Investigating the Idea of Unity of Actions and Its Evolution among Shiite Imami Scholars

The idea of the unity of actions has not been the same among Shiite scholars. Shiite scholars in the middle ages agreed with the Mutazilites on the issue of the creation of human actions, which is the most important element of the unity of actions, and both groups considered human actions to be separate from the realm of divine creation. In this respect, they were both opposed to the Asharites, because they considered human actions to be a direct creation of God. This concept continued in Shiism until the late period when the philosophical and mystical views of Sadr al-Din Shirazi spread in the Shiite world and many Shiite theological ideas took a philosophical and mystical approach. The unity of actions was one of these ideas that completely changed in Twelver Shiism, and the denial of the creation of human actions gave way to their creation. Hence, the idea of the unity of actions, with the interpretation that is common among contemporaries, has not been accepted by the early and late Shiite Imami scholars.