QADARIYAH

in Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will (from qadar, power). The name was also applied to the Mu'tazilah, the Muslim theological school that believed that man, through his free will, can choose between good and evil. But as the Mu'tazilah also stressed the absolute unity of God (tawhid), they resented the designation because of a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, The Qadariyah are the dualists of this people, and preferred to be called ahl al-'adl (the people of justice). The question of free will and predetermination was one that involved practically all Muslim sects and produced both extreme and compromise views. The Qadariyah based their stand on the necessity of divine justice. They maintained that without responsibility and freedom man cannot justly be held accountable for his actions. Their opponents disregarded the question of justice and argued that to allow man any freedom is equal to denying God's omnipotence and his absolute creative power. Two compromise views were held by moderate theological schools, the Ash'ariyah and the Maturidiyah. The Qadariyah as well as their opponents found clear support for their views in the Qur'an (Islamic scripture). The Qadariyah quoted verses such as Who receives guidance receives it for his own benefit, and who goes astray does so to his own loss (17:15), and If you did well you did well for yourselves, if you did evil you did it against yourselves (17:7). Their opponents countered with such verses as If God so willed, he could make you all one people, but he leads astray whom he pleases and guides whom he pleases (16:93). Both extreme positions were considered heretical by some theologians, and the two compromise views were considered vague. Thus, the problem of maintaining both God's justice and his omnipotence remained a point of controversy in Islamic theology.