IV. PREDESTINATION
1. We shall now conclude our study of the Qur'anic
doctrine of God with a consideration of Muhammad's
teaching on the relation of the eternal divine purpose
to the works of God in Creation and Providence. In other
words, we shall now study the teaching of the Qur'an
on Predestination.
In doing this it will be impossible to avoid repeating
much of what has already been said. This repetition
is necessary to bring out clearly the bearing of the
Qur'anic conceptions of creation and of the divine
will on this doctrine.
The orthodox Muhammadan teaching on Predestination
is 'that all that has been and all that will be
was decreed in eternity and written on the Preserved
Tablet.' 1 This cold and dry doctrine
of the Decrees, which in practice has tended towards
fatalism, is based on a one-sided interpretation of
certain passages, some of which we shall now consider.
Let us take first the verse that is perhaps the strongest
support that the Muhammadan theologians can find. 'Verily
it is We who will quicken the dead, and write down the
works which they have sent on before them, and the traces
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