The word “ikhtiyar” (اختیار) translates to “authority” in English. It signifies having the power or right to make decisions or take actions. Other meanings include “option” or “choice,” indicating the ability to choose or select freely.
“Islam” means a voluntary submission to God, more than just a verbal affirmation of iman (belief). Those who do have iman (belief) have confidence in Allah; security, tranquility and trust.
While human beings have the capacity to make choices independently (ikhtiyar) they are not independent of consequences and will be held responsible for their actions (ma kasabat).
Qur’an 18:29
“Let him who wills believe, and let him who wills disbelieve.”
Qur’an 2:256
“There is no compulsion in religion.”
Qur’an 76:3
“We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.”
Qur’an 13:11
Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.
Tradition has explained that these choices exist within the framework of Qadar, (see below). The balance between free will and divine decree is a significant aspect of Islamic belief, where humans are accountable for their choices, but their “actions are ultimately guided by Allah’s will.” This statement is subtle and can be interpreted two ways:
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- Our actions may be guided by Allah’s will if we learn the commandments, read God’s word and choose the best course of action according to those precepts.
- All actions, regardless of conformance to the word of God are according to God’s will. In other words, if it happens, Allah wills it.
These two interpretations are contradictory and in opposition to one another. God’s will (i.e. His desire for our voluntary goodness and righteousness) is not the same as the latitude that God grants in giving people agency and autonomy (ikhtiyar).
The framework of Qadar encompasses four key aspects:
- Knowledge (ilm): The belief that Allah has complete knowledge of events and outcomes in the universe, including human action.
- Recording (kitabah): The belief that Allah has already recorded everything in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) before creation.
- The Will of Allah (mashiah): The belief that nothing can occur without Allah’s permission.
- Creation (khalq): The belief that Allah is the Creator of all things, including human actions, while granting humans the capacity to choose.
Allah’s sovereignty and human agency (ikhtiyar) coexist without contradiction.
God’s knowledge is absolute and His creative power universal. By His will the world was created in which human beings are free to act. Individuals are endowed with freedom to choose (ikhtiyar) but also have full accountability for their decisions.
The scriptures confirm that righteousness cannot be compelled. The purpose of mortal life is to freely choose freely the good that God invites. No one is swept along by inevitability, as if an absolute fatalism. If a person wishes to harm himself, he is free to do so and God will not forcibly intervene—agency is real—but this does not mean such an act is in harmony with God’s desire or command.
God’s omniscient awareness of all things past, present, and future does not mean that every human decision is condoned just because it happens. People often do choose what is destructive, selfish, or deceitful, and such choices arise not from God’s will but from the misuse of the agency He allows.
Submission, therefore, is voluntary, and faith presupposes a God who is powerful enough to grant His creatures authentic freedom (ikhtiyar) without diminishing His own dominion.
And fear Allah and know that Allah is Knowing of all things. 2:231
And Allah is all-Encompassing [in favor] and Knowing. 2:247
Oh how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.
2 Nephi 9:20 LE
Know you not that Allah knows all that is in the heaven and on the earth? Verily, it is (all) in the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz). Verily, that is easy for Allah.
[al-Hajj 22:70]
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Teachings & Commandments 151:4
“Had Allah willed, indeed He would have given them power over you, and they would have fought you, so if they withdraw and do not fight you and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm them.” [al-Nisa 4:90]
Yet, you cannot will it unless you align your free will with the Will of God. God is Knowing and Wise. [Ayah al-Insan 76:30]
Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things: by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeably to the will of God. Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence.
Lectures on Faith 1:24
GOD is the Creator of all things, and He alone has the power to determine the fate of all things.
[Ayah az-Zumar 39:62]
For if he did not in the first instance believe him to be God, that is, the creator and upholder of all things, he could not center his faith in him for life and salvation, for fear there should be a greater than he who would thwart all his plans, and he, like the gods of the heathen, would be unable to fulfill his promises. But seeing he is God over all, from everlasting to everlasting, the creator and upholder of all things, no such fear can exist in the minds of those who put their trust in him, so that in this respect their faith can be without wavering.
Lectures on Faith 3:19
