The Strategic Paradox: Why Muhammad Needed Both Fate and Free Will for Political Control
In our daily lives, we encounter two Islamic teachings that simply cannot be balanced on the scale of reason. On one hand, it is believed that everything in the universe is governed by "Predestination" (Taqdir); that not even a leaf can move without the will of Allah. On the other hand, the same religion insists that we possess "Free Will" and that we will be sent to Heaven or Hell based on the choices we make.
This enigma has baffled people for centuries. If everything is predetermined, how can a human be held responsible for their actions?
The purpose of this article is to pull back the curtain on the hidden story: why Muhammad needed both of these contradictory beliefs at the same time. The truth is that this was a cunning political and religious mechanism used by Muhammad to maintain absolute control over his followers.
The First Dimension: Free Will as an Incentive for Action
To make any new movement successful, a leader needs followers who work with passion and are willing to make sacrifices. If people were told that "everything is already written and your efforts won't change anything," they would become stagnant and lazy.
Therefore, the concept of "Free Will" was introduced. People were made to believe that their hard work, their participation in wars, and their obedience to Muhammad’s commands were the only path to salvation. The allure of Paradise and the terror of Hell revolve entirely around this perceived autonomy. The goal was to ensure followers dedicated their full energy to the service of the religion, believing that every single step they took was deciding their eternal future. In this way, Muhammad secured a "workforce" that remained constantly active and obedient.
The Second Dimension: Predestination as a Shield Against Accountability
No matter how talented a person is, they will inevitably face failures in life. If the religion were based purely on "action and result," then whenever Muslims faced a defeat in war or their prayers went unanswered, they would immediately question their leader's strategy or the truth of the religion itself.
This is where the doctrine of "Predestination" acts as a shield. Whenever a promise went unfulfilled or a disaster occurred, it was labeled as the "Will of Allah" and a "Pre-written Decree." The benefit of this was that Muhammad became completely immune to the responsibility of any failure. People were taught not to question the decisions of Allah but to remain patient. Thus, the belief in Fate strangled every question in the minds of the devotees that could have led to rebellion.
A "Heads I Win, Tails You Lose" System
This entire framework functions as a psychological trap where the leadership wins in every possible scenario. The structure is simple:
- If Success is Achieved: It is credited to "righteous action and faith," inciting followers to obey with even more zeal.
- If Failure Occurs: It is dismissed as "Fate and a test from Allah," ensuring that no one points a finger at the leadership’s mistakes.
This is a perfectly unfalsifiable system that can never be proven wrong. Whether they win or lose, the conclusion is always the same: "Islam is true, the leadership is right—just keep following blindly."
This contradiction between Fate and Free Will was not an intellectual oversight; it was a political weapon that kept followers tethered to the center. Instead of allowing humans to take pride in their successes, it spurred them toward further servitude, and instead of allowing them to question their failures, it taught them to be grateful for their "destiny." This was the "masterstroke" that transformed an ordinary group into a powerful machine, executing the leader's every command as if it were a divine decree.
Evidence from Islamic Texts: Predestination Overrides Free Will
While Islam claims to balance free will and predestination, Islamic scripture reveals that predestination consistently overrides human choice.
The Adam-Moses Debate
One of the most revealing hadiths shows a debate between Adam and Moses:
Moses said to Adam: "You are the one who, by your sin, expelled mankind from Paradise and caused them distress."
Adam replied: "O Moses! Do you blame me for a matter which Allah had decreed for me even before my creation?"
According to Muhammad, Adam won this argument.
(Sahih Bukhari 6614, 4738; Sahih Muslim 2652)
Notice that Adam didn't blame Satan or his own weakness—he blamed God's decree. According to Adam himself, God had predetermined his sin before he was even created. If the first human had no real choice in the act that expelled humanity from Paradise, how can any human be held accountable for their actions?
Muhammad's endorsement of Adam's argument reveals the true Islamic position: predestination trumps free will.
What the Quran Actually Says
The Quran contains numerous verses explicitly stating Allah controls who believes and who doesn't:
1. God Controls Guidance and Misguidance
Quran 6:125: "Whomever God wills to guide, He opens his heart to Islam, and whomever He wills to lead astray, He makes his chest narrow and constricted, as if he were ascending to the sky."
This isn't about God responding to human choices—it's about God making the choice for them.
2. God Seals Hearts Against Belief
Quran 2:7: "God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil."
If Allah himself seals someone's heart against faith, how can that person be blamed for disbelief? This isn't punishment for a choice—it's a predetermined outcome.
3. If God Willed, Everyone Would Believe
Quran 10:99: "And if your Lord had willed, those on earth would have believed—all of them entirely."
This verse explicitly states that universal belief is within Allah's power, but he chose not to make everyone believe.
4. God Leads Astray Whom He Wills
Quran 16:93: "He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills."
No conditions, no qualifications. Guidance and misguidance are matters of divine will, not human choice.
5. Everything Is Already Written
Quran 57:22: "No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being."
If a person's future sins were recorded before their birth, in what sense did they "choose" to commit them?
The Scholarly Dilemma: Failed Attempts to Resolve the Contradiction
Islamic scholars were well aware of this contradiction and spent centuries trying to resolve it. The result? Increasingly convoluted theories that only highlight the problem.
The Doctrine of "Kasb" (Acquisition):
The Ash'ari school claimed: "God creates the action, but humans 'acquire' it by choosing to do it."
The problem: If God is the actual creator of the action and humans merely "acquire" what God already created, then human choice is an illusion. It's like saying a puppet "chooses" to move its arms.
Even Imam Razi, one of Islam's greatest scholars, admitted defeat:
"This issue is not resolved by intellect, but only by submission."
(Tafsir al-Kabir, Vol. 8)
In other words: "Don't think about it too hard, just accept it."
Redefining Justice Itself:
When logical contradictions became impossible to ignore, some scholars simply redefined justice. Imam Ghazali wrote:
"If God were to put all the righteous into Hell, and admit all the sinners into Paradise, it would still be justice, because the standard of justice is only God's will."
(Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, Vol. 4)
By this logic, an innocent child burning in Hell would be "just." The word loses all meaning.
How Muhammad Used This Contradiction Politically
Muhammad cleverly deployed these contradictory doctrines for political advantage:
When recruiting followers: He emphasized free will and personal responsibility to motivate people to join Islam.
When demanding obedience: He insisted followers were accountable for their choices, compelling total submission.
When facing defeat or failure: He switched to predestination. After the Battle of Uhud defeat, the message came:
Quran 9:51: "Say: 'Nothing will ever befall us except what Allah has destined for us.'"
This was psychological manipulation. The contradictory statements, sometimes attributing everything to God's will, sometimes to human mistakes, all of them had one purpose: keep authority with Muhammad and prevent questioning.
Destiny as a Political Weapon: The Umayyad Example
The clearest historical example comes from the Umayyad Caliphs, who weaponized predestination for political control:
Their message: "Our rule is by God's decree. If we are unjust, that too is God's decision."
Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan famously stated: "Whatever we have received is God's decree, and whoever prevented us, prevented us by God's decision."
Translation: Power is God's decree, and oppression is also God's will.
Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik even executed Ghaylan al-Dimashqi, whose only crime was saying: "God cannot be an oppressor."
When oppression is labeled "God's will," protest against it becomes religious rebellion.
The Broader Pattern of Religious Control
This predestination/free will paradox is just one example of how Islam uses contradictory teachings as a control mechanism. The pattern repeats throughout the religion:
- Claim divine mercy while threatening eternal torture
- Promise justice while commanding unjust actions
- Preach equality while establishing hierarchies
- Teach critical thinking while forbidding questioning
- Encourage seeking knowledge while limiting what can be studied
Each contradiction serves a purpose: to keep believers mentally and emotionally dependent on religious authority.
Conclusion
The predestination/free will paradox isn't an accidental theological oversight. It's a deliberately constructed psychological mechanism designed to:
- Maximize follower effort through belief in meaningful action
- Minimize accountability through belief in divine fate
- Prevent questioning by making both success and failure "proof" of Islam
- Maintain control regardless of circumstances
This is the genius of the trap. Believers can never escape because every possible outcome reinforces the system. Win or lose, succeed or fail, the answer is always "Islam is true, Muhammad is right, keep obeying."
Hassan Radwan