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.