Affirming secondary causes

Yet, alongside all of this, they do not reject the causes that Allah has brought into existence—causes through which He brings about their effects. The Exalted says: “When We have borne the heavy clouds, We drive them to a lifeless land; then We send down water by them, and by it We bring forth every kind of fruit” (Q. 7:57). He also says: “By it Allah guides those who seek His good pleasure to the paths of peace” (Q. 5:16), and: “By it He leads many astray and by it He guides many” (Q. 2:26). Thus, He has informed us that He acts through means.

The deviation of those who deny causes and the polytheism of those who regard them as independently creative

Whoever says, “He acts merely in their presence, not through them,” has contradicted what the Quran has brought and has denied the powers and natural properties Allah has created. Such a claim is akin to denying