Surah 2:186
"When My servants ask you about Me, surely I am near. I respond to the call of the caller when he calls on Me. So let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright."
Free Will vs. Predestination
Supporting Verses
Surah 18:29 → "Say: ‘The truth is from your Lord. Whoever pleases, let him believe, and whoever pleases, let him disbelieve.’ Surely We have prepared a Fire for the evildoers – its walls will encompass them. If they call for help, they will be helped with water like molten metal (which) will scald their faces. Evil is the drink and evil the resting place!"
Surah 2:62 → "Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians – whoever believes in God and the Last Day, and does righteousness – they have their reward with their Lord. (There will be) no fear on them, nor will they sorrow."
Opposing Verses
Surah 10:100 → "It is not for any person to believe, except by the permission of God. He places abomination on those who do not understand."
Surah 10:99 → "If your Lord had (so) pleased, whoever was on the earth would indeed have believed – all of them together. Will you compel the people until they become believers?"
Surah 76:30 → "But you will not (so) please unless God pleases. Surely God is knowing, wise."
Does the Quran state that humans have free will to choose their beliefs, or are their choices predestined by God? Some verses command individuals to choose to believe and hold them accountable, while others state that a person can only believe or will something if God wills it.
Location of Allah
Supporting Verses
Surah 2:115 → "The East and the West (belong) to God, so wherever you turn, there is the face of God. Surely God is embracing, knowing."
Surah 50:16 → "Certainly We created the human, and We know what his own self whispers within him, (for) We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein."
Surah 57:4 → "He (it is) who created the heavens and the earth in six days. Then He mounted the throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth, and what comes forth from it, and what comes down from the sky, and what goes up into it. He is with you wherever you are. God sees what you do."
Opposing Verses
Surah 11:7 → "He (it is) who created the heavens and the earth in six days – and His throne was upon the water – that He might test you (to see) which of you is best in deed. If indeed you say, ‘Surely you will be raised up after death,’ those who disbelieve will indeed say, ‘This is nothing but clear magic.’"
Surah 32:5 → "He directs the (whole) affair from the sky to the earth; then it will go up to Him in a day, the measure of which is a thousand years of what you count."
Surah 57:4 → "He (it is) who created the heavens and the earth in six days. Then He mounted the throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth, and what comes forth from it, and what comes down from the sky, and what goes up into it. He is with you wherever you are. God sees what you do."
Surah 70:4 → "The angels and the spirit ascend to Him in a day, the measure of which is fifty thousand years."
The Quran contains verses that present differing descriptions of Allah's location. Some passages state that Allah is situated on a throne, with angels and affairs taking thousands of years to ascend to Him. In contrast, other verses describe Allah as being omnipresent and closer to man than his jugular vein.