Quranic Sciences

The First Kind:

The verses that attribute good and bad deeds to the person himself such as the following Suras; al-Isra' 15, Yunus 108, and az-Zumar 41: Whoever goes aright, for his own soul does he go aright, and whoever goes astray, to its detriment only does he go astray.

Say if I err, I err only against my own soul. (34:40).

There are a great number of verses in a similar vein.

The Second Kind:

There are verses that hold the Divine Precinct of Lordship (i.e as Provider and Guide) to be above injustice. For example when Allah says, "Surely Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom." (4:40). There are forty such verses.

The Third Kind:

There are some verses showing that Allah tests His servants whether they choose faith and obedience or choose disbelief and disobedience. Allah says, "Who created death and life that He may try you, which of you is best in deeds." (67:2)
There are nearly sixty-seven verses having this meaning.

The Fourth Kind:

There are some verses calling people to faith, guidance, supplication, piety and the like, and that Allah, no doubt, likes people to do these things. He says: "… so that they should believe in the meeting of their Lord." (6:154)

"... that you may warn a people, to whom no warner has come before you, that they may follow the right direction." (32:3)

"...and that they may warn their people when they come back to them that they may be cautious." (9:122)

"...then We seized them with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves." (6:42)
"Thus does Allah make clear His communications for men that they may guard against evil."(2:187)

There are seventy-nine verses conveying such a meaning.

The Fifth Kind:

There are some verses showing that Allah's reward and punishment are a requital of what people have earned out of their deeds. Allah says, "…then every soul shall be paid back in full what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." (2:281) (3:161)

"….that every soul may be rewarded for what it has earned and they shall not be wronged." (45:22)
"Every soul is held in pledge for what it earns." (74:38)

"And whoever commits a sin, he only commits it against his own soul." (4:111)

"Thus, it is that their recompense is Hell, because they disbelieved and held My communications and My apostles in mockery." (18:106)

"And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and evil is the resort." (67:6)
"But as to those who are careful of (their duty to) their Lord, they shall have gardens beneath which rivers flow." (3:198)

"Their reward with their Lord is gardens of perpetuity beneath which rivers flow." (98:8)
There are many other verses with such a meaning in the Holy Qur'an.

The Sixth Kind:

There are verses that censure and rebuke the disbelievers and the corrupt, and this would not be correct unless they possessed freedom of choice in their actions. Allah says, "How do you deny Allah and you were dead and He gave you life." (2:28)

"But how do you disbelieve while it is you to whom the communications of Allah are recited, and among you is His Apostle." (3:101)

"How, then, will you guard yourselves, if you disbelieve, on the Day which makes children gray-headed." (73:17)

"Why do you disbelieve in the communications of Allah, and Allah is a witness of what you do." (3:98)
"Will they still believe in the falsehood and disbelieve in the favor of Allah?" (29:67)

"Were not My communications recited to you but you used to reject them?" (23:105)

The Seventh Kind:

There are some verses showing that people themselves are responsible for disbelief and belief, obedience and disobedience. Allah says,

"And Musa said 'If you are ungrateful, you and those on Earth all together, most surely, Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praised." (14:8)

"...and whoever disbelieves in the communications of Allah then surely Allah is quick in reckoning." (3:19)
"Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers in the earth?" (38:28)

"And he who obeys Allah and His Apostle, and fears Allah, and is careful of (his duty to Him), such are those that will achieve." (24:52)

"...this was because they disobeyed and used to exceed the limit." (5:78)

We have mentioned these verses only as examples. Those verses that ascribe actions to the servant are indeed much more than these.

The Eighth Kind:

There are verses showing that Allah gives people the option to choose between belief and disbelief, obedience and disobedience. Allah says:

"...so let him who pleases believe, and let him who pleases disbelieve." (18:29)

The Ninth Kind:

There are verses urging the doing of good before opportunities pass by. Allah says, "And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord." (3:133)

The Tenth Kind:

There are some verses showing that people should ask for help from Allah. Allah says, "Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help." (1:5)
This means that man is the performer of his deeds and Allah assists him in his good actions.

The Eleventh Kind:

There are some verses that include asking Allah for forgiveness. Allah says, "Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers." (7:23)

The Twelfth Kind:

There are some verses which indicate that the confession of the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection shows that they themselves were responsible for disbelief and disobedience. Allah says, "They said: we were not of those who prayed, and we used not to feed the poor, and we used to enter into discourse with those who entered into vain discourses." (74:43-45)

The Thirteenth Kind:

There are verses showing that the disbelievers, on the Day of Resurrection, would wish that they could come back to the life of the world to be pious. Allah says, "...send me back my Lord, in order that I do good." (23: 99-100)

Adapted from the book: "Spurious Arguments about the Shia" by: "Abu Talib at-Tabrizi"