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A Functionalist Analysis of Free Will and Its Role… A. Mustapha et al (31
The meaning of the above narration matter. This is further explained by
is not that God creates humans as Muhammad ‘Abdoh in his commentary
happy or wretched without free will, on Imam Ali’s statement, “The servant
but rather the interpretation is that God and what he finds within himself as an
knows in advance who will become impetus towards good or evil, and no
happy through their own free will and person finds anything except that his
who will become wretched. choice drives him to what he does, and
To interpret it, we refer to the words God knows him as an agent by his
of Imam Ali , in which He said, “God choice: either wretched by it or happy”
Almighty knows what is in the wombs (Abdoh, 1995, Vol. 3, p.167).
- whether male or female, ugly or Freedom and Self-Respect in Lifestyle
beautiful, generous or stingy, wretched One of the functions of human free will
or happy. This is the knowledge of the in lifestyle is freedom. In other words,
unseen that no one knows except God” one of the necessities of human free
(Sharīf al-Raḍī, Sermon 128). will is ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty.’
Additionally, it is narrated by Imam The Almighty God created humans
Kazim, “The wretched is one whom free and independent. Based on the
God, while still in his mother’s womb, conformity of creation and legislation,
knows will commit the deeds of the humans must maintain this freedom and
wretched. Similarly, the happy is one independence in their behavior. In other
whom God, while still in his mother’s words, considering the relationship
womb, knows will commit the deeds of between ‘is’ and ‘ought,’ a free-willed
the happy and prosperous” (Ibn human must act freely. This is one of the
Bābawayh, 2019, p. 356). truths observed in the words of Imam Ali
Thus, God Almighty is aware of . He addressed all humans, saying, “Do
what is in the wombs, whether it is a not be the slave of others for Allah had
boy or a girl, ugly or beautiful, made you free” (Sharīf al-Raḍī, Letter 31).
generous or stingy, happy or wretched, This independence and freedom
and this is the knowledge of the unseen concern other creatures, not God.
that no one knows but God. Therefore, if someone considers
Therefore, God’s eternal knowledge themselves free and independent, they
cannot be used as evidence for should not become a servant to other
determinism; knowledge follows the creatures in their behavior and
known. Additionally, if we pay decision-making.
attention, we see that the expression in Of course, this freedom must be
the narration is ‘one who becomes observed throughout one’s lifestyle,
happy,’ indicating human agency in this not just in relation to other humans but
