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Faith In Predestination

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"Faith in Presdestination" by Dr. Shuhaib Hasan; Dec. 1966; Darussalam Pub., 16 pages with glossy paperback cover. The author starts off by quoting those dozen or so ayats from the Quran that seem to imply that Allah has control or pre-destination (Qada wa Qadar) over the activities of every person. Everything seems to be building up to the conclusion that an individual does not have any `free will.' However, the author uses the following ayat to opine that Allah empowers an individual with `free will': "And say: `The truth is from your Lord.' Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve" (Q18:29). The author concludes: "This is the most important choice a man ever makes. If he has free choice over this particular question, then he must have the same over matters which are less serious" (p.14). The author contends: "people confuse Allah's prior knowledge of everything that may take place in the universe with predestination....An individual cannot control when he is to be born or when he is to die....We are affected by illness in a way over which we exercise no control. In such matters, we earn no reward and incur no punishment....There are causes and effects....we are responsible for the effect which results from our action.....it is His will that we should have free will of our own.....Man's free will is a manifestation of Allah's absolute will." Not a deep philosophical book, but a short, short `tract' -- at least by a Muslim who rejects the concept that man has no control over his actions.