Do people possess choice? What is choice? How do you define it? Is it having the capacity to decide between two different things? Or is it the availability of more than one different thing?
Free will is the ability to choose between different actions and beliefs.
But what motivates free will? What compels an individual to make a choice?
Interests which emanate from the human instincts compel the intellect to decide between different options- for the purpose of satisfying those interests (instincts).
Therefore, all decisions are based upon interests. Controlling someone’s interests will therefore control their decisions. Having a monopoly on the means of satisfaction, is having a monopoly on peoples decisions.
The sentence ‘’I had no choice’’ – does not mean the individual was denied alternatives, but rather, the alternatives available carried an ‘interest cost’ to themselves which they judged not as beneficial when compared with their primary interests.
When someone puts a gun to your head and tells you to give him your money, he did not physically compel your arms to go into your pockets and produce your wallet. Rather, he offered you a choice; one choice carrying an interest loss (losing your wallet) and the other, non-compliance, which carries another interest loss (death), usually it will depend the individual and circumstances, whether he makes one choice or the other.
Oppressive regimes do not take away choice; rather they compel people through threat of significant interest loss, should individuals not choose to comply. Some threats involve different interest losses than others.
These can range from denying luxuries and social interaction (prison), unpleasant physical experience (torture/beating) or just termination of one’s life (execution).
In the west, the conception of ‘freedom’ is merely an illusion, since humans possess free will in any given society. Rather, the structure of state control in the west is arranged differently then other countries. This difference manifests itself in how western society uses interests as a means of control.
Though the western states prevent extreme threats to interests, like punishment for murder, torture (well, to some extent) and execution (by threatening the same back in return). It does not prevent the causes of which motivate people to choose extreme actions against their fellow humans.
The reason is, because humans have more interests than the western philosophy caters for or protects. The right to family, intellect, adequate wealth and abode are neglected interests that form the naturally generated interests of man.
By restricting interests to only the legal right to pursue wealth, oppression is created, as only the wealthy (strong) can afford to attain (buy) and financially maintain (secure) these natural interests.
The weak that cannot attain these interests, neither secure them or maintain them; then they are placated with the slogan that they are ‘free’ to choose to attain these interests if the choice were made available to them!
The problem is that the reality is quite different, they may be free (in principle) to make a choice between alternatives, but they are not free if they are denied alternatives they cannot afford (like better health care for one!) but that which they need (as humans).
Western ‘liberty’ is merely a reactionary ideology against feudalism. Freedom to become wealthy (freedom of ownership) was a reaction against social barriers imposed on serfs.
Freedom of expression and belief and personal freedom was a reaction against church domination and control.
The American war of independence was against Britain because of Britain’s unfair (economic) interest control which was ‘against liberty’ – even though Britain was a well reknown libertarian state at that time!
Interests control decision
It is the absence of cost that determines whether a choice is free, not the absence of force. Any choice which carries a cost is not free – and ALL decisions are not free from a ‘cost’
Islam does not protect the right to choose everything, but rather it protects the ‘fountain of choices’; the natural interests of man (human nature). Islam prevents people from choosing against the natural interests of themselves and their fellows – which is the purpose of man – to worship his lord via fulfilling his natural interests in the manner ordained by God, because it pleases God.
Islam allows and facilitates man to pursue his true interests- worship and pleasure of Allah (swt), not material benefit for it’s own sake.
‘Masalaha’ (i.e. interest) in Islam is that which benefits the individual in the hereafter (the true enlightened self-interest!). Something done for the sake of this world, will not benefit the individual in the next life and therefore is considered against (Islamic) ‘maslaha’ even though the action may bring benefit to the individual in this life.
Let us choose to make a choice to worship Allah (swt), establish Islam on earth and take Islam as the way of life that forms the best alternative of mankind, in this life and the next.
Let us not sup from the false gods of western ideology, but rather worship the One God who sent us the Prophet Muhammed (saw) to liberate mankind and lead us into guidance by giving us a weighty burden- the Quran and the duty to implement Islam as individuals and as a unified Islamic State (khilafat ul Rasool).
“He (Allah) has sent His messenger with the guidance and the true Deen, and will make it dominate all Deens, even though the mushrikeen detest it” (Quran 61:9)
