The jabarians-who are the direct opponents of the Kadarians-denying free agency in man, and ascribing his actions wholly unto 2 Vide Poc. ibid. p. 255, &c. Abulfar. p. 167, &c. 3 Al Mawâkef, apud Poc. ibid. 1 Al Shahrest. apud eund. ibid. p. 226. 2 Vide Marracc. Prodr. part iii. p. 76. 3 Al Shahrest. ubi sup. 4 Idem, ibid. p. 225. 5 Idem, ibid. p. 226, 227. 6 Idem, ibid. p. 227, 228. 1 Talm. Berachoth, c. I. Vide Poc. ubi supra, p 228. GOD.2 They take their denomination from al Jabr, which signifies necessity, or compulsion; because they hold man to be necessarily and inevitably constrained to act as he does, by force of GOD'S eternal and immutable decree.3 This sect is distinguished into several species; some being more rigid and extreme in their opinion, who are thence called pure Jabarians, and others more moderate, who are therefore called middle Jabarians. The former will not allow men to be said either to act, or to have any power at all, either operative or acquiring; asserting that man can do nothing, but produces all his actions by necessity, having neither power, nor will, nor choice, any more than an inanimate agent: they also declare that rewarding and punishing are also the effects of necessity; and the same they say of the imposing of commands. This was the doctrine of the Jahmians, the followers of Jahm Ebn Safwân, who likewise held that paradise and hell will vanish, or be annihilated, after those who are destined thereto respectively shall have entered them, so that at last there will remain no existing being besides GOD;4 supposing those words of the Korân which declare that the inhabitants of paradise and of hell shall remain therein for ever, to be hyperbolical only, and intended for corroboration, and not to denote an eternal duration in reality.5 The moderate Jabarians are those who ascribe some power to man, but such a power as hath no influence on the action: for as to those who grant the power of man to have a certain influence on the action, which influence is called Acquisition, some6 will not admit them to be called Jabarians; though others reckon those also to be called middle Jabarians, and to contend for the middle opinion between absolute necessity and absolute liberty, who attribute to man acquisition, or concurrence in producing the action, whereby he gaineth commendation or blame (yet without admitting it to have any influence on the action), and, therefore, make the Ashárians a branch of this sect.7 Having again mentioned the term Acquisition, we may, perhaps, have a clearer idea of what the Mohammedans mean thereby, when told, that it is defined to be an action directed to the obtaining of profit, or the removing of hurt, and for that reason never applied to any action of GOD, who acquireth to himself neither profit nor hurt.1 Of the middle or moderate Jabarians were the Najârians and the Derârians. The Najârians were the adherents of al Hasan Ebn