘Had the Lord pleased, He would have made mankind of one religion.’ (Súra xi. 120.) ‘God will mislead whom He pleaseth, and whom He pleaseth He will place upon the straight path.’ (Súra vi. 39.) Tradition records that the Prophet said, ‘God is the maker of all makers and of their actions.’
“The Mutazilites took up the opposite side of this great question and said:—
“(i) If man has no power to will or to do, then what is the difference between praising God and sinning against Him; between faith and infidelity; good and evil; what is the use of commands and prohibitions; rewards and punishments; promises and threats; what is the use of prophets, books, &c.
“(ii.) Some acts of men are bad, such as tyranny and polytheism. If these are created by God, it follows that to tyrannise and to ascribe plurality to the Deity is to render obedience. To this the Ashʾaríans reply that orders are of two kinds, immediate and mediate. The former, which they call ‘Amr-i-takwíní,’ is the order, ‘Be and it was.’ This comprehends all existences and according to it whatever is ordered must come to pass. The latter they call ‘Amr-i-tashríʾí,’ an order given in the Law. This comes to men through prophets and thus is to be obeyed. True obedience is to act according to that which is revealed, not according to the secret intention of God, for that we know not.
“(iii.) If God decrees the acts of men, He should bear the name of that which he decrees. Thus the causer of infidelity is an infidel; of tyranny a tyrant, and so on; but to speak thus of God is blasphemy.
“(iv.) If infidelity is decreed by God He must wish it; but a prophet desires faith and obedience and so is opposed to God. To this the orthodox reply, that God knows by His eternal knowledge that such a man will die an infidel. If a prophet intends by bringing the message of salvation to such an one to make God’s knowledge become ignorance, he would be doing wrong; but as he does not know the secret decrees of God, his duty is to deliver his message according to the Hadís: ‘A prophet has only to deliver the clear message.’
“(v.) The Mutazilites claimed as on their side all verses of the Qurán, in which the words to do, to construct, to renew, to create, &c., are applied to men. Such are the verses: ‘Whatever is in the heavens and the earth is God’s that He may reward those who do evil according to their deeds: and those who do good will He reward with good things.’ (Súra liii. 32.) ‘Whoso shall have wrought evil shall not be recompensed but with its like: but whoso shall have done the things that are right, whether male or female and is a believer, these shall enter Paradise.’ (Súra xl. 43.) ‘Say: the truth is from the Lord; let him then who will, believe; and let him who will, be an infidel.’ (Súra xviii. 28.) ‘Those who add gods to God will say: ‘If God had pleased neither we nor our fathers had given Him companions.’ ‘Say: Verily ye follow only a conceit, ye utter lies.’ (Súra vi. 149.) The Hadís is also very plain. ‘All good is in Thy hands and evil is not to Thee.’
“The Ashʾaríans have one famous text which they bring to bear against all this reasoning and evidence. It is: ‘This truly is a warning; and whoso willeth, taketh the way of his Lord; but will it ye shall not, unless God will it, for God is knowing, wise.’ (Súra lxxvi. 29, 30.) To the Hadís they reply (1) that there is a difference between acquiescence in evil and decreeing it. Thus the expression ‘God willeth not tyranny for His servants,’ does not mean that God hath not decreed it, but that tyranny is not one of His attributes: so ‘evil is not to Thee’ means it is not an attribute of God; and (2) the Hadís must be explained in accordance with the teaching of the Qurán.
“The Muslim philosophers tried to find a way out of the difficulty. Averhoes says: ‘We are free to act in this way or that, but our will is always determined by some exterior cause. For example, we see something which pleases us, we are drawn to it in spite of ourselves. Our will is thus bound by exterior causes. These causes exist according to a certain order of things which is founded on the general laws of nature. God alone knows beforehand the necessary connection which to us is a mystery. The connection of our will with exterior causes is determined by the laws of nature. It is this which in theology we call, ‘decrees and predestination.’ ” (Mélanges de Philosophie Juive et Arabe, par S. Munk, p. 458.)
PRE-EMPTION. Arabic Shufʿah (شفعة). Lit. “Adjunction.” The right of pre-emption is a power of possessing property which is for sale, and is established upon the teaching of Muḥammad. It applies not to movable property but to immovable property (ʿaqār). This right of pre-emption appertains in the first place to the co-sharer or partner in the property; secondly, to a sharer in the immunities and appendages of the property, such as the right to water, or to roads; and thirdly, to the neighbour. (Hidāyah, vol. iii. p. 594.)
PRE-EXISTENCE OF SOULS is taught both in the Qurʾān and the Traditions.
ʿĀyishah relates that Muḥammad said, “Souls before they became united with bodies were like assembled armies, and afterwards they were dispersed and sent into the bodies of mankind.” (Mishkāt, book xxii. ch. xvi.)
There is said to be a reference to this doctrine in the Qurʾān:—
Sūrah vii. 171: “And when the Lord drew forth their posterity from the loins of the sons of Adam.…”
The commentator, al-Baiẓāwī, says, “God stroked Adam’s back and extracted from his loins his whole posterity, which should come into the world until the Resurrection, one generation after another; and that these souls were all assembled together like small ants, and after they had in the presence of the angels confessed their dependence upon God, they were again caused to return into the loins of Adam.” (See Tafsīru ʾl-Baiẓāwī, in loco.)