In Islamic theology, the prophetic saying 'the Pen has dried' (Jaf al-Qalam) has often been invoked to support absolute fatalism or predestination, suggesting that human effort is futile because all outcomes are pre-written.

In the *Masnavi* (Book Five, Section 135), Rumi explicitly rejects this fatalistic interpretation, reframing it as an assertion of **moral causality and the immutability of divine justice**:

- **No Ethical Equivalence:** The Pen has written that good and evil, obedience and disobedience, and trustworthiness and theft can never be equal before God.
- **Immutable Laws of Consequence:** The 'drying' of the Pen signifies that the moral law of the universe is fixed—crooked actions will inevitably lead to crooked results, while righteousness will always yield spiritual happiness.
- **Incentive for Action:** Instead of inducing laziness or resignation, this doctrine serves to incite humanity toward 'the most important work' (shoghl-e aham) by guaranteeing that no mor...

Rumi's Reframing of the 'Pen Has Dried' (Jaf al-Qalam) Doctrine

In Book Five, Section 137 of the *Masnavi*, Rumi addresses the unresolved debate between the deterministic infidel (*jabri*) and the Sunni believer representing free will (*qadari*). He emphasizes that rational discourse, arguments, and counterarguments are endless and cannot eliminate the core doubts and objections. Rumi asserts that only Divine Love (*'ishq-i haqiqi*) can truly resolve and transcend these intellectual conflicts. In the presence of Divine Love, the human intellect's preoccupation with debating personal agency versus divine compulsion vanishes, as the lover is entirely absorbed in the Divine Will, rendering theological disputations irrelevant.

The Transcendence of Theological Debates through Divine Love in the Masnavi

In Book Five, Section 130 of the *Masnavi*, Rumi outlines the Sunni believer's philosophical defense of human free will (*ikhtiyar*) against determinism (*jabr*). He describes the Sunnah as a middle path between two extreme wildernesses: absolute determinism (*jabr*) on the right, which denies moral responsibility and renders divine commands, prohibitions, Paradise, and Hell meaningless; and absolute free will (*qadar*) on the left, which mistakenly limits the Creator's power. To refute the determinist, Rumi uses common-sense arguments, noting that we do not command inanimate objects (such as stones or wood) or expect them to act, which demonstrates that our use of commands and blame inherently relies on an intuitive recognition of human choice and agency.

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## Original content
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گفت مؤمن بشنو ای جبری خطاب 
آن خود گفتی نک آوردم جواب
بازی خود دیدی ای شطرنج باز 
بازی خصمت ببین پهن و دراز
نامه عذر خودت بر خوانده ای 
نامه سنی بخوان چه مانده ای
نکته گفتی جبریانه در قضا 
سر آن بشنو ز من در ماجرا
اختیاری هست ما را بی گمان 
حس را منکر نتانی شد عیان
سنگ را هرگز بگوید کس بیا 
از کلوخی کس کجا جوید وفا
آدمی را کس نگوید هین بپر 
یا بیا ای کور تو در من نگر
گفت یزدان ما علی الاعمی حرج 
کی نهد بر کس حرج رب الفرج
کس نگوید سنگ را دیر آمدی 
یا که چوبا تو چرا بر من زدی
این چنین واجستها مجبور را 
کس بگوید یا زند معذور را
امر و نهی و خشم و تشریف و عتیب 
نیست جز مختار را ای پاک جیب
اختیاری هست در ظلم و ستم 
من ازین شیطان و نفس این خواستم
اختیار اندر درونت ساکنست 
تا ندید او یوسفی کف را نخست
اختیار و داعیه در نفس بود 
روش دید آنگه پر و بالی گشود
سگ بخفته اختیارش گشته گم 
چون شکنبه دید جنبانید دم
اسپ هم حو حو کند چون دید جو 
چون بجنبد گوشت گربه کرد مو
دیدن آمد جنبش آن اختیار 
هم چو نفخی ز آتش انگیزد شرار
پس بجنبد اختیارت چون بلیس 
شد دلاله آردت پیغام ویس
چونک مطلوبی برین کس عرضه کرد 
اختیار خفته بگشاید نورد
وآن فرشته خیرها بر رغم دیو 
عرضه دارد می کند در دل غریو
تا بجنبد اختیار خیر تو 
زانک پیش از عرضه خفته ست این دو خو
پس فرشته و دیو گشته عرضه دار 
بهر تحریک عروق اختیار
می شود ز الهامها و وسوسه 
اختیار خیر و شرت ده کسه
وقت تحلیل نماز ای بانمک 
زان سلام آورد باید بر ملک
که ز الهام و دعای خوبتان 
اختیار این نمازم شد روان
باز از بعد گنه لعنت کنی 
بر بلیس ایرا کزویی منحنی
این دو ضد عرضه کننده ت در سرار 
در حجاب غیب آمد عرضه دار
چونک پرده غیب برخیزد ز پیش 
تو ببینی روی دلالان خویش
وآن سخنشان وا شناسی بی گزند 
که آن سخن گویان نهان اینها بدند
دیو گوید ای اسیر طبع و تن 
عرضه می کردم نکردم زور من
وآن فرشته گویدت من گفتمت 
که ازین شادی فزون گردد غمت
آن فلان روزت نگفتم من چنان 
که از آن سویست ره سوی جنان
ما محب جان و روح افزای تو 
ساجدان مخلص بابای تو
این زمانت خدمتی هم می کنیم 
سوی مخدومی صلایت می زنیم
آن گره بابات را بوده عدی 
در خطاب اسجدوا کرده ابا
آن گرفتی آن ما انداختی 
حق خدمت های ما نشناختی
این زمان ما را و ایشان را عیان 
در نگر بشناس از لحن و بیان
نیم شب چون بشنوی رازی ز دوست 
چون سخن گوید سحر دانی که اوست
ور دو کس در شب خبر آرد ترا 
روز از گفتن شناسی هر دو را
بانگ شیر و بانگ سگ در شب رسید 
صورت هر دو ز تاریکی ندید
روز شد چون باز در بانگ آمدند 
پس شناسدشان ز بانگ آن هوشمند
مخلص این که دیو و روح عرضه دار 
هر دو هستند از تتمه اختیار
اختیاری هست در ما ناپدید 
چون دو مطلب دید آید در مزید
اوستادان کودکان را می زنند 
آن ادب سنگ سیه را کی کنند
هیچ گویی سنگ را فردا بیا 
ور نیایی من دهم بد را سزا
هیچ عاقل مر کلوخی را زند 
هیچ با سنگی عتابی کس کند
در خرد جبر از قدر رسواترست 
زانک جبری حس خود را منکرست
منکر حس نیست آن مرد قدر 
فعل حق حسی نباشد ای پسر
منکر فعل خداوند جلیل 
هست در انکار مدلول دلیل
آن بگوید دود هست و نار نی 
نور شمعی بی ز شمعی روشنی
وین همی بیند معین نار را 
نیست می گوید پی انکار را
جامه اش سوزد بگوید نار نیست 
جامه اش دوزد بگوید تار نیست
پس تسفسط آمد این دعوی جبر 
لاجرم بدتر بود زین رو ز گبر
گبر گوید هست عالم نیست رب 
یا ربی گوید که نبود مستحب
این همی گوید جهان خود نیست هیچ 
هسته سوفسطایی اندر پیچ پیچ
جمله عالم مقر در اختیار 
امر و نهی این میار و آن بیار
او همی گوید که امر و نهی لاست 
اختیاری نیست این جمله خطاست
حس را حیوان مقرست ای رفیق 
لیک ادراک دلیل آمد دقیق
زانک محسوسست ما را اختیار 
خوب می آید برو تکلیف کار

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## English translation
The believer said, "Listen, O determinist, to this address; I have now brought the answer to what you yourself said.
You have seen your own play, O chess player; now see your opponent's play, broad and long!
You have read your own letter of excuse; read the Sunni's letter, why have you remained there?
You spoke a deterministic point concerning destiny; hear the secret of it from me in this affair.
We possess free will without a doubt; you cannot deny what is plainly perceived by the senses.
Does anyone ever say to a stone, \"Come\"? Where does anyone seek loyalty from a clod of earth?
No one says to a human being, \"Hey, fly!\" or \"Come, O blind man, look at me!\"
God said, \"There is no blame upon the blind.\" How should the Lord of Relief lay blame upon anyone?
No one says to a stone, \"You arrived late,\" or \"Why did you, O piece of wood, strike me?\"
Does anyone make such demands of one who is forced, or strike one who has an excuse?
Command and prohibition, anger, honor, and rebuke belong only to him who has free will, O pure-hearted one!
There is free will in wrongdoing and oppression; I desired this from this Satan and the ego.
Free will is resident within you, though it did not show its hand until it saw a Joseph.
Free will and desire were in the soul; when it saw the way, it spread its wings and flew.
The dog was asleep and its free will was lost; when it saw tripe, it wagged its tail.
The horse also neighs when it sees barley; when the cat saw meat, its fur stood on end.
That movement of free will came from seeing, just as a puff of breath kindles a spark from fire.
Then your free will moves like Iblis, becoming a matchmaker bringing you a message from Veise.
When an object of desire is presented to a person, his sleeping free will unfolds its scroll.
And that angel, in opposition to the devil, presents good deeds, crying out in the heart,
So that your free will for good may be stirred, since before this presentation, these two dispositions were asleep.
Thus, the angel and the devil became presenters for the sake of stimulating the veins of free will.
Through inspirations and temptations, your free will for good and evil is tenfold.
At the time of concluding the prayer, O charming one, for this reason one must offer salutations to the angels:
\"By your good inspiration and prayer, the free will for this prayer of mine was set in motion.\"
Again, after committing a sin, you curse Iblis because you have been bent by him.
These two opposing presenters in secret came as presenters under the veil of the unseen.
When the veil of the unseen is lifted from before you, you shall see the faces of your matchmakers.
And you will recognize their speech without any harm—that those secret speakers were these very ones.
The devil will say, \"O prisoner of nature and body, I only presented it; I did not use force.\"
And that angel will say to you, \"I told you that your sorrow would exceed this joy.
On that certain day, did I not tell you so, that the path to Paradise lies in that direction?
We are lovers of your soul and life-nourishers, the sincere prostrators to your father.
Even now we are doing you service, calling you to the service of the Master.
That host was hostile to your father; they refused in the address 'Prostrate!'
You took that one and threw ours away; you did not recognize the rights of our service.
At this time, look at us and them clearly, and recognize us by our tone and speech.\"
At midnight, when you hear a secret from a friend, when he speaks at dawn, you know it is he.
And if two persons bring you news in the night, by day you will recognize both by their speech.
The roar of the lion and the bark of the dog arrived in the night; the form of neither was seen due to darkness.
It became day; when they made their sounds again, the intelligent man recognized them by their voice.
The summary is that both the presenting devil and spirit are from the consequences of free will.
There is a free will hidden within us; when it sees two objects of desire, it increases.
Teachers beat children; when do they ever discipline a black stone?
Do you ever say to a stone, \"Come tomorrow, and if you do not come, I will punish you\"?
Does any rational person beat a clod of earth? Does anyone ever rebuke a stone?
In intellect, determinism is more scandalous than absolute free will, because the determinist denies his own senses.
The man of absolute free will is not a denier of the senses; the action of God is not sensory, O son.
The denier of the action of the Majestic Lord is in denial of the sign of the proof.
This one says, \"Smoke exists, but not fire; the light of a candle exists without a candle's brightness.\"
While that other one sees the fire clearly, yet says it is non-existent in order to deny it.
His garment burns, and he says, \"There is no fire\"; his garment is sewn, and he says, \"There is no thread.\"
Thus, this claim of determinism is sophistry; therefore, from this perspective, it is worse than the infidel.
The infidel says, \"The world exists, but there is no Lord,\" or he says \"O Lord\" in a way that is not acceptable.
But this one says, \"The world itself is nothing at all; it is a sophistical existence, twisted upon twisted.\"
The whole world is confessing to free will, with \"Bring this\" and \"Do not bring that.\"
He says that command and prohibition are non-existent; \"There is no free will, all this is error.\"
Even animals confess to their senses, O companion, but the comprehension of proof is subtle.
Since free will is perceived by us, the imposition of duty upon it is fitting."

دفتر پنجم - بخش ۱۳۰ - جواب گفتن مؤمن سُنّی، کافر جبری را و در اثبات اختیار بنده دلیل گفتن سنّت راهی باشد کوفتهٔ اقدام انبیا علیهم‌السلام بر یمین آن راه بیابان جبر کی خود را اختیار نبیند و امر و نهی را منکر شود و تاویل کند و از منکر شدن امر و نهی لازم آید انکار بهشت کی جزای مطیعان امرست و دوزخ جزای مخالفان امر و دیگر نگویم به چه انجامد کی العاقل تکفیه الاشاره و بر یسار آن راه بیابان قدرست کی قدرت خالق را مغلوب قدرت خلق داند و از آن آن فسادها زاید کی آن مغ جبری بر می‌شمرد / Book Five - Section 130 - The Sunni believer's answer to the deterministic infidel, and adducing arguments in proof of the free will of man. The Sunnah is a path beaten by the steps of the prophets, peace be upon them. On the right of that path is the wilderness of determinism (jabr), where one does not see free will in oneself and denies and misinterprets commands and prohibitions; from the denial of commands and prohibitions, the denial of Paradise (the reward of the obedient) and Hell (the punishment of the disobedient) necessarily follows, and I shall not say where else this leads, for a hint is sufficient for the wise. On the left of that path is the wilderness of absolute free will (qadar), where one deems the power of the Creator vanquished by the power of the creature, and from this arise those corruptions which that deterministic Zoroastrian enumerates.

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the delicate balance between divine determinism (*jabr*) and human free will (*ikhtiyar*) is a profound philosophical theme. Rumi illustrates this distinction using the metaphor of two shaking hands: a hand that trembles from an involuntary medical condition and a hand shaken intentionally. While both movements are ultimately sustained by God's creative power, they are fundamentally different in nature. Rumi argues that the undeniable proof of human free will lies in the experience of regret; a person repents for an intentional action, but never feels moral remorse for an involuntary tremor. This theological dynamic is further explored through the contrast between Adam and Satan. After sinning, Satan used determinism as an excuse, blaming God's decree by saying, 'Because You led me astray.' Conversely, Adam exhibited profound spiritual courtesy (*adab*) by taking personal responsibility and confessing, 'We have wronged ourselves.' By acknowledging his moral agency rather than hiding behind divine predestination, Adam earned God's forgiveness, demonstrating that spiritual maturity requires embracing personal accountability.

Free Will, Determinism, and the Trembling Hand Metaphor in the Masnavi

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The Sunni Believer's Refutation of Determinism: The Middle Path and Common-Sense Proofs in the Masnavi

## Original content
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گفت یزدان تو بده بایست او 
برگشا در اختیار آن دست او
اختیار آمد عبادت را نمک 
ورنه می‌گردد بناخواه این فلک
گردش او را نه اجر و نه عقاب 
که اختیار آمد هنر وقت حساب
جمله عالم خود مسبح آمدند 
نیست آن تسبیح جبری مزدمند
تیغ در دستش نه از عجزش بکن 
تا که غازی گردد او یا راه‌زن
زانک کرمنا شد آدم ز اختیار 
نیم زنبور عسل شد نیم مار
مومنان کان عسل زنبوروار 
کافران خود کان زهری همچو مار
زانک مؤمن خورد بگزیده نبات 
تا چو نحلی گشت ریق او حیات
باز کافر خورد شربت از صدید 
هم ز قوتش زهر شد در وی پدید
اهل الهام خدا عین الحیات 
اهل تسویل هوا سم الممات
در جهان این مدح و شاباش و زهی 
ز اختیارست و حفاظ آگهی
جمله رندان چونک در زندان بوند 
متقی و زاهد و حق‌خوان شوند
چونک قدرت رفت کاسد شد عمل 
هین که تا سرمایه نستاند اجل
قدرتت سرمایهٔ سودست هین 
وقت قدرت را نگه دار و ببین
آدمی بر خنگ کرمنا سوار 
در کف درکش عنان اختیار
باز موسی داد پند او را بمهر 
که مرادت زرد خواهد کرد چهر
ترک این سودا بگو وز حق بترس 
دیو دادستت برای مکر درس

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## English translation
God said: "Give him what he needs,
Open to free-will the hand of that one."
Free-will is the salt of worship;
Otherwise this celestial sphere turns involuntarily.
Its turning earns neither reward nor punishment,
For free-will is the virtue at the time of reckoning.
The entire world is itself in glorification,
Yet that compelled glorification earns no wage.
Place the sword in his hand — do not take it away out of his weakness —
So that he may become either a holy warrior or a highway robber.
For by karramna, Adam was honored through free-will:
Half became the honey-bee, half the serpent.
Believers — that mine of honey, bee-like;
Unbelievers — that very mine of venom, like the serpent.
For the believer ate choice plants,
Until, like a bee, his saliva became life.
The unbeliever drank a draught of ṣadīd,
And from its nourishment, poison appeared within him.
The people of divine inspiration are the very spring of life,
The people of vain desire's delusion are the poison of death.
In this world, all this praise and "bravo!" and "well done!"
Come from free-will and the safeguarding of awareness.
All the rogues, when they are in prison,
Become God-fearing, ascetic, and reciters of Truth.
When power is gone, the deed becomes devalued —
Beware, lest death take away the capital.
Your power is the capital of profit — beware!
Guard the time of power and look!
Man rides upon the white horse of karramna,
Pull in the reins of free-will in your palm.
Then Moses counseled him with tenderness:
"Your desire will make your face yellow with grief."
"Abandon this obsession and fear God —
The devil has given you lessons for the sake of deceit."

دفتر سوم - بخش ۱۵۶ - وحی آمدن از حق تعالی به موسی کی بیاموزش چیزی کی استدعا کند یا بعضی از آن / Book Three - Section 156 - Revelation Coming from God Almighty to Moses to Teach Him What He Requests or a Part of It

In the *Masnavi* (Book One, Section 80), Rumi explores the theological tension between divine destiny (*qada*) and human free will (*ikhtiyar*) through the contrasting responses of Adam and Iblis to their transgressions. Although Rumi asserts that God is the ultimate creator of all actions, he argues that humans must assume moral responsibility for their errors. Iblis embodies blind determinism (*jabr*), insolently blaming God for his fall ('Because You led me astray') to mask his own ego. Conversely, Adam models spiritual courtesy (*adab*) and free will by taking ownership of his mistake ('Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves'). Rumi teaches that acknowledging personal agency and demonstrating humility are essential prerequisites for repentance and divine grace.

Adamic Responsibility vs. Satanic Determinism in the Masnavi

In Section 134 of Book Five of the *Masnavi*, Rumi addresses the theological misunderstanding of the Arabic phrase *Ma sha' Allah kan* ('Whatever God wills, happens'). While determinists historically used this phrase to justify spiritual lethargy (*tanbali*) and moral passivity, Rumi reinterprets the absolute nature of the Divine Will as an active incentive (*tahrid*) for sincere devotion, intense effort (*jadd*), and spiritual preparation. He argues that since God's absolute sovereignty is eternal and transcends human temporal concepts of past and future, acknowledging His supreme will should compel the seeker to submit through absolute obedience and earnest striving, rather than using destiny as a shield to excuse inaction.

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