The Problem of Free Will and Predestination in the Light of Satan’s Justification in Early Sufism

This article examines the story of Iblīs’s disobedience in early Sufism. The motif of justifying and condemning Satan is a characteristic feature of the ideological heritage of some Sufis. The first Sufi line estimates Satan as a sufferer and a sacrifice of God’s predestination. Al-Ḥallāj’s teaching became the climax of this tradition for early Sufism. The second line of this discourse is connected with criticism of Satan’s role. The central figure in this process is Rūzbihān Baqlī. The genesis of this topic in early Sufism demonstrates certain connections with the doctrine of predestination.