Cancellation and compensation: its relation to Divine Justice

The cancellation and compensation, and in case of the possibility of occurrence, its relation to divine justice  are among the challenging issues in Islamic Theology. The views and perspectives of Mu’tazilite, Ash’ari, and Shi’i theologians vary greatly on the contingency or non-contingency of cancellation and compensation and reckoning of deeds. Mu’tazilites acknowledge the cancellation and compensation in its absolute and balanced form and have referred to the rational arguments and revealed arguments. On the contrary, Ash’arites and Imamiyya theologians with reference to the rational and revealed arguments have attempted to refute Mu’tazilites’ proposition and substantiate their viewpoint. However, the matter of contention is that in light of some verses in Quran indicating the occurrence of cancellation and compensation, in addition to the verses emphasizing the precise retribution of every deed, how can the compatibility of cancellation and compensation with divine justice be interpreted, justified and clarified? By elucidating the viewpoints and arguments of theologians about the occurrence or non-occurrence of cancellation and compensation, the current article is aimed at examining its relation with divine justice.