al-Qasida al-Ta'iyya fi al-Qadar

al-Qasida al-Ta'iyya fi al-Qadar (The Ode Rhyming in Tāʾ on Divine Predestination) is a didactic theological poem composed by Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) to defend the Islamic orthodox doctrine of divine decree and human responsibility Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al…+1.

Occasion and Composition

The poem was written in response to a poetic challenge presented by a non-Muslim subject (dhimmī)—variously identified as a Christian or a Jewish scholar—who questioned the justice of divine punishment for disbelief if that disbelief was already decreed by God al-Bida wa Atharuha fi Mi…+1. The questioner asked how a human could be blamed for obeying God’s universal will (mashīʾa) if God had barred the path to faith and ordained their misguidance Taqrib Fatawa Ibn Taymiyy…+1.

Ibn Taymiyya reportedly composed his rebuttal extemporaneously (murtajilan) while seated, matching the meter and the rhyming letter (rawiyy) of the original inquiry al-Bida wa Atharuha fi Mi…+1. The opening line of his response addresses the challenger directly:

سؤالُك يا هذا سؤالُ مُعاندٍ … مُخاصمِ ربِّ العرشِ باري البريّةِ "Your question, O you, is the question of an obstinate adversary, contending with the Lord of the Throne, the Creator of creation." Taqrib Fatawa Ibn Taymiyy…+1

Metre and Length

The ode is composed in the long poetic meter (baḥr al-ṭawīl) and rhymes throughout in the letter tāʾ al-Bida wa Atharuha fi Mi…+1. Reports vary regarding its exact line count: some sources state that it contains 124 lines, while other accounts number it at roughly 100, over 130, or more than 150 verses al-Bida wa Atharuha fi Mi…+3.

Themes and Doctrine

The central objective of the ode is to reconcile the comprehensive nature of divine decree (al-qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar) with human accountability and moral choice Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al…. The main doctrinal arguments articulated across the poem include:

• Universality of God's Will and Creation: Ibn Taymiyya affirms God's eternal, antecedent knowledge, His overarching will (mashīʾa), and His omnipotence over all created phenomena Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al…+1.
• The Root of Deviation: The poem asserts that the principal source of misguidance across sects is delving into the underlying causes of God’s actions (al-khawḍ fī fiʿl al-ilāh bi-ʿilla) without comprehending His divine wisdom (ḥikma) and justice Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al…+1.
• Invalidity of Fatalist Justifications: Ibn Taymiyya argues that using divine predestination to excuse sin and disbelief is irrational. He compares committing disbelief to consuming poison: just as poison inevitably leads to death by God's decree without relieving the consumer of their action, sins yield punishment as their intrinsic outcome Majmu al-Fatawa. He likewise likens invoking predestination for wicked behavior to a wolf justifying its predation by claiming it is merely its nature Majmu al-Fatawa.
• Human Free Will and Agency: The text rejects strict fatalism (jabr), stating that human beings are not compelled without volition (laysa bi-majbūrin ʿadīmi l-irāda), but rather possess real capacity and intention created by God, by which they choose between righteousness and wrongdoing and are accordingly rewarded or punished Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al…+1.

Transmission and Commentaries

The poem is documented in classical biographical and collected works, including al-ʿUqūd al-Durriyya by Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī and the eighth volume of Ibn Taymiyya's Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā al-Uqud al-Durriyya fi Ma…+1.

Later scholars wrote commentaries on the poem, notably ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī in his work al-Durra al-Bahiyya Sharḥ al-Qaṣīda al-Tāʾiyya fī Ḥall al-Mushkila al-Qadariyya (The Splendid Pearl: Commentary on the Tāʾiyya Ode on Resolving the Problem of Predestination) al-Durra al-Bahiya Sharh …. The same foundational query was also answered in separate verse compositions by other scholars, such as the 167-line ode by ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Ḥanafī (known as al-Jundī) and verses by Abū Saʿīd ibn Lubb Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al…+1.