Qadariyyah, in Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will (from qadar, “power”). The name was also applied to the Muʿtazilah, the Muslim theological school that believed that humankind, through its free will, can choose between good and evil. But, as the Muʿtazilah also stressed the absolute unity of God (tawhid), they resented the designation because of a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, “The Qadariyyah are the dualists of this people,” and preferred to be called ahl al-ʿadl (“the people of justice”).
The question of free will and predetermination was one that involved practically all Muslim sects and produced both extreme and compromise views. The Qadariyyah based their stand on the necessity of divine justice (see theodicy). They maintained that without responsibility and freedom, humans cannot justly be held accountable for their actions. Their opponents disregarded the question of justice and argued that to allow humankind any freedom is equal to denying God’s omnipotence and his absolute creative power. Two compromise views were held by moderate theological schools, the Ashʿariyyah and the Māturīdiyyah.
The Qadariyyah as well as their opponents found clear support for their views in the Qurʾān (Islamic scripture). The Qadariyyah quoted verses such as “Who receives guidance receives it for his own benefit, and who goes astray does so to his own loss” (17:15), and “If you did well you did well for yourselves, if you did evil you did it against yourselves” (17:7). Their opponents countered with such verses as “If God so willed, he could make you all one people, but he leads astray whom he pleases and guides whom he pleases” (16:93). Both extreme positions were considered heretical by some theologians, and the two compromise views were considered vague. Thus, the problem of maintaining both God’s justice and his omnipotence remained a point of controversy in Islamic theology.