Isn't God's creation of Hellfire and punishment a form of coercion to choose the path of faith, since no sane person would choose the path of Hellfire and eternal punishment?

The denial of compulsion (jabr) in divine decree (qada wal-qadar) means affirming the free will of the servant and their choice in their accountable actions. The compulsion that the Salaf (early Muslims) rejected is the occurrence of an action without will or volition, like the movement of inanimate objects, in contrast to the voluntary actions of humans for which commands and prohibitions are established.

Denying compulsion does not mean that all choices are equal, or that Allah is pleased with disbelief and disobedience. Rather, Allah has clarified the paths and distinguished between good and evil. He has guided humankind to the "two highways" and made them hearing and seeing to differentiate between the grateful and the ungrateful, emphasizing that people's destinies differ according to their choices. Thus, the believer is not like the transgressor, nor is the pious like the wicked. This is part of Allah's justice, mercy, and clear exposition.

One must be careful not to delve into matters of divine decree with mere rational contemplation, for its foundation rests upon belief in the unseen and submission to the texts of the Sacred Law.