Title: If God is Omnipotent and Omniscient, then how can Man be Responsible for his Deeds? Question: If God is omniscient and omnipotent then how can we be held responsible for making "choices" we could not possibly have made, without his knowledge and permission? If we do have freewill, does it mean that God is limited in knowledge and power? And if he is limited, then what else can he not do? Answer: Man's freedom to choose between right and wrong is granted by God Himself. This freedom does not, in any way, limit God's knowledge or His powers. God created man and granted Him the freedom to choose between 'good' and 'evil' for a limited time and in a very limited area of activities. Man is responsible for the 'good' and the 'evil' that he does only when such 'good' or 'evil' is done by man's freewill. I can easily tell the difference between when, in practical life, I am forced to do 'evil' or when 'evil' is, unintentionally, wrought through my hands and when I opt to do 'evil'. While in a state of extreme hunger, I did not have any other option but to steal some bread to keep myself alive. Nevertheless, when I lied on the witness stand and falsely implicated an innocent person, in my greed to earn a few pennies, I knew deep inside that I was free to save myself from the detestable act, had I wanted to. The detestability of my act is not affected, in the least, by whether the Omniscient God, knew about it before I committed it, or not. Thus, my freewill is not affected, in any way, by God's pre-knowledge of any of my actions. It should further be kept in mind that all my actions, which emanate from my freewill are not dependent upon God's pre-knowledge of these actions. I know, through introspection, that I am never forced to do 'good' or 'evil', when I want to do otherwise. In other words, God's pre-knowledge of any of our deeds does not affect our deeds in any way. Thus, God's omniscience does not, in any way, affect man's freewill. The Question: 'Can man do otherwise than what God knew beforehand?' is only a philosophical question. It has no practical significance at all. It would only have had a practical significance had man known about what God knew beforehand and then would have tried to alter it. As things stand, for all practical purposes, man is responsible for the actions that he commits with his freewill and this responsibility of man is not affected by whether God knew about man's actions beforehand or not. Thus, it would not be very accurate to say that 'God knows that Tom would commit a grave sin two days later', on the contrary, it would be more accurate to say that 'God knows that Tom, with his freewill, would commit a grave sin two days later'. Now let us consider the relationship between God's omnipotence and man's freewill: In the course of the test, during the life of this world, God has granted man the opportunity to do what he wants to do. During this time, God does not, generally, hinder man from carrying out his evil desires nor forces him into doing good. This permission is granted by the Omnipotent and the Omniscient, Himself. Thus, because this freedom is bestowed upon man, by God Himself; because man enjoys this freedom only for the time for which God, Himself, has decided to grant man the privilege; because man enjoys this freedom only in the particular circles of activities, in which God, Himself has allowed man this privilege; because, God shall hold man responsible for the decisions that he takes by utilizing this great privilege; and because even with this great privilege, God has complete control over man, we cannot, therefore, say that man's freewill, during the life of this world and within a limited circle of activities, refutes God's omnipotence. The Question: 'If God is omnipotent, then why does He not stop man from doing evil?' is actually based on a lack of appreciation of the concept of test, during the life of this world. God, for the purpose of this test, has decided that He would generally not interfere in man's decisions. A close analysis would show that had that not been the case, the 'test', during the life of this world, would have been impossible. It is, in fact, this lack of direct interference from God, in most of the cases, which makes this 'test' possible. This is precisely what the Qur'an has referred to in the following verse ( Al-Maaidah 5: 48): And had God so desired, He would have made you a single people [and not given you the freedom to deviate], but for the purpose of testing you in what He has bestowed upon you [He granted you freedom]. I hope this helps. April 4, 2001