Free Will and Predestination in the Qur'an. The first major theological controversy in Islam, over free will and predestination, was particularly an issue during the period 661-750, when the Umayyad khalifahs (caliphs) ruled the Muslim empire from their capital at Damascus. The strictly theological portion of the debate revolved around the Arabic term qadar, which refers to God's ability to predetermine events, including all human acts. This theological discussion, however, masked an underlying political controversy. Those who believed that God determined everything, leaving little or no room for human initiative, tended to be apologists for the Umayyad regime and resisted calls to reform the Umayyad state or correct abuses of power. Many of the partisans of free will, who were known as "Qadarites" (al-Qadariyyah), were opponents of the Umayyads and used this doctrine to justify their right...