DIVINE WILL & CAUSALITY LAW – MONOTHEISM LOGIC:
Allah has no Partner or Associate – Order in Universe Related to Divine Will
Allah declares Himself to be above having any child or partner in dominion, control and worship. He says:
مَا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ مِن وَلَدٍ وَمَا كَانَ مَعَهُ مِنْ إِلَهٍ إِذاً لَّذَهَبَ كُلُّ إِلَهٍ بِمَا خَلَقَ وَلَعَلاَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ
(No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him. (If there had been many gods), then each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have tried to overcome others.)
Meaning, if it were decreed that there should be a plurality of deities, each of them would have exclusive control over whatever he had created, so there would never be any order in the universe. But what we see is that the universe is ordered and cohesive, with the upper and lower realms connected to one another in the most perfect fashion.
مَّا تَرَى فِى خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَنِ مِن تَفَوُتٍ
(you can see no fault in the creation of the Most Gracious) 65:3. Moreover, if there were a number of gods, each of them would try to subdue the other with enmity, and one would prevail over the other. This has been mentioned by the scholars of `Ilm-ul-Kalam, who discussed it using the evidence of mutual resistance or counteraction. This idea states that if there were two or more creators, one would want to make a body move while the other would want to keep it immobile, and if neither of them could achieve what they wanted, then both would be incapable, but the One Whose existence is essential i.e., Allah cannot be incapable. It is impossible for the will of both to be fulfilled because of the conflict.
This dilemma only arises when a plurality of gods is suggested, so it is impossible for there to be such a plurality, because if the will of one is fulfilled and not the other, the one who prevails will be the one whose existence is essential (i.e., God) and the one who is prevailed over will be merely possible (i.e., he is not divine), because it is not befitting for the one to be defeated whose existence is essential. Allah says:
وَلَعَلاَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ سُبْحَنَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
(and some would have tried to overcome others! Glorified be Allah above all that they attribute to Him!) meaning, high above all that the stubborn wrongdoers say when they claim that He has a son or partner.
عَلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَدَةِ
(All-Knower of the unseen and the seen!) means, He knows what is hidden from His creatures and what they see.
فَتَعَلَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
(Exalted be He over all that they associate as partners to Him!) means, sanctified and glorified and exalted be He above all that the wrongdoers and liars say.
The Nature of God’s Will – Philosophical Arguments:
God’s Will generally refers to the intentions, desires, commands, or decrees of a divine being. It can be understood in several dimensions:
- Decretive Will (or Sovereign Will): This is God’s ultimate plan or purpose for all of creation, which is immutable and always comes to pass. It encompasses everything from the laws of physics to the unfolding of history.
- Preceptive Will (or Moral Will): This refers to God’s commands and moral injunctions, often expressed in sacred texts or through natural law. It outlines what God desires humans to do or not to do, even if humans, through free will, choose to disobey.
- Permissive Will: This describes what God allows to happen, even if it is not His direct desire. It acknowledges the existence of evil or human free choices that deviate from His preceptive will, without implying divine approval.
- The concept of God’s Will is central to understanding divine providence, predestination, and the very basis of ethical systems in many traditions.
The Power of God’s Cause
God’s Cause positions the divine as the ultimate originator and sustainer of all being. This concept is deeply rooted in metaphysical inquiry and the search for a first principle.
- First Cause (Prima Causa): In philosophical theology, God is often posited as the uncaused cause of everything else. This argument, famously articulated by Aristotle and later elaborated by Thomas Aquinas, suggests that an infinite regress of causes is impossible, thus necessitating an initial, uncaused cause.
- Efficient Cause: God as the active agent bringing things into existence. This relates to creation ex nihilo (from nothing) and the ongoing sustenance of the universe.
- Final Cause (Teleological Cause): God as the ultimate purpose or end goal towards which all creation tends. This imbues the universe with inherent meaning and direction, often linked directly to God’s Will.
(https://www.planksip.org/the-concept-of-gods-will-and-cause-and-concept-1763504646981/)
The Law of Causality in History and the Universe
The law of causality (‘illiyyah) operates in the course of history as well as in the universe in form of a general and an irrevocable law, without there being any exception to it. Some of the Qur’anic verses pertaining to this fact are:
• “To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wishes.”1
• “Indeed Allah does what He desires.”2
• “Indeed your Lord does whatever He desires.”3
• “All that We say to a thing, when We will it, is to say to it ‘Be!’ and it is.”4
• “Had Allah willed, He would have taken away their hearing and sight.”5
• “But Allah singles out for His mercy whomever He wishes.”6
• “Allah provides whomever He wishes without any reckoning.”7
• “And Allah gives His kingdom to whomever He wishes.”8
• “Say, ‘O Allah, Master of all sovereignty! You give sovereignty to whomever You wish, and strip sovereignty of whomever You wish; You make mighty whomever You wish, and You abase whomever You wish; all good is in Your hand. Indeed You have power over all things.’”9
• “If He wishes, He will take you away, O mankind, and bring others {in your place}.”10
https://www.planksip.org/the-concept-of-gods-will-and-cause-and-concept-1763504646981;
Topics: #Causality, #Cause and Effect, #Divine Will, #Monotheism, #Law; #Divine Will; The Argument for Monotheism; #Nature of God’s Will;
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