Q: Do Bahá'ís believe in predestination?

Yes, there is predestination in the Baha'i teachings, however, it is not viewed as an absolute force governing every detail of human life. The Baha'i teachings assert that God, through His Will, through His Divine Messengers, and in response to human prayers, influences the course of human history and causes some events to happen according to His Will. Baha'i teachings extol the supremacy of God's Will:

"O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious. Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone. With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief. He doeth as He doeth, and what recourse have we? He carrieth out His Will, He ordaineth what He pleaseth. Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put thy trust in the All-Merciful Lord." ('Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p. 51)

The best thing a human being can do once he realizes the superiority of God's authority is to turn heart and soul towards His Will and His Word.

"Whatsoever He, the Well-Beloved, ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved. To this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth Me witness." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 21-22)

A person attains a very high level of spiritual development when he learns to love the Will of God more than his own will. Baha'u'llah encourages everyone to adopt this approach to life:

"By Thy might which is far above all mention and praise! Whatsoever is revealed by Thee is the desire of my heart and the beloved of my soul. O God, my God! Look not upon my hopes and my doings, nay rather look upon Thy will that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth. By Thy Most Great Name, O Thou Lord of all nations! I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, from the Long Obligatory Prayer, p. 93)

This does not negate the role of free-will, however. God has given all human beings a measure of free-will, in order to enable them to know and love God authentically and to be responsible for their own decisions and actions. Every soul is given God's grace in a pre-ordained measure and is expected to do their very best with the blessings, talents, opportunities, and trials that God has given them. Each person's spiritual development and potential in life can only be realized through consistent effort to follow God's teachings:

"Know thou that all men have been created in the nature made by God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Unto each one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained measure, as decreed in God's mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition. Your own acts testify to this truth." (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 149)

Some things are beyond the power of man, others are not.

"Some things are subject to the free will of man, such as justice, equity, tyranny and injustice, in other words, good and evil actions; it is evident and clear that these actions are, for the most part, left to the will of man. But there are certain things to which man is forced and compelled, such as sleep, death, sickness, decline of power, injuries and misfortunes; these are not subject to the will of man, and he is not responsible for them, for he is compelled to endure them. But in the choice of good and bad actions he is free, and he commits them according to his own will. For example, if he wishes, he can pass his time in praising God, or he can be occupied with other thoughts. He can be an enkindled light through the fire of the love of God, and a philanthropist loving the world, or he can be a hater of mankind, and engrossed with material things. He can be just or cruel. These actions and these deeds are subject to the control of the will of man himself; consequently, he is responsible for them." ('Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 247-250)

Taken together, therefore, it is useful to think of God's Will and man's will as working in combination with one another. This relationship is easily visualized by thinking about a sail boat.

The wind is like the Will of God. It moves the boat and blows in whatever direction it will. Without the wind, there is no movement at all: "…the inaction or the movement of man depend upon the assistance of God. If he is not aided, he is not able to do either good or evil." ('Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 247-250) The rudder of the boat is like the will of man. Within the limits of what the wind will allow, the rudder enables the boat, which is like the soul of man, to turn to the left or to the right. So it is that man may choose to turn his soul towards good things or bad things. And of course, in this analogy, the sailor is like the mind and heart of man which decides which way to turn the rudder. All these forces work together to determine the journey of the boat, which is the soul.