LessonsObligation Beyond Capacity: Possibility, Ability, and Moral JudgmentQuiz

أَمَّا مَا يَمْتَنِعُ بِنَاءً عَلَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلِمَ خِلَافَهُ
But an act whose occurrence is precluded because God knows its contrary.

Suppose God knows that a particular person will not believe. The nonoccurrence of that person’s belief is certain in relation to divine knowledge. Yet the meaning of believing is not inherently a contradiction.

The nature of the act and the certainty of its actual outcome are two different considerations. A religious address requiring belief can therefore coexist with knowledge that its addressee will not comply.

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Certain nonoccurrence is not intrinsic contradiction

Obligation Beyond Capacity: Possibility, Ability, and Moral Judgment

أَمَّا مَا يَمْتَنِعُ بِنَاءً عَلَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلِمَ خِلَافَهُ
But an act whose occurrence is precluded because God knows its contrary.

Suppose God knows that a particular person will not believe. The nonoccurrence of that person’s belief is certain in relation to divine knowledge. Yet the meaning of believing is not inherently a contradiction.

The nature of the act and the certainty of its actual outcome are two different considerations. A religious address requiring belief can therefore coexist with knowledge that its addressee will not comply.