Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The statement, “Allah’s knowledge is knowledge of disclosure, not knowledge of compulsion,” is correct in meaning, because Allah’s prior knowledge of His servants’ actions does not mean that He forced them to perform them. Rather, He knew what they would do by their own choice and will.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows what was and what will be. Nothing in the heavens or on earth is hidden from Him, and He has written what will occur in a Book with Him.
Allah تعالى says:
“Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and earth? Indeed, all of that is in a Record. Indeed, that is easy for Allah.” [Al-Hajj 22:70]
And He says:
“And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it, nor is there a grain within the darknesses of the earth, nor anything moist or dry, except that it is in a clear Record.” [Al-An‘am 6:59]
Among the things Allah knows are the actions of His servants before they occur. He also knows the causes through which things take place and their outcomes.
Allah’s prior knowledge of what a servant will do does not mean that this knowledge forced the servant to perform the action.
A person performs voluntary actions through his own will and choice. Therefore, he deserves praise or blame, reward or punishment.
Allah تعالى says:
“And say, ‘The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills—let him believe; and whoever wills—let him disbelieve.’ Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose walls will surround them. And if they cry for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal that scalds the faces. Wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place. Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds—We will not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.” [Al-Kahf 18:29–30]
And He says:
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.” [Az-Zalzalah 99:7–8]
If Allah’s prior knowledge forced a person to perform his actions, then the meaning of religious responsibility, reward, and punishment would not be sound.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that Allah knows what will happen before it occurs and has written it. He knows the causes of people’s deaths and how they will die. Yet His knowledge, writing, will, and creation of things do not prevent praise, blame, reward, or punishment.
A person may kill another person and his action may be something commanded by Islamic law, such as a fighter killing someone who fights him in the cause of Allah, in which case he is rewarded for it. Another person may kill someone unjustly, in which case he deserves punishment. A person may also kill someone lawfully as part of legal retribution, in which case the act itself is not inherently one for which he receives reward or punishment.
This demonstrates that an action being within Allah’s knowledge and having been written by Him does not make it a compelled action for the servant.
The meaning of the statement “Allah’s knowledge is knowledge of disclosure, not knowledge of compulsion” is that Allah’s knowledge reveals what will occur as it truly will occur. He knows the actions of His servants before they take place, and He knows that they will perform them in the manner they themselves choose. However, His knowledge is not what forces them to perform the action.
When a servant believes or disbelieves, obeys or disobeys, he does so through his own will and choice, while Allah already knew that this would happen before it occurred.
Therefore, it is not valid for a person to use divine decree as an excuse for committing a sin. The fact that something was written in the divine decree does not mean that the person was forced to do it, just as the servant does not know what Allah has written for him before the action occurs.
It is correct to say, “Allah’s knowledge is knowledge of disclosure, not knowledge of compulsion,” if what is intended is the correct meaning: that Allah’s prior knowledge does not force His servants to perform their actions.
Allah knows what His servants will do, and He has written it. Everything occurs by His will, yet the servant performs his voluntary actions through his own will and choice. Therefore, he deserves reward or punishment.
Accordingly, there is no contradiction between the perfection of Allah’s prior knowledge and the servant’s choice and responsibility for his actions.
And Allah knows best.