Ethics of Islam

enege on His promise.”
Allâhu ta’âlâ creates everything through causes. This is His
’Âdat-i-ilâhiyya (Divine law of causation). He suspends His law of
causation only in special cases such as mu’jizât and karâmât. [1] He
informs us that He has assigned worships as a vehicle for entering
Paradise. In other words, He created the blessings of Paradise as
a reward for worships. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “No one can enter Paradise owing to his
performed worships.” Something which is given as a reward
should not be mistaken for something deserved owing to one’s
efforts.
Tenth: The devil says to a person, “If it is determined in
eternal past that a person will perform worships, then, that person
will perform worships. The Decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ does not
change. Human beings are forced to accept the Decree of Allâhu
ta’âlâ, so that they either perform the worships or don’t perform
the worships, depending on the eternal Decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ.”
These suggestions of the devil are similar to the previous
suggestions. Accordingly, the ones who are determined as happy
ones in eternal past will be able to perform worships, and it will
be necessary for those who are determined as unfortunate ones in
the eternal past not to perform the worships. One should reply to
the deceits of the devil by saying: Even though Allâhu ta’âlâ
creates everything including the good and evil actions of human
beings, He gave small amounts of will power (irâda al-juz’iyya) to
human beings and animals. This type of will power is exercised by
human beings, but this exercise of will power cannot be explained
with the statement that human beings created something, for will
power does not exist in the external universe (things other than
human beings). It exists inside the hearts of human beings.
Creation takes place when something comes into being in the
external universe. By contrast, the Omnipotent Will of Allâhu
ta’âlâ, (which is termed Irâda-i-kulliya,) exists as a self-standing
entity. Allâhu ta’âlâ has made man’s limited will power a means
for creating his actions. Allâhu ta’âlâ could create even without
[1] Allâhu ta’âlâ suspends His law of causation when He wills to reinforce
His beloved prophets and Awliyâ with extraordinary events and
wonders, or miracles. When a miracle happens through a prophet, we
call it a mu’jiza (pl. mu’jizât); when it happens through a beloved slave
of Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is called a Walî (pl. Awliyâ), it is termed karâmat
(pl. karâmât).
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