Role of Free Will Versus Taghdir (Destiny) in View of Quran, Psychology and Neurology

The issue of predestination and free will has long been among the most basic issues in philosophy and debated by philosophers and thinkers. Some have believed in absolute predestination and some others, like Muʿtazila, believe in absolute free will. However, the saying “La jabr wala ikhtiar, bal amr-i bayn al-amrayn” (There is no free will or predestination, but the station in between) we have received from the Infallible Imams (AS) has been proven to be true in specialized neurology labs. In this paper, neurological studies about free will, related Quranic verses, and other psychological and neurological views related to the issue have been taken into consideration. Benjamin Libet is a neurophysiologist who discovered a new understanding of consciousness during his studies on the brain. He writes that the brain begins responding to an external stimulus before making a conscious decision (i.e., the response is already there, and this is what we call predestination). This paper cites from verses of the Quran, views of Carl Jung, and interpretations of poets Rumi and Hafiz on the issue of sublime predestination and destiny and then investigates neurology of transcendence in neuroscience. One can develop humanity’s horizons in terms of religious understandings by reflecting on them and their relation with new sciences.