The Mu'atazalite View on Free Will

Mu'atazalite discussions of this issue attained a remarkable level of sophistication, which would not embarrass a modern-day metaphysician working on the free will problem. Jachim's view was more like that of Augustine in maintaining that God alone could bestow the gift of faith. Abd al-Jabbar solves the puzzle by saying that even if some motivations compel us to act, not all motivations are like this. We can see this from the fact that people sometimes reflect on their already existing desires, perhaps with the help of external advice.