If a person deeply learned in the din follows his nafs and commits sins day and night and, when others perform amr-i maruf and advise him, says to them, "Allahu ta'ala destined in eternity and wrote in Lawh al-Mahfuz that I would drink alcohol. He, therefore, makes me commit these sins willy-nilly," in other words, if he means that man is overcome by qada and qadar and that he is compelled to fulfill the qadar and so is excusable for his sinning, and if, attempting to prove his excuse through reason and traditions, he says, "Before creating anything, Allahu ta'ala knew the things He was going to make. These will for certain come about. As well, He knew the things which He would not create. So these will absolutely not come about. Men can never change them. Whatever Allahu ta'ala communicated in the Qur'an, which is His eternal word, will willy-nilly come about. So does Fakhraddin-i Razi say, who is one of our great savants. In the ayat, 'We said in eternity that they would not have iman,' which is in Yasin Sura, and in the ayat, 'I created him alone, and then gave him a lot of property, children, which would help him in all his work, and a high ranking position. Yet he would not be satisfied with these and asked for more, but I did not increase them. For, he did not believe in My Qur'an, in My Prophet; he was obstinate. Later, I will put him on the mounts of fire called sa'ud in Hell,' which is in Muddassir Sura, and in the ayat, 'May the hands of Abu Lahab be withered! Then they were withered,' Allahu ta'ala informs that a person will not have iman. If such people have iman, this causes the divine word to be wrong, which is impossible. Then, they cannot have iman. Likewise, He knew that disbelievers would not have iman. If they have iman, divine knowledge must be wrong. Disbelievers cannot have iman. This means to say that man does not have option or will."

If this sinning learned man, after finishing the words of Fakhraddin-i Razi, says, "When man judges that doing something is better than not doing it, he does it. This judgement, this preference of his is not from man. Then, man has to do it. As a matter of fact, in interpreting the ayat, 'Allahu ta'ala has sealed up their hearts,' which is at the beginning of Baqara Sura, Fakhraddin-i Razi said that there must be compulsion, for, when Allahu ta'ala creates the desire of disbelief in the heart, man has to become a disbeliever. This means to say that man's every movement is like the swaying of trees, the twittering of leaves, the movements of the sun and moon. Indeed, they move as if they were living. And man, though seeming to act optionally, moves under compulsion. As a matter of fact, Musa 'alaihissalam' said to Adam 'alaihissalam', 'Allahu ta'ala created you with His might. He gave you from His own spirit. He made angels prostrate in front of you. He put you into Paradise. And then men were evicted from Paradise because of you.' In response, Adam 'alaihissalam' asked, 'Allahu ta'ala made you a prophet. He sent you the Tawrat in sheets and informed you about everything. When was the Tawrat written on those sheets?' 'Before He created you,' was the answer. Upon this Hadrat Adam asked again, 'Was it written in the Tawrat that I would make a mistake and then would be taken out of Paradise?' 'Yes,' the other said. Then Hadrat Adam said, 'Then, I did what Allahu ta'ala had written in His book.' This true word, which is communicated in a hadith, shows that what I say is correct," is it permissible to let this person go on sinning, or is it necessary to advise him to give up that belief and ask for Allah's forgiveness?

Answer: He must not be allowed to remain in that state. If, as it is understood from his words, he believes that man is compelled to sin and is excusable for his evil and that there will not be a reward for worship, nor torment for sins, he is a zindiq. He must be killed right away. If he feels sorry about his sins by saying that there is a reward for worship and torment for sins, but one has to do them, because everyone is a slave in the hands of qada and qadar, he will be advised to correct that wrong belief. He will be told that his words are wrong and will be informed of the truth of the matter. He will be answered as follows: Allahu ta'ala knew in eternity the sins that would be committed. But a person's goodness or badness, whether he is for Paradise or for Hell, is known only at his last breath. Our Prophet 'sallallahu alaihi wa sallam' stated, "A person commits all through his life-time the sins that will take him to Hell-fire. Performing the good deeds that will take him to Paradise during the final days of his life, this very person goes to Paradise." Whence does this sinning scholar infer that it is Allah's knowledge that he will go on living in this manner and his life-time will be completed as such, so he thinks he has to commit sins until his last breath and gives up hope of becoming good? It is a frequent event that many stubborn, excessive disbelievers have come round to having iman towards their final days in this world. Why does he not give a share to the possibility that he, too, will correct himself in the same manner? Why does he not convert to being good? Has he been informed that he will sin till his death? None can tell that it is Allah's knowledge that even a certain disbeliever will remain a disbeliever eternally. Also, it is wrong to say that the disbelievers described in the Qur'an are compelled to bear disbelief or that to invite them to iman would mean to ask them to do what is not within their power. For, knowledge is dependent upon the known. Allahu ta'ala knows the things that will happen because they will happen. And the things communicated in the Qur'an are communicated because they will happen. A painter's painting a horse is because the horse has that shape. The horse's having that shape is not because the painter paints it in that shape. Allah's knowing that some people will not have iman and His communicating it in the Qur'an is because they intend to remain in disbelief of their own accord and do not want to have iman. Their being disbelievers is not because Allahu ta'ala knows and declares them as disbelievers. If they remained disbelievers because Allahu ta'ala knew it, Allahu ta'ala would not have will or option in His own creating, either, and He would be compelled. For, He knew in eternity what He would create, too. Then, they become disbelievers with their own options and wills. They do not have to become disbelievers because Allahu ta'ala knew in eternity and stated so. So, inviting them to iman is not to ask for something impossible. Believing in the Qur'an as a whole is sufficient. We are not asked to have iman in each part separately; then it is not necessary for those disbelievers who are described in the Qur'an to believe in their own disbelief.

Allah's creating the desire to do the optional deeds is not compulsion, either. Allahu ta'ala creates the desire, but it is man who acquires it. Allah's will is not reserved only for creating or only for not creating something, but comprises both, and so is man's will. We may wish to do something as well as not do it. That is, at the same moment as we wish to do it, we may want not to do it. No one says that he could not help it after having done something. The dialogue between Adam and Musa 'alaihimussalam' does not indicate compulsion. Musa 'alaihissalam' meant to say, "Why didn't you avoid using your will against the command of a Being who has bestowed upon you so many blessings?" And Adam 'alaihissalam' meant to say, "Since you have read in the Tawrat that Allahu ta'ala knew in eternity that I would wish and will to commit the deed, and since you know about the numerous benefits that will arise from committing it, it is not worthy of you to blame me." Allahu ta'ala knows the truth of everything.