FORCED to
CHOOSE by M. Dawud Alcox
The human being is Allah’s
most cherished design. Other
creations serve their purpose
by glorifying Him with their perfect
submission, but humans, on the other
hand, have the ability to transcend
mere robotic obedience to a plateau
reserved for only the most noble of
creations. But what is it exactly that
can elevate the human being to such a
high status?
Islam is one of few world views which
finds a successful balance between
hard determinism and ultimate freewill.
Ironically, Allah has decreed that
we have moral agency (free will to
some extent). It is this distinguishing
feature which can either elevate us
beyond the status of angels or plunge
us into the depths of disgrace. What
is this agency and how does it work?
When Allah tests us with a difficulty,
what is the force that would enable us
to choose obedience over disobedience
despite a strong insistent urge?
In this article, we will highlight some
of the fundamentals of how and why
we make decisions. The hope is that
we can come to a realization and
become wiser and more responsible
when we make choices.
Islam requires agency
Let’s start with Islam itself. Many
times, we conflate Islam with the
five pillars. We say that Islam is the
shahada, salah, zakat, fasting during
the blessed month of Ramadhan
and Hajj. In reality, these are specific
actions and not identical to Islam.
Islam requires a subject. This can be
observed in the hadith of Jibril e. “…
The man asked: ‘O Allah’s Messenger
a, what is Islam?’
He replied: ‘Islam is that you worship
Allah, that you refrain from associating
anything with Him, that you
establish Salah, that you pay zakat
and that you fast during the month
of Ramadan…’” Bukhari: 4777
In other words, Islam is using the divinely
bestowed agency appropriately
in relation to the acts and not solely
the acts themselves. Allah commands
and wants to see whether we will
prove our Islam by performing these
acts in obedience. Islam is our agency
(when utilized correctly) and we will
be questioned and judged based on
how we used it in the circumstances
which He decreed.
Agency is a two-sided coin
Again, the unique aspect of the human
is that we have been given moral
agency which enables us to transcend
the status of other creations by utilizing
it in the correct way. However,
giving us the ability to choose right
from wrong necessitates that we also
have the option to misuse our agency
and opt to disobey Allah. These two
dichotomous alternatives are inseparable
from the coin of agency.
It is a separate discussion, but this
topic has strong ties to the “problem”
of evil. Why didn’t Allah only create
obedient servants? Why would He
allow pain and suffering and in particular
humans who would cause chaos
and corruption? This is a common
objection and also a question that
the angels themselves asked out of
wonder. One response is that there
is no other way for moral agency to
exist in the true sense. If we are given
the ability to choose but then we are
forced to use it only for good, the
agency is revoked. Therefore, choice,
acquisition and ultimately a fair
judgement requires this polarization
of agency. Moreover, the submission
of one with free will is much more
beloved to Allah than the submission
of one without it because it was
actualized and proven by one’s own
volition, not simply because Allah
forced it to occur.
The other side of the coin
On the flip side, this coin has the
markings of kufr. An oft-cited histor-
10 November – December 2021 | AL-MADINAH