Shifa al-Alil fi Masa'il al-Qada wa al-Qadar wa al-Hikma wa al-Talil
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- T Ata'at al-Ilm · T. al-Marifa
Shifa al-Alil fi Masa'il al-Qada wa al-Qadar wa al-Hikma wa al-Talil (The Healing of the Ailing regarding the Issues of Divine Decree, Predestination, Wisdom, and Causality) is a comprehensive theological treatise authored by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) on the theology of divine decree (al-qada wa al-qadar), divine teleology, and secondary causality.
Background and Title
Ibn al-Qayyim indicated his intention to compose an independent work dedicated to divine decree in his earlier work Tahdhib al-Sunan, completed around 732 AH, noting that he had collected nearly five hundred proofs establishing divine decree and refuting determinist and anti-determinist positions. Based on his cross-references to Miftah Dar al-Sa'ada and Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma, and the citation of Shifa al-Alil in later compositions such as al-Sawa'iq al-Mursala and Ighathat al-Lahfan, researchers estimate the book was written roughly between 733 and 738 AH.
The author stated the full rhyming title in his introduction as Shifa al-Alil fi Masa'il al-Qada wa al-Qadar wa al-Hikma wa al-Talil, which appears on ancient manuscripts such as that of the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque. Hajji Khalifa recorded it under this title in Kashf al-Zunun, whereas Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in al-Durar al-Kamina and al-Shawkani in al-Badr al-Tali' listed it simply by its topic, al-Qada wa al-Qadar.
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into thirty thematic chapters (abwab), varying considerably in length from brief treatments of two pages to extensive discourses spanning more than a hundred pages:
- The Stages and Types of Decree (Chapters 1–6): Discusses the five forms of divine decree: the primordial determination fifty thousand years prior to the creation of the heavens and the earth, the determination of human lifespan and destiny before individual creation, the decree written during fetal development in the womb, the annual decree on the Night of Destiny (Laylat al-Qadr), and the daily decree. Chapter 3 examines the theological implications of the scriptural debate between Adam and Moses.
- Human Action and Scriptural Analysis (Chapters 7–9): Establishes that prior decree does not negate the necessity of human exertion, as outcomes are linked to proximate means and secondary causes (al-asbab), followed by exegesis of relevant Quranic verses.
- The Tiers of Predestination (Chapters 10–13): Sets out the four classic ranks of qadar that constitute sound faith: divine eternal knowledge (al-ilm), the pre-existent record (al-kitaba), the operative divine will (al-mashi'a), and the creation of all entities and actions (al-khalq).
- Guidance, Abandonment, and Volition (Chapters 14–20): Examines divine guidance (huda) and misdirection (dalal), the nature of divine sealing (khatm) upon hearts, God's exclusivity in creation, and the lexical and theological definitions of compulsion (jabr). Chapters 19 and 20 present staged dialectical debates between a Sunni theologian and representatives of both the determinist (Jabriyya) and anti-determinist (Qadariyya) schools.
- Divine Wisdom, Teleology, and the Problem of Evil (Chapters 21–26): Details the transcendence of God's decree above intrinsic evil, establishes that God acts and commands for underlying purposes and praiseworthy outcomes (al-hikma wa al-talil), dismantles arguments advanced by deniers of divine purpose, and explains traditional formulations regarding predestination of good and evil.
Methodology
Ibn al-Qayyim structured the work by combining scriptural evidence (al-manqul) with rational inquiry (al-ma'qul). His method relies on clustering relevant Quranic passages, scrutinizing hadith variants word by word, and engaging in critical evaluation of chains of transmission (asānīd), adhering to a self-imposed condition of arguing only from established reports. When refuting opposing views, he frequently structures his counter-arguments into sequential, numbered points (awjuh).
A distinctive feature of the book is its dual polemical focus: it rejects the Mu'tazilite stance that denies God's comprehensive creation and foreordination of human actions, while equally contesting the radical determinism of the Jabriyya and the denial of secondary causation and teleological purpose (hikma) by certain scholastic theologians (mutakallimun).
Reception and Scholarly Transmission
Shifa al-Alil came to be regarded among the most expansive dedicated monographs produced within the Sunni tradition on predestination and causality.
Later scholars drew directly from its discussions. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani cited it in Fath al-Bari when explaining the hadith on innate human nature (fitra). The seventeenth-century scholar Ibrahim al-Kurani utilized the text extensively to document the later doctrinal positions of Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, as preserved in al-Saffarini's Lawami' al-Anwar al-Bahiyya. In the fourteenth century AH, reliance on and citation of the work expanded further in the writings of scholars including Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, Sulayman ibn Sahman, Muhammad Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri, and Muhammad Rashid Rida. A critical edition was prepared by Zahir ibn Salim Balfaqih under the editorial program established by Bakr Abu Zayd.
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