Free Will and Determinism in the Poetry of Ghani Khan: A Philosophical Inquiry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20488528

  • Muhammad Saqib Shinwari Visiting lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Kohat University of Science and Technology
  • Dr. Shuja Ahmad Department of Philosophy, University of Peshawar
Keywords: Free will, Determinism, Compatibilism, Human Agency, Divine Necessity.

Abstract

This article argues that Ghani Khan offers a poetic version of compatibilism, in which God imposes a cosmic structure of deterministic order, and human freedom is exercised as conscious involvement in that order. This dimension of Ghani Khan's work has been largely overlooked, as existing scholarship on him focuses on his Sufi philosophies, existential ideas, and poetics. The article provides a textual analysis of some of the selected poems from Latoon to explore Ghani Khan's view of determinism and free will, and analyzes his emphasis on the importance of human choice in a divinely designed world. The article also draws connections between Ghani Khan and Islamic theologians such as Al-Ghazali, as well as modern compatibilists such as Hume and Frankfurt, arguing that the poet offers a unique philosophical vision in which the self is free in necessity.

Published
2026-03-30
Issue
Vol. 9 No. 01 (2026): JICC Jan-June 2026
Section
Articles