Allah, the All-Wise, Acts with Purpose

The Qur’an is replete with dozens of references testifying to the fact that Allah acts in order to achieve certain purposes. Below are some examples among many:

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعۡبُدُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِی خَلَقَكُمۡ وَٱلَّذِینَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ

O humanity! Worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, so that you may become mindful ˹of Him˺. [2:21]

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَیۡكُمُ ٱلصِّیَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِینَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ

O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you—as it was for those before you1—so perhaps you will become mindful ˹of Allah˺. [2:183]

یُرِیدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلۡیُسۡرَ وَلَا یُرِیدُ بِكُمُ ٱلۡعُسۡرَ

Allah intends ease for you, not hardship, [2:185]

وَمَا جَعَلَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشۡرَىٰ لَكُمۡ وَلِتَطۡمَىِٕنَّ قُلُوبُكُم بِهِۦۗ وَمَا ٱلنَّصۡرُ إِلَّا مِنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡعَزِیزِ ٱلۡحَكِیمِ

Allah ordained this only as a message of good cheer for you, and that thereby your hearts might be at rest - Victory cometh only from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise [3:126]

فَأَثَـٰبَكُمۡ غَمَّۢا بِغَمࣲّ لِّكَیۡلَا تَحۡزَنُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَاتَكُمۡ وَلَا مَاۤ أَصَـٰبَكُمۡۗ

He gave you another sorrow instead of (your) sorrow, so that you might not grieve at what had escaped you, nor (at) what befell you; [3:153]

إِنَّاۤ أَنزَلۡنَاۤ إِلَیۡكَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ لِتَحۡكُمَ بَیۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِمَاۤ أَرَىٰكَ ٱللَّهُۚ وَلَا تَكُن لِّلۡخَاۤىِٕنِینَ خَصِیمࣰا

Surely, We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, so that you may judge between people according to what Allah has shown you. Do not be an advocate for those who breach trust [4:105]

رُّسُلࣰا مُّبَشِّرِینَ وَمُنذِرِینَ لِئَلَّا یَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ حُجَّةُۢ بَعۡدَ ٱلرُّسُلِۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَزِیزًا حَكِیمࣰا

Messengers giving good tidings and warning, so that people may have no plea against Allah after the Messengers (have come). Allah is All- Mighty, All-Wise [4:165]

یُبَیِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَیۡءٍ عَلِیمُۢ

God explains His Laws to you so that you will not go astray. God knows all things [4:176]

مَا یُرِیدُ ٱللَّهُ لِیَجۡعَلَ عَلَیۡكُم مِّنۡ حَرَجࣲ وَلَـٰكِن یُرِیدُ لِیُطَهِّرَكُمۡ وَلِیُتِمَّ نِعۡمَتَهُۥ عَلَیۡكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَ

God does not want you to suffer hardship. He wants you to be purified. He wants to complete His favors to you so that perhaps you would give Him thanks [5:6]

مِنۡ أَجۡلِ ذَ ٰ⁠لِكَ كَتَبۡنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِیۤ إِسۡرَ ٰ⁠ۤءِیلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفۡسَۢا بِغَیۡرِ نَفۡسٍ أَوۡ فَسَادࣲ فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِیعࣰا

That is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will be as if they killed all of humanity [5:32]

وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ ثُمَّ یَتَوَفَّىٰكُمۡۚ وَمِنكُم مَّن یُرَدُّ إِلَىٰۤ أَرۡذَلِ ٱلۡعُمُرِ لِكَیۡ لَا یَعۡلَمَ بَعۡدَ عِلۡمࣲ شَیۡـًٔاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِیمࣱ قَدِیرࣱ

Allah has created you, and then causes you to die. And some of you are left to reach the most feeble stage of life so that they may know nothing after having known much. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, Most Capable. [16:70]

وَمَا مَنَعَنَاۤ أَن نُّرۡسِلَ بِٱلۡـَٔایَـٰتِ إِلَّاۤ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا ٱلۡأَوَّلُونَۚ وَءَاتَیۡنَا ثَمُودَ ٱلنَّاقَةَ مُبۡصِرَةࣰ فَظَلَمُوا۟ بِهَاۚ وَمَا نُرۡسِلُ بِٱلۡـَٔایَـٰتِ إِلَّا تَخۡوِیفࣰا

Nothing keeps Us from sending the ˹demanded˺ signs except that they had ˹already˺ been denied by earlier peoples. And We gave Thamûd the she-camel as a clear sign, but they wrongfully rejected it. We only send the signs as a warning. [17:59]

أَفَحَسِبۡتُمۡ أَنَّمَا خَلَقۡنَـٰكُمۡ عَبَثࣰا وَأَنَّكُمۡ إِلَیۡنَا لَا تُرۡجَعُونَ

Did you then think that We had created you without purpose, and that you would never be returned to Us?” [23:115]

فَرَدَدۡنَـٰهُ إِلَىٰۤ أُمِّهِۦ كَیۡ تَقَرَّ عَیۡنُهَا وَلَا تَحۡزَنَ وَلِتَعۡلَمَ أَنَّ وَعۡدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقࣱّ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ لَا یَعۡلَمُونَ

This is how We returned him to his mother so that her heart would be put at ease, and not grieve, and that she would know that Allah’s promise is ˹always˺ true. But most people do not know. [28:13]

زَوَّجۡنَـٰكَهَا لِكَیۡ لَا یَكُونَ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ حَرَجࣱ

We gave her to you in marriage, so that there would be no blame on the believers [33:37]

وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِیَعۡبُدُونِ

I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me. [51:56]

كَیۡ لَا یَكُونَ دُولَةَۢ بَیۡنَ ٱلۡأَغۡنِیَاۤءِ مِنكُمۡۚ

so that wealth may not merely circulate among your rich. [59:7]

ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِی خَلَقَ سَبۡعَ سَمَـٰوَ ٰ⁠تࣲ وَمِنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مِثۡلَهُنَّۖ یَتَنَزَّلُ ٱلۡأَمۡرُ بَیۡنَهُنَّ لِتَعۡلَمُوۤا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَیۡءࣲ قَدِیرࣱ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدۡ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَیۡءٍ عِلۡمَۢا

Allah is the One Who created seven heavens ˹in layers˺, and likewise for the earth. The ˹divine˺ command descends between them so you may know that Allah is Most Capable of everything and that Allah certainly encompasses all things in ˹His˺ knowledge. [65:12]

أَیَحۡسَبُ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ أَن یُتۡرَكَ سُدًى

Do people think they will be left without purpose? [75:36]

Allah is All-Wise (Al-Hakeem) as testified in the Qur’an (e.g., 2:32, 2:209, 42:51, etc.). Ibn Taymiyyah argues that the precision and mastery in God’s creation do not merely exemplify God’s wisdom but also necessitate that there be a purpose underlying each of His creative acts.[1] In other words, it is insufficient to assert that Allah is All-Wise without recognizing that every act of His, especially one as significant as creating the universe, has an underlying purpose.

Ibn Taymiyyah’s understanding of ‘precision’ and ‘mastery’ here is: “The allocation of everything in its suitable place, in order to effectuate the intended objective.”[2] He contends that affirming that Allah possesses both free will and wisdom requires accepting that there must be a reason why He chooses to perform a specific act, x (e.g., creating the universe), in favor of not performing x.

Ibn Taymiyyah also argues that Allah’s wisdom entails two things, 1) Allah’s pleasure and love for the reasons underlying His actions, and 2) The benefits to the creation.[3] Ibn Taymiyyah emphasizes that Allah’s love for things drives His actions, and those who deny that God acts to fulfill certain objectives fail to recognize that Allah loves the purposes He wishes to fulfill and is happy when they are.[4]

Some have raised objections against the idea that Allah acts to achieve purposes. These will be discussed below.

Objection # 1: This contradicts Allah’s statement in Surah 21:23 “He cannot be questioned about what He does, but they will ˹all˺ be questioned.” Allah does not need to have any reasons for His actions. He does not answer to anybody. He has the freedom to do whatever He pleases (Surah 85:16).

Response:

No one has suggested otherwise. Of course, Allah does not answer to anyone, as Surah 21:23 affirms.[5] No one compels Him to be All-Wise; He is necessarily All-Wise given His nature. We do not say that Allah is ‘forced’ to be All-Merciful or All-Powerful; rather, He is necessarily so given His nature. As an All-Wise being, He acts in manners that align with His nature. He is neither questioned nor constrained by anybody. To affirm that Allah acts to attain specific objectives is, in fact, consistent with His nature.

Yes, Allah is free to choose what He wants to do, but given His attribute of being All-Wise, He will always freely choose to do something with underlying purposes.

Objection # 2: If Allah acts to actualize a purpose, then He was imperfect prior to fulfilling the purpose. However, if fulfilling or not fulfilling the purpose makes no difference to Him, then this means that there is nothing inherently wise about the specific decision He took regarding His actions. 

Response:

Too many logical fallacies here.

First of all, we must differentiate between needs and wants. A being that needs something is necessarily deficient, but is the same necessarily true for a being that only wants something? The answer is no.

Secondly, as stated earlier, Allah’s creation of us can be due to Him loving to create us and be pleased with our existence as we worship Him. For Him to do what He loves in no way signifies that He lacked anything prior to creating us, especially if it were not done out of need.

We also need to unpack what is meant by something “making no difference to Allah.” Does it “make no difference” to Allah in terms of His Majesty and Glory whether He created us or not? Surely, it makes no difference in that regard. However, does that render His act of creating us to be meaningless and unwise, then? Absolutely not. Allah loving that He created us to worship Him is inherently meaningful even though He did not need to do so.

Also, it should be highlighted that there is wisdom behind why Allah creates the secondary causes that He does for fulfilling more ultimate purposes. For instance, if one of the purposes of Allah is to guide sincere people to the truth, then He certainly has the power to do so without sending Messengers and revelation. Nevertheless, in the very sending of the Messengers and revelation themselves, there is also wisdom (e.g., establishing the hujjah against mankind, etc.), and thus there is also wisdom behind the causes Allah actualizes to fulfill purposes.[6]

Objection # 3: You are committing anthropomorphism by comparing Allah to His creation. Wise people act according to purposes because before they act, they think and ponder upon what they wish to achieve by their actions. After doing so, they act accordingly. However, Allah does not need to think and ponder to act; thus, He does not base His actions upon fulfilling specific purposes.

Response:

If anyone is guilty of anthropomorphism, it would be the objector himself. We seek refuge in Allah from ever insinuating that Allah must think and ponder before acting. Rather, He is omniscient and knows all things past, present, and future. Allah already knew from eternity past that He would, in the future, create human beings for the purpose of worshipping Him. There was no thinking or pondering involved on His part. Yet, this does not change the fact that His actions are done with underlying purposes governing them.

Objection # 4: Allah states in Surah 10:99 that had He willed, He could have created everyone guided. This demonstrates that Allah does not perform actions to fulfill certain purposes, for if that were the case, then it would only be possible for Him to take one certain course of action.

Response:

This is fallacious reasoning. Allah is not restricted in terms of what purposes He loves to actualize. Surah 10:99 states that if Allah had willed to create everyone guided, then He could have. That is fine, as Allah would still love creating everyone who worships Him. Likewise, He also loves the purpose behind why He created us in this state, with human beings struggling to pass the trials and tests of the dunya.[7]

It could be that Allah has the power to create the world differently, but He has chosen to create the best possible world in alignment with His attributes.[8]

A distinction ought to be made between the two stances:

1) To fulfill a specific purpose, Allah would do so in the best possible manner.

2) There is only a single best purpose that Allah would ever pursue.

The first one is intuitive and evident; however, the second one is not. It is not clear that there is always only one single best purpose that Allah seeks to attain. Thus, Surah 10:99 could also be understood as Allah having the ability to choose different purposes to fulfill (e.g., creating everyone guided instead of testing them).

Objection # 5: To suggest that Allah acts to fulfill specific purposes entails that Allah is driven by something external to Him, which influences how He acts. However, God is self-sufficient and cannot be influenced by others.

Response:

Influencing Allah is only negative if we state that Allah has no choice but to be influenced. Allah knew in advance what was going to happen. Also, Allah could avoid any given situation at any time that He likes (e.g., by freezing time, changing circumstances, etc.). Allah wills the outcome that occurs.[9] When we say that we do not affect Allah, we mean to say that He is truly independent of us and that we cannot force Him to be in a situation that He does not desire.

Allah states in Surah 8:23:

وَلَوۡ عَلِمَ ٱللَّهُ فِیهِمۡ خَیۡرࣰا لَّأَسۡمَعَهُمۡۖ وَلَوۡ أَسۡمَعَهُمۡ لَتَوَلَّوا۟ وَّهُم مُّعۡرِضُونَ

Had Allah known any goodness in them, He would have certainly made them hear. ˹But˺ even if He had made them hear, they would have surely turned away heedlessly.

Notice here that Allah is saying that the lack of goodness in certain people influenced a specific course of action that He did not take. Similarly, through their free-willed actions, human beings ‘influence’ whether Allah gets angry or pleased with them, and so on. This kind of ‘influence’ does not compromise God’s self-sufficiency as it all takes place with His permission.

Secondly, as stated earlier, Allah acts according to what purposes He loves to fulfill. That divine love is an intrinsic attribute and not an external influence.

Conclusion

In summary, we must accept the plain reading of the Qur’an, which states that Allah acts wisely to fulfill specific purposes. Philosophical speculations must not tempt us to digress away from this clear teaching.

Further Reading

Check out Ibnul Qayyim’s comprehensive response to even more objections with additional points in his book, ash-Shifa al-‘Aleel. The relevant sections have been translated into English by Tallal Zeni in Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya on Divine Wisdom and the Problem of Evil-Islamic Texts Society, particularly in Chapter 4.

Allah's Divine Attributes Discourse

Bibliography

Abdullah al-Shihri, al-Hikmah wal-Ta’leel fi Af’aal Allah Ta’ala ‘ind Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, 2002

Ahmed Muhammad, “Ta’leel Af’aal Allah Ta’ala bil-Aghraadh Bayn al-Asha’ira wal-Mukhalifeen fi Ra’i Shaykh al-Islam Mustafa Sabri,” Majallat Kulliyat Usul ad-Deen wal-Da’wa bil-Manofiyyah, article 16, vol. 39, June 2020, pp. 1200-1263

Arif Ali Arif, “al-Hikmah wal-Ta’leel fil Qur’an wal-Sunnah: Dirasah Tahliliyyah lil-‘Alaqah Bayn al-Aqeedah wal-Maqasid,” Majallat at-Tajdid, vol. 20, issue 39, 2016

Hossam Mohammed, “al-Hikmah wal-Ta’leel fi Kitab Allah wal-Sunnah Bayn al-Bo’d al-‘Aqa’idi wal-Bo’d al-Maqasidi,” Contemporary Islamic Studies, 2012

Ibnul Qayyim, ash-Shifa’ al-‘Aleel

Jon Hoover, An Islamic Theodicy: Ibn Taymiyya on the Wise Purpose of God, Human Agency, and Problems of Evil and Justice

Muhammad al-Madkhali, al-Hikmah wal-Ta’leel fi Af’al Allah Ta’ala, 1998, Maktabat Lina

Shukraan al-‘Urfi, “Mawqif al-Madaris al-Kalamiyyah min al-Ta’leel,” Majallat Majma‘, 2014

Tahir Hussain Tahir, “Ta’leel Af’aal Allah Ta’ala fi al-Fikr al-Ash’ari: Dirasah Tahliliyyah,” Majallat Kulliyat al-‘Ulum al-Islamiyyah, vol. 66, June 2021

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[1] He states in his an-Nubuwwat:

فإنّه لا معنى للإحكام إلا الفعل لحكمة مقصودة

[2] He says in an-Nubuwwat:

والإحكام والإتقان إنّما هو أن يضع كلّ شيء في محلّه المناسب، لتحصل به الحكمة المقصودة منه

[3] In Majmu al-Fatawa, we read Ibn Taymiyyah saying:

كل ما خلقه الله تعالى فله فيه حكمة، والحكمة تتضمن شيئين:

أحدهما: حكمة تعود إليه تعالى، يحبها ويرضاها.والثاني: حكمة تعود إلى عباده، هي نعمة عليهم، يفرحون بها، ويلتذون بها، وهذا يكون في المأمورات وفي المخلوقات.

[4] He states in Minhaj as-Sunnah:

فَلَوْ أثْبَتُوا أنَّهُ - سُبْحانَهُ - يُحِبُّ ويَفْرَحُ بِحُصُولِ مَحْبُوبِهِ - كَما أخْبَرَ بِهِ الرَّسُولُ - تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ حِكْمَتُهُ، وتَبَيَّنَ أيْضًا أنَّهُ يَفْعَلُ الأفْعالَ لِحِكْمَةٍ.

[5] Ibnul Qayyim states in his ash-Shifa’ al-‘Aleel:

وأما قوله: ﴿لا يُسْألُ عَمّا يَفْعَلُ وهُمْ يُسْألُونَ﴾ فهذا لكمال علمه وحكمته لا لعدم ذلك وأيضا فسياق الآية في معنى آخر وهو إبطال إلهية من سواه وإثبات الألوهية له وحده

As for His statement, He will not be questioned as to that which He doeth, but they will be questioned, this is due to the perfect nature of His knowledge and wisdom, not because they are not so. In addition, the context of the verse has another meaning, and that is negating divinity for all others besides God, while affirming divinity for Him alone. [translation by Tallal Zeni]

[6] Ibnul Qayyim states in his ash-Shifa’:
دعوى كون توسط أحد الأمرين إذا كان شرطا أو سببا له عبث دعوى كاذبة باطلة فإن العبث هو الذي لا فائدة فيه وأما توسط الشرط أو السبب أو المادة التي يحدث فيها ما يحدثه فليس بعبث توضيحه،

The claim that one entity being an intermediary, a condition or a cause for another represents incoherence on His part is false and invalid. Describing something as frivolous is only [valid] when it is devoid of benefit. But it is not incoherent to have a condition, a cause or a form serving as an intermediary for the origination of some event. [translation by Tallal Zeni]

[7] The point must be clear: Allah loves the purposes underlying His acts, not necessarily all things He creates. 

[8] Ibn Taymiyyah states in one of his letters:

وقد يُراد بِهِ إنَّه ما يُمكن أحسن مِنهُ ولا أكمل مِنهُ فَهَذا لَيْسَ قدحا فِي القُدْرَة بل قد أثبت قدرته على غير ما فعله لَكِن قالَ ما فعله أحسن وأكمل مِمّا لم يَفْعَله وهَذا وصف لَهُ سُبْحانَهُ بِالكَرمِ والجود والإحْسان وهُوَ سُبْحانَهُ الأكرم فَلا يتَصَوَّر أكْرم مِنهُ

It could mean that no better than this [world] or no more perfect than this is possible. This is not a defamation of power. Rather, it has established His power [to do] other than what He has done. However, it says, "What He has done is better and more perfect than what He has not done. " This ascribes to Him-Glory be to Him-generosity, liberality, and beneficence. He-Glory be to Him-is the most generous. No more generous [being] than He can be conceived. [translation by Jon Hoover]

[9] Ibn Taymiyyah says in Minhaj as-Sunnah that Allah is the one who creates and wills for all these outcomes and thus cannot be said to be in need of them:

المُمْتَنَعُ أنْ يَكُونَ الرَّبُّ تَعالى مُفْتَقِرًا إلى غَيْرِهِ، أوْ أنْ يَكُونَ ناقِصًا فِي الأزَلِ عَنْ كَمالٍ يُمْكِنُ وُجُودُهُ فِي الأزَلِ كالحَياةِ والعِلْمِ. وإذا كانَ هُوَ القادِرُ الفاعِلُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ، لَمْ يَكُنْ مُحْتاجًا إلى غَيْرِهِ بِوَجْهٍ مِنَ الوُجُوهِ، بَلِ العِلَلُ المُفْعُولَةُ هِيَ مَقْدُورَةٌ ومُرادَةٌ لَهُ. واللَّهُ تَعالى يُلْهِمُ عِبادَهُ الدُّعاءَ ويُجِيبُهُمْ، ويُلْهِمُهُمُ التَّوْبَةَ ويَفْرَحُ بِتَوْبَتِهِمْ إذا تابُوا، ويُلْهِمُهُمُ العَمَلَ ويُثِيبُهُمْ إذا عَمِلُوا، ولا يُقالُ: إنَّ المَخْلُوقَ أثَّرَ فِي الخالِقِ أوْ جَعَلَهُ فاعِلًا لِلْإجابَةِ والإثابَةِ والفَرَحِ [بِتَوْبَتِهِمْ] ، فَإنَّهُ سُبْحانَهُ هُوَ الخالِقُ لِذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ، لَهُ المُلْكُ ولَهُ الحَمْدُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِي شَيْءٍ مِن ذَلِكَ، ولا يَفْتَقِرُ فِيهِ إلى غَيْرِهِ. والحَوادِثُ الَّتِي لا يُمْكِنُ وُجُودُها إلّا مُتَعاقِبَةً، لا يَكُونُ عَدَمُها فِي الأزَلِ نَقْصًا