What is the Islamic concept of human free will versus divine predestination?
The relationship between the human will and the Divine Will can be approximated by the following analogy: Three men are thrown into a lake. The first denies the water exists, sinks and drowns. The second man acknowledges the existence of the water but merely totally relaxes; the water raises him and he just floats. The third man acknowledges the existence of the water but he swims and reaches the beach. The water is analogous to the Divine Will; and the three men to a disbeliever, a lazy believer, and a devout believer. The same water drowns one, supports the other, and carries the third to the beach, but it does this as a function of both the human exercise of will and the Divine Will. The water “has the power to create a vortex and drown them all, and to develop a wave that will throw them all out of the water,” but if it has chosen to remain calm enough, then the will of each man will determine the outcome. The analogy can be extended, and we can talk of currents that hold some back
