the Creator, exalted be He, is separate from created beings and above them, and nothing exists except the Creator or the created, then no other existent being is alongside Him, much less could He, glorified be He, be within anything existing that confines or encompasses Him.

The approach of the early generations and the leading scholars is to uphold sound meanings established by revelation and reason. They also observe the wording of revelation, expressing themselves in it whenever possible. They refute anyone who expresses a false meaning that contradicts the Book and the Sunnah. If someone uses an innovated expression that admits both true and false meanings, they likewise attribute innovation to him, saying:

“He has merely countered one innovation with another and refuted one falsehood with another.”

[Another Example: The Word “Compulsion”]

Similar examples are found in the well-known accounts related by al-Khallāl in his book al-Sunnah, and by others, concerning the question of uttering the Quran, the question of compulsion, and similar matters. When the Qadarīyyah—those who deny divine decree—emerged, they denied that Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, that He is the Creator of everything, and that His servants’ actions are among His creations. People condemned this innovation.

Some would then say in debate:

“This necessarily implies that Allah compels His servants to perform their actions and has charged them with what they cannot bear.”

Some of those who debated them and affirmed divine decree accepted this way of speaking, saying:

“Yes, compulsion necessarily follows, and compulsion is true.”

The leading scholars, such as al-Awzāʿī, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others like them, condemned both groups for this, and disapproval has been reported