67 Preface وَلَو نَشاءُ لَمَسَخناهُم عَلىٰ مَكانَتِهِم فَمَا استَطاعوا مُضِيًّا وَلا يَرجِعونَYusuf AliAnd if it had been Our Will, We could have transformed them (to remain) in their places;1 then should they have been unable to move about, nor could they have returned (after error).If God’s Plan had been to grant no limited freedom of choice or will to men, He could have created them quite different, or could have transformed them into stationary creatures, either in physical form as in the case of trees, or in moral or spiritual qualities, where there was no possibility either of progress or deterioration. Man would then have been unable to reach the heights of grandeur which are now open to him, or, if he goes wrong, to return through the door of repentance and mercy, and still pursue his path of ascent. But it was God’s Plan to give man all these privileges, and man must shoulder all the responsibilities that go with them.