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Fatwa CenterAre those who believe that humans lack free will considered disbelievers?
Question
Are people who believe humans have no free will kuffar?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The belief of Ahl As-Sunnah (adherents to the Sunnah) is that a servant possesses will, intention, and choice; however, these are subordinate to the will and intention of Allah, the Exalted. Nothing in the universe occurs without His will. What He wills takes place, and what He does not will does not happen, as stated by Allah, the Exalted: {And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds} [Quran 81:29].
In Majmu’ Al-Fatawa, Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah 
comments: “The servant has a will, but it is subordinate to the will of Allah, as Allah has mentioned in various places of His Book: {Then whoever wills will remember it. And they will not remember except that Allah wills;} [Quran 74:55-56] {Indeed, this is a reminder, so he who wills may take to his Lord a way. And you do not will except that Allah wills;} [Quran 76:29-30] and {For whoever wills among you to take a right course. And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.} [Quran 81:29] Given that Allah has granted the servant the capacity to will, choose, and intend, it is incorrect to assert that he is compelled or coerced, as Allah has made him a being with free will. It is also incorrect to suggest that the servant created the will for himself.” [End quote]
Regarding the belief that “man does not have free will,” if it implies that the servant is coerced in his actions and lacks any will or choice, then this represents the position of the Jabriyyah (a group based on the belief that humans are controlled by predestination without having choice or free will), a deviant view that contradicts the teachings of the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) and Ahl As-Sunnah. This belief does not constitute kufr (disbelief) unless it also entails the assertion that religious responsibilities are dropped from the Muslim, that Divine commands and prohibitions are invalidated, or that disbelievers and sinners are excused due to compulsion. In such circumstances, it would be regarded as a statement of Kufr.
In Majmu’ Al-Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah further explains: “There exists a faction that denies the servant's choice and ability, deeming him forced in his actions as if he were like inanimate objects, and rendering his voluntary actions (equal to involuntary ones)..... These statements and others like them originate from the Jabriyyah Qadariyyah sect, whose views were rejected by the Imams of guidance, including ‘Abdurrahman Ibn ‘Amr Al-Awza'i, Sufyan ibn Sa'id Al-Thawri, Muhammad Ibn Al-Walid Al-Zubaydi, Abdurrahman Ibn Mahdi, Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Hanbal 
and others. If the Jabriyyah Qadariyyah further argue that sinners are excused by Divine predestination (Al-qadar) and claim that they are not deserving of blame or punishment, or if they assert that their punishment is unjust, then such individuals are considered disbelievers (kuffar). Moreover, if they maintain that the acknowledgment of Divine predestination invalidates the relevance of legal commands, prohibitions, promises (of reward), and threats (of punishment), similar to the views held by libertines (mubāḥiyyah), then their kufr is deemed even greater than that of the Jews and the Christians. They resemble the polytheists who declared: {If Allah had willed, we would not have associated [anything] and neither would our fathers, nor would we have prohibited anything. Likewise did those before deny until they tasted Our punishment. Say, ‘Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow not except assumption, and you are not but falsifying. Say, ‘The conclusive argument belongs to Allah. Had He willed, He would have guided you all} [Quran 6:148-149].” [End quote]
It is crucial to remember that if a Muslim utters a statement of disbelief, it does not automatically classify him as a disbeliever. He may be excused due to misinterpretation. The declaration of disbelief requires that specific conditions of takfir (declaring someone a disbeliever) be met and that no impediments exist. The fundamental assumption is that a Muslim remains within the fold of Islam, and it is prohibited to label a believer as a disbeliever simply because of an error in ‘Aqeedah (belief).
Allah knows best.
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