| Abstrak/Abstract |
In classical Islamic thought, ‗divine predestination‘ (qada’ wa’lqadar) versus ‗human free will‘ (ikhtiyar) is one of the most hotly
contested topics. This article critically analyses the contribution
made to this discourse by the two prominent schools of Islamic
theology, the Asharites and the Mu‘tazilites, by focusing on a topic
that is crucial to the philosophy and theology of theology. This
article seeks to properly understand Islamic intellectual history
and culture by arguing that the treatment of the two schools of
Islamic theology on the issue of qada’ wa’l-qadar and ikhtiyar is
innovative, influential, and fundamentally more complex than
previously acknowledged. On the subject of free will versus fate,
the study‘s findings indicate that the Mu‘tazilah and Ash‘ariyah
have made compromises between philosophical, theological
(kalam), and esoteric (sûfi) perspectives. Given that the subject
matter and methodology of kalam, falsafah, and tasawwûf are
frequently considered to be very different or even contradictory,
this attitude of accommodation is plainly exceptional. |
