The Philosophical (Hikmī) and Theological (Kalamī) Approaches to the Badā’ of Divine Definite (Mahtūm) Will in Contemporary Shī’i Thought: The Case of al-'Allāma al-Tabātabā'ī, Āyatollāh Khu'ī, and Mīrza Mahdī Isfahānī

Badāʿ (the change of divine will) is one of the Islamic doctrines considerably emphasized by the Imams of Shīʿī Muslims. One of the problems concerning the doctrine of badāʾ is whether God can change his definite/fixed (maḥtūm) will. In this article, we shall examine the answers offered by some prominent contemporary Shīʿī philosophers and theologians, (ḥukamāʾ and mutakallimūn) including al-ʿAllāma al-Ṭabātabāʾī, Āyatullāh al-Khuʿī, and Mīrzā Mahdī al-Iṣfahānī. We shall show that, firstly, it is merely al-Iṣfahānī who claims that the maḥtūm can be changed by God. Secondly, although al-Ṭabātabāʾī refutes his predecessors' belief on divine essential will, his critique does not have any influence on his answer to the question; because, as he put, his disagreement is fictitious. Finally, while both theologians have similar views on the divine will, their approach to another problem makes their answers different: Does “God changes a maḥtūm” entail “God issues a denial (takḍīb) of his messengers?”