Review of the article “Islamic Fatalism” by Helmer Ringgren

In his article ‘Islamic Fatalism’, Helmer Ringgren discusses the role and significance of determinism in the religion of Islam. He analyses the Qur’anic establishment of predestination – that all events and outcomes are decided in advance by God – comparing this concept to fatalism in pre-Islamic Arabian culture, which was expressed through poetry. Ringgren also explores historical examples of Muslim scholars, writers, and mystics expressing their belief in predestination or giving their interpretation of how it is manifested. Ringgren’s ultimate argument is that destiny in Islam is the combined product of the idea of God as omnipotent, with the context of Arabian fatalism from which Islam emerged.

While Ringgren presents an in-depth discussion of fatalism, his article lacks nuanced evaluation of the role of free will in Islam, which exists alongside predestination. The article begins with a broad generalisation that “Islam is a fatalistic religion” where “everything is determined” and “man is unable to do anything about it.” This sets the tone for the rest of the article to define Islam as totally fatalistic with no space for free will; it also dismisses the long history of debates and interpretations by differing schools of theology in Islam. Islam is not a monolith and many varying ideas exist within it. Predestination is a core belief in Islam – qadr is one of the six articles of faith – but free will is also commonly considered part of human nature, at least to an extent. Unlike Ringgren’s depiction, there is a balance of the two in the way Muslims view their lives; free will and predestination are “complementary expressions of the human situation (Murata & Chittick, 1994, p. 114). Though nothing happens without Divine decree, Muslims believe they have a degree of choice given to them by God, as the Qur’an emphasises the importance of good action, and consequences in the afterlife (eg. 18:29, 73:19). The Ashari school of theology, the most predominant in Sunni Islam, theorises that determinism is not absolute because God has given us power to choose between good and evil. Asharism aims to “reconcile” the apparent contradiction between free will and determinism, by giving a single act “two agents”: God, who creates it, and the “servant” who “acquires” it (Hourani, 1985, p. 121). It is a “created power” given to a person only for the moment in which they are making a choice. This is a limited freedom, where we can only act within the scope of what God allows, but it evidences a tradition of free will in Islamic thought. Ringgren mentions the Ashari school in his article but he does not examine its stance on free will; rather he only mentions Al-Ashari’s belief in the omnipotence of God. Ringgren also acknowledges the Mu’tazilite school which “maintained man’s free will,” but he decides that “it would carry us too far to go into details” and does not discuss their theories at all. His conscious decision to leave out the schools that advocate free will is certainly a weakness in his evaluation of fatalism in Islam.

The strengths of Ringgren’s article lie in his comparison of the fatalistic language of pre-Islamic Arabian poetry with the language of the Qur’an. Knowing the setting from which Islam emerged is essential to understanding the context of its ethical teachings. Islam’s “social background” was one that revered language and poetry, and its people were “justly proud” of the Arabic language’s “enormous power of expression” (Inayatullah, 1963, p. 127). Thus, Ringgren’s incorporation of Arabian poetry and its vocabulary is an insightful addition to his analysis. Ringgren makes the important point that despite Arabian poetry’s emphasis on destiny, the language of the Qur’an defines destiny in an “entirely new” way; it is centred around God and dismisses “Fate” or “Time” as powers of their own. The Qur’an also rejects the idea that the Prophet Muhammad was a poet or that the Qur’an is poetry. Nonetheless, reverence for language continued to be a key part of Islamic tradition through the Qur’an, and the Qur’an contains many passages with rich and poetic statements about humankind’s destiny – namely, Judgement Day, heaven and hell.

Finally, throughout his article, Ringgren describes the Qur’an as coming from the Prophet Muhammad, such as “here Muhammad makes it clear that…” and “these two passages show Muhammad’s repudiation of…” This language contradicts the Islamic belief that the Qur’an is revelation from God rather than written by the Prophet. While this could be explained by Ringgren not sharing this belief, it misrepresents the Islamic understanding of the Qur’an, the very text about which he is discussing; and this misunderstanding or lack of acknowledgement raises concerns about the depth of his expertise on the message and tenets of Islam. Or, perhaps more concerningly, it may be an intentional and strategic dismissal of Islam’s core concepts – a product of orientalism – which shapes the way a western audience will perceive the religion they assume Ringgren has authority on. Orientalist scholars have historically made “deep generalisations” about Islam and spoken of it as something “trivial” (Said, 1979, p. 208); with or without realising it, Ringgren has conformed to this in his article. Ultimately, though Ringgren includes engaging analysis of linguistic and cultural context, his arguments for Islamic fatalism fall short, due to the absence of recognition of the depth and diversity in Islamic theology, and of certain core aspects of Muslim belief.

Reference List

Hourani, G. F. (1985). Reason and Tradition in Islamic Ethics. Cambridge University Press.

Inayatullah, S. (1963). Pre-Islamic Arabian Thought. In A History of Muslim Philosophy, Vol 1 by M. M. Sharif. Otto Harrassowitz.

Murata, S., & Chittick, W. C. (1994). The Vision of Islam. Paragon House.

Ringgren, H. (1967). Islamic Fatalism. Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, 2, 52–62.

Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.

“As long as my soul stays in my body,
I am a slave of the Qur’an and the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen One.
If someone interprets my words in any other way,
That person I deplore, and I deplore his words.”

- Jalal ud-Din Rumi