The Principle of Grace and the Imamah of the Concealed Imam

(part 5)

Of course, this objection is rejected by referring to one’s reason, since every individual clearly and unambiguously sees himself as free in his actions. In reality, this is a form of objection with respect to obvious matters, just like if someone doubts whether fire burns or makes hot.

Another answer to this objection is that first of all, it doesn’t disprove the issue of bada even if it is valid, since if one believes in predetermination and denies free will, effacement and affirmation, which are among Allah’s actions, will in the end occur either by compellation or free will, like all other actions.

Second, the correct answer to the objection itself is that effacement and affirmation are both uncompelled Divine actions, and like all other Divine actions take place through free will; and "Allah’s knowledge of their occurrence through free will" cannot negate their being uncompelled. Otherwise, it would entail knowledge influencing the thing that is known, which is impossible. Similarly, with regard to the actions of people, Allah has knowledge that they will occur through free will. Such knowledge does not negate the person’s free will. It appears that the sage Muhaqqiq al-Tusi refers to this asnswer when he says (in the form of a poetical couplet) in answer to Khayyam: To term the timeless Divine knowledge the cause of disobedience Is, among those possessed of reason, out of extreme ignorance That is, knowledge of the performance of actions by individuals possessing free will does not contradict the uncompelled nature of those actions.

Second Objection: How can the prophecies of the Prophets and Divine friends regarding unseen future events, especially the prophecies of the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) and the pure Imams (peace be upon them) be explained and justified if bada’ is possible with regard to them? That is, how have they given information with certainty about so many future events without taking into account the possibility of bada’ with respect to those prophecies?

ANSWER: The possibility of occurrence of bada’ and its occurrence in some instances does not mean that it occurs in all instances. Thus, the prophecies of those personages, whose knowledge was grounded in Allah’s knowledge and teaching and inspiration, indicates that bada’ will not occur, and is not in contradiction with the possibility of bada’.

The objection may also be worded in a different way: according to some traditions, in some instances the reports of the prophets and Imams (peace be upon them) did not come to pass, and the reason for that has been mentioned as bada’ or other factors. And this entails having informed about something that is untrue and being accused of lying, and causes a weakening of the position of prophecy and vicgerency.

In addition, the prophet or vicegerent who makes the prophecy either knows about the occurrence of bada’ or doesn’t know about it. In the first case, it is obvious that announcing with certainty the occurrence of an event that will not occur even though the announcer knows that it will not occur constitutes a lie. And the position of the prophets is far removed from that.

In the second case as well, announcing with certainty the occurrence of an event that may or may not occur because of the possibility of bada’, if not a lie, does not much befit the position of prophecy or Imamah.

Source: imamalmahdi.com

Other Links:

Responding to Some Points Raised By Ibn Khaldun (Part 2)  

The Existence of the Mahdi is certain  

Other Opinions from Ibn Khaldun  

People Awaited the Appearance of the Mahdi  

The Jurists of Medina and the Mahdi Traditions