the knowledge he acquires through his own effort and reflection is also, in the end, something he cannot help possessing.

Once knowledge has arisen in a person’s heart, whether through evidence or otherwise, he cannot remove it from his heart—unless, of course, he pursues something that causes him to forget it or become heedless of it. Yet he may be unable to bring about such heedlessness or forgetfulness.

The faith that Allah has inscribed in the hearts of believers—whether it arises through something the servant does, such as reflection and reasoning, through someone else, or without any of these means—together with the causes through which it arises, is subject to Allah’s decree and predestination. All of this is among Allah’s blessings upon His servant, for Allah is the One who graciously bestows both causes and their effects.

Whoever thinks that knowledge and faith arise solely through his own reason, reflection, and inference—as the Qadariyyah maintain—is misguided. This is what they have refuted.

Their statement that reason is a prerequisite for being subject to religious obligation and divine address, just as existence and life are, is correct. A prerequisite contributes to the realization of what depends upon it, just as life contributes to those things for which it is a prerequisite.

Reason may refer to the innate faculty, to a kind of knowledge, or to a kind of action. All these things help bring about faith. Hence, people differ in their degree of faith according to their differences in these respects.

Ahl al-Sunnah do not deny the existence of the causes Allah has created, nor do they regard them as independently producing their effects. Rather, they know that no created cause produces its effect without depending upon another cause, and that there are obstacles that can prevent its effect. Thus, the sun is a cause of light, but this depends upon the presence of a body capable of receiving it, and obstacles such as clouds and roofs can block it.