The Subject of Human Actions in Early Qurʾānic Commentaries

Abstract

This study examines the issue of human actions, responsibility, and freedom through Qurʾānic commentaries of the first three centuries of Islam. The transmitted (riwāya) tafsīr works analysed extend up to Ibn Abī Ḥātim (d. 327/938), while linguistic tafsīr works extend up to al-Sijistānī (d. 330/941). Verses containing concepts such as fiʿl, ʿamal, qadar, qaḍāʾ, irāda, kasb, hidāya, ḍalāla, mashīʾa, istiṭāʿa, saʿy, the sealing of hearts (khatm and ṭabʿ), and kitāb in the context of the Preserved Tablet were examined, along with verses addressing human actions without explicit terminology. The findings show that these concepts were commonly understood in Arabic and that early exegetes affirmed human responsibility and freedom. However, in interpreting verses emphasising divine power, some exegetes used expressions that may suggest limited human freedom, while still maintaining that humans are responsible for actions within their capacity.