those who affirmed it.

Al-Bayhaqī and others thought that he had only condemned the doctrine of the Qadariyyah, saying:

“Al-Shāfi‘ī only condemned the doctrine of the Qadariyyah. Do you not see that he said, ‘anything of these deviant doctrines’? He preferred refraining from debate on the matter. Perhaps he had heard the hadith we narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said:

‘Do not sit with those who deny divine decree or initiate debate with them.’

Or he may have heard other reports conveying the same meaning. Our imams followed this same course in earlier times, when there was no need to discuss the matter. When discussion became necessary, they responded with the evidence in the Book of Allah, and then in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, affirming Allah’s decree and establishing that nothing occurs within the dominion of the heavens and the earth except by Allah’s judgment, power, and will. Likewise, in all other questions of