" Shakelah" as the Central Theory of Islam on Identity

“Shakelah” or disposition is an issue in relation to Islamic anthropology and the issue of destiny. The question of whether man is in control of his destiny or not has attracted the attention of Islamic thinkers since the early stages of history of thought in Islam. The proponents and opponents have tried to refer to the Quranic verses in their efforts to support their position. One of the verses, which has been used by the supporters of determinism is verse 84, Surah Al-Isra which reads “everyone acts according to his own disposition”. Here disposition means the God-given human nature. The opponents of this view believe that the meanings proposed for shakelah such as nature, inner state, temperament, behavior, habits, intention and whatever one believes in its truth indicate that man is in direct relation with shakelah and behaves under its effect. So it makes no difference whether we take a deterministic view or non-deterministic one. According to the second view, shakelah pertains to human personality and identity; it is a profound Quranic doctorine concerning man and his identity as well as an Islamic foundation for education. Thus, this issue has wider signification than the issue of determinism and freedom. Human action, therefore, plays an important role in shakelah, and so identity depends on man’s efforts. Furthermore, whatever intent one has for his actions, they would affect shakelah. It is also important to note that believing in the divine realm, just as denying it, also forms the shakelah of every believer and non-believer. The conclusion is that three levels of identity are realized: manifest identity, real identity and true identity.