so, such and such would have happened.’ Rather, say, ‘Allah has decreed, and He does whatever He wills,’ for ‘if only’ opens the door to Satan’s work.”

The point here is that they have diverged in their interpretations of the hadith concerning the innate disposition, just as they diverged over the hadith concerning the disputation.

Their fundamental aim of affirming belief in divine decree is sound. Nevertheless, the Quran and hadith must be interpreted only according to what Allah and His Messenger intended, and the evidence must be followed in determining that meaning.

This frequently happens to those whose fundamental position is correct but who have erred in certain matters: they discuss an issue, then seek to answer their opponents’ arguments with unsound rebuttals.

As for their statement that Allah created them with disbelief or faith, recognition or denial: if they mean that Allah knew and decreed beforehand that they would believe or disbelieve, recognize or deny, and that this came about through Allah’s will, power, and creation, then this is true, though the Qadariyyah reject it. Their extremists deny His foreknowledge, while the majority deny the all-encompassing scope of His creation, will, and power.

If, however, they mean that this recognition and denial were already present when the covenant was taken, as the apparent meaning of what is transmitted from Ishāq suggests, then this entails two things:

The first is that recognition and faith were present in them at that time, as stated by