Divine Providence and Will; their Explanation in the School of Qum

Each of the Divine Names and Attributes opens up a new horizon of knowledge for the truth seekers. Of these attributes which is emphasized by holy Quran and Hadiths and endorsed by reason is the Will of God. The present article is an attempt for the analysis of the revealed and rational arguments for the explanation of Divine Will in the Shiite domain of thought from its inception to the end of the School of Qum. It is to show the development of the understanding of Divine will in the centuries under study through historical view of the material in question. Both literal and technical meaning of Will have been first treated and then has a review on the traditionist's Mutazilite and Asharite views and finally examine the ideas of theologians in the Presence Age esp. Hisham b. Hakam and Kalam traditionists of the School of Qum focusing on three classic works of Hadith of Mahasin, Kafi and Tawhid. As a result of a total survey we have come to the conclusion that formulation of the Attribute will in theological system in light of new questions yielded new explanations of the nature of the Will and Providence and a selective choice of Hadiths on the side of traditionists.