inst all
this reasoning and evidence. It is: "This truly is a warning; and whoso
willeth, taketh the way of his Lord; but _will it ye shall not_, unless God
will it, for God is knowing, wise." (Sura lxxvi. 29, 30). To the Hadis they
reply (1) that there is a difference between acquiescence in evil and
decreeing it. Thus the expression "God willeth not tyranny for His
servants," does not mean {178} that God hath not decreed it, but that
tyranny is not one of His attributes: so "evil is not to Thee" means it is
not an attribute of God; and (2) the Hadis must be explained in accordance
with the teaching of the Quran.

The Muslim philosophers tried to find a way out of the difficulty. Averhoes
says: "We are free to act in this way or that, but our will is always
determined by some exterior cause. For example, we see something which
pleases us, we are drawn to it in spite of ourselves. Our will is thus
bound by exterior causes. These causes exist according to a certain order
of things which is founded on the general laws of nature. God alone knows
before hand the necessary connection which to us is a mystery. The
connection of our will with exterior causes is determined by the laws of
nature. It is this which in theology we call, 'decrees and
predestination.'"[171]

I have already shown how, as Islam grew into a system, the Muslims fell
into a Cabbalism, and a superstitious reverence for the mere letters and
words of the Quran. With this declension came a still more distorted view
of the character of God. The quotations made from the Quran in the last few
pages will have shown that whilst some passages seem to attribute freedom
to man and speak of his consequent responsibility, others teach a clear and
distinct fatalism. The great strength of Islam lay in the energy with which
Muhammad preached the doctrine that God was a divine Ruler, one who would
deal righteous judgment, who "taught man that which he knew not." As the
system became more complex and dogmatic--a very necessary result of its
first principles--men lost the sense of the nearness of God. He became an
unapproachable being. A harsh unfeeling Fate took the place of the
Omnipotent Ruler. It is this dark fatalism which, whatever the Quran may
teach on the subject, is the ruling principle in all Muslim {179}
communities. It is this which makes all Muhammadan nations decay. Careless
of self-improvement,[172] heedless of the need of progress, the Muslim
nations, still