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Draft:Generative Will

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Generative Will (Arabic: الإرادة التکوینیة, al-irāda al-takwīniyya) constitutes a specific category of Divine Will[1] that operates in distinct contrast to Legislative Will. This modality of will governs the immediate and unmediated actualization of God's intent; the moment He wills an entity or event, it is instantaneously brought into cosmic existence.[2] Generative Will encompasses all phenomena resulting directly from Divine volition, ranging from the initial creation of the universe to the continuous occurrence of natural events. Within this framework, the materialization of the willed object is both necessary and inescapable.[3] Theologians note that generative capacity is not exclusively Divine; human beings also exercise a localized form of generative will, exemplified by the direct, physical volition required for a soldier to discharge a weapon.[4] In Al-Asfar, the prominent philosopher Mulla Sadra posits that Divine Will, much like Divine Knowledge, manifests in graduated, hierarchical levels. In this paradigm, the ultimate manifestation of Divine Will is the very external existence of contingent beings as they relate to the Divine Essence.[5]

Islamic scholars and philosophers have articulated three primary definitions of Generative Will:[6]

  1. Divine Knowledge: This perspective, favored by the majority of philosophers,[7] equates Generative Will with God's perfect knowledge of the Best Order of the universe.[8] It also extends to His awareness of the inherent benefit (maṣlaḥa) within sovereign acts,[9] such as the orchestration of creation and the distribution of sustenance.
  2. External Origination: In this context, the will is defined pragmatically as the very act of bringing an entity from non-existence into external reality.[10] This applies equally to God's macrocosmic will to create the universe and a human's microcosmic volition to perform basic physical acts, such as eating or drinking.
  3. Inclination or Intent: This psychological definition frames "will" as the internal state of yearning or the cognitive formulation of a decision. Here, Generative Will signifies the innate inclination or conscious intention to execute a specific action.[11]

The theoretical framework of Generative Will is extensively analyzed across the disciplines of Principles of Jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh),[12] Islamic theology (kalām),[13] and Qur'anic exegesis (tafsīr).[14] The Qur'an alludes to this concept in numerous passages,[15] most notably in Qur'an 36:82: "All His command, when He wills something, is to say to it, 'Be,' and it is." Exegetes universally interpret this verse as an expression of God's immediate, unhindered creation of beings.[16] Similarly, the Verse of Purification is frequently cited as a profound manifestation of Generative Will, signifying the ontological purification of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) from spiritual impurities.[17] Furthermore, the term mashiyya (providence), as it appears throughout the Qur'an, is widely understood by scholars to denote Generative Will and the continuous act of cosmic creation.[18]

The doctrine of Generative Will is also deeply rooted in Islamic traditions. A notable narration from Imam al-Rida (a) records a divine utterance (Hadith Qudsi) wherein God addresses humanity: "O son of Adam (a)! By My providence and will, you are able to will for yourself what you want, and by My power, you perform the obligatory acts..."[19] Contemporary scholar Naser Makarim Shirazi interprets this profound statement as a demonstration of Generative Guardianship (wilāya takwīniyya). In this view, Divine Generative Will actively grants human beings their free will and moral agency, ultimately positioning the individual as the autonomous architect of their own destiny.[20]

Generative Will and Legislative Will diverge fundamentally across several key parameters:[21]

  • **Scope of Attachment:** In the realm of Generative Will, volition attaches directly to the resultant act without any intermediary; the willed object is ontologically necessitated, rendering deviation or failure impossible.[22] Conversely, Legislative Will pertains to the prescribed, voluntary actions of moral agents (such as human beings). In this domain, deviation is inherently possible, as evidenced by human disobedience or the neglect of religious obligations.[23]
  • **Subject of the Act:** Generative Will encompasses the actions of the willing subject as well as the actions of others, regardless of whether these actions are executed by conscious choice or cosmic compulsion. In strict contrast, Legislative Will attaches exclusively to the voluntary, free-will acts of others.[24]

Prominent jurist Sayyid Hasan Musawi Bujnurdi posits that these two modalities of will ultimately share a singular underlying reality. The distinction between them lies exclusively in the object to which the will attaches: Generative Will applies universally to one's own actions or those of another—whether performed willingly or reluctantly—whereas Legislative Will strictly targets actions governed by voluntary agency.[25]

Notes

  1. ↑ Subḥānī, Al-Ilāhiyyāt, vol. 4, p. 126.
  2. ↑ Markaz-i Iṭṭilāʿāt wa Manābiʿ-i Islāmī, Farhang-nāma-yi uṣūl-i fiqh, p. 142.
  3. ↑ Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, p. 67; Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muntaha al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 182; Subḥānī, Al-Ilāhiyyāt, vol. 4, p. 126.
  4. ↑ Subḥānī, Manshūr-i jāwīd, vol. 4, p. 361.
  5. ↑ Mullā Ṣadrā, Al-Ḥikma al-mutaʿāliya, vol. 6, p. 354.
  6. ↑ See: Baḥrānī, Muʿjam al-uṣūlī, vol. 1, pp. 105–106.
  7. ↑ Baḥrānī, Muʿjam al-uṣūlī, vol. 1, p. 105.
  8. ↑ Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, p. 67.
  9. ↑ Baḥrānī, Muʿjam al-uṣūlī, vol. 1, p. 105; Muḥammadī, Sharḥ Kashf al-murād, p. 130.
  10. ↑ Mishkīnī, Iṣṭilāḥāt al-uṣūl, p. 29; Subḥānī, Al-Ilāhiyyāt, vol. 4, p. 126.
  11. ↑ Baḥrānī, Muʿjam al-uṣūlī, vol. 1, pp. 105–106.
  12. ↑ See for example: Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, p. 67; Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muntaha al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 182; Ḥakīm, Al-Muḥkam fī uṣūl al-fiqh, vol. 1, pp. 22–27.
  13. ↑ See for example: Subḥānī, Al-Ilāhiyyāt, vol. 4, p. 126.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 239; Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 3, pp. 279–280; Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Qurʾān, vol. 4, pp. 153–171.
  15. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Qurʾān, vol. 4, pp. 153, 169; Subḥānī, Al-Ilāhiyyāt, vol. 4, p. 128; Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 3, pp. 279–280; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 239.
  16. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Āyāt-i wilāyat dar Qurʾān, p. 157; Muḥammadī, Sharḥ Kashf al-murād, p. 130.
  17. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 313; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 17, pp. 292, 303; Subḥānī, Al-Ilāhiyyāt, vol. 4, p. 126.
  18. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 13, p. 272; Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 169.
  19. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 152, hadith 6.
  20. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Payām-i Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 171.
  21. ↑ See: Ḥakīm, Al-Muḥkam fī uṣūl al-fiqh, vol. 1, pp. 22–27.
  22. ↑ Subḥānī, Manshūr-i jāwīd, vol. 4, pp. 360–364 and vol. 10, p. 253; Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muntaha al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 183; Ḥakīm, Al-Muḥkam fī uṣūl al-fiqh, vol. 1, p. 23.
  23. ↑ Mishkīnī, Iṣṭilāḥāt al-uṣūl, p. 29; Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muntaha al-uṣūl, vol. 1, pp. 182–183.
  24. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muntaha al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 183; Markaz-i Iṭṭilāʿāt wa Manābiʿ-i Islāmī, Farhang-nāma-yi uṣūl-i fiqh, p. 142.
  25. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Muntaha al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 183.

References

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