Al-Ghazālī said:

“This is a principle they have embraced, thereby wholly undermining the revealed religions. For it implies that if Zayd, for example, obeys Allah or disobeys Him, Allah does not know the new states that arise in him, because He does not know Zayd individually. Zayd is a particular individual, and his actions come into existence after not having existed. If He does not know the individual, He does not know his states or actions. Indeed, He does not know whether Zayd disbelieves or embraces Islam. He knows only human disbelief and acceptance of Islam in absolute, universal terms, without reference to particular individuals.

“Indeed, this entails saying: Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, proclaimed his prophethood, yet Allah did not know at that time that he had proclaimed it. The same applies to every particular prophet. He knows only that some people proclaim prophethood and that their attributes are such and such.

“As for the particular prophet himself, He does not know him, for such knowledge comes through the senses. Nor does He know the states proceeding from him, because these are states of a particular individual differentiated by the divisions of time, and apprehending them in their diversity would entail change.”

He said:

“This is what we wished to present: first, an account of their doctrine, and