The first is that, according to the Mu‘tazilah and similar theologians, no one has ever been born upon Islam, nor has Allah made anyone a Muslim or an unbeliever. Rather, one person has brought about disbelief in himself, and another has brought about Islam in himself. In their view, Allah has brought about neither, and there is no disagreement among the Qadariyyah on this. Rather, He called them both to Islam, removed their impediments, and gave them equal capacities capable of either faith or disbelief. He did not single out the believer with a cause that would bring about faith, for they hold that this is beyond His power—and that, were it within His power, it would be unjust. This is the position of the Mu‘tazilah generally.

Some of their later scholars, however, such as Abu al-Husayn, say that He singled out the believer with a motive for faith, and that when both the motive and the capacity are present, faith must necessarily arise. This position actually agrees with Ahl al-Sunnah. This, then, is the first of the two respects.

The second is that they say knowledge of Allah can only be attained through rational inquiry, which depends upon the faculty of reason. Thus, in their view, it is impossible for this knowledge to be non-inferential or to be brought about by Allah Most High.

As for the final part of the hadith, it indicates that Allah Most High knows what they will become after being born upon the natural disposition: whether they will remain upon it and thus be believers, or alter it and thus become unbelievers.

If the Qadariyyah cite his words:

“Then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian,”

as evidence on the grounds that he attributed the alteration to the parents, they should be told: You