407 — Abū al-Fadl Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sandalī narrated to us, saying: Al-Fadl ibn Ziyād narrated to us, saying: I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about the Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Every child is born ⦗825⦘ upon the innate disposition.” What did he mean by it? He replied: “Wretchedness and felicity.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on him, said: These traditions that I have cited from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, accord with the meaning conveyed in the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. They show everyone who understands Allah Most High’s message that they corroborate one another, just as the passages we have cited from the Book of Allah Most High corroborate one another. The Book and the Sunnah establish what we have taught you concerning our position on divine decree.

Whenever the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, delivered a sermon, he would say: “Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray; and whomever He leads astray, none can guide.” This is how a number of his Companions narrated it from him. Likewise, the Companions would say this in their sermons—with faith, affirmation, and certainty. The people of faith have no doubt concerning it.