“By the soul and He who proportioned it (7), then inspired it with its wickedness and its piety (8).”

“By the soul and He who proportioned it”: He made its creation well-proportioned and fashioned its limbs. Ata said: This refers to all that He created of jinn and humankind.

“Then inspired it with its wickedness and its piety”: Ibn Abbas said, in the narration of Ali ibn Abi Talhah: [193/b] He made clear to it good and evil. In the narration of Atiyyah, he said: He taught it obedience and disobedience. Al-Kalbi narrated from Abu Salih, from him: He made it know what good it should do and what evil it should avoid [from evil] (1).

Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: He bound it to its wickedness and its piety. Ibn Zayd said: He placed this within it—that is, by granting it success in piety and abandoning it to wickedness. Al-Zajjaj preferred this view and understood inspiration as granting success and abandonment. This demonstrates that Allah, exalted is He, created piety in the believer and wickedness in the disbeliever.

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Shurayhi informed us; [Ahmad ibn] (2) Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Thalabi informed us; al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Abdullah informed me; Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah narrated to us; Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan informed us; Muslim ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; Urwah ibn Thabit al-Ansari informed us; Yahya ibn Uqayl narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Ya'mar, from al-Aswad al-Dayli, who said:

Imran ibn Husayn said to me, “What do you think of what people do [and strive laboriously] (3) at? Is it something that has already been decreed for them, and in which a prior decree has taken effect upon them? Or does it concern what lies ahead of them, in light of what their Prophet brought them and by which the proof was established against them?”

I said, “Rather, it is something that has already been decreed for them.”

He said, “Would that then be injustice?”

I was greatly alarmed by this and said, “Nothing exists except that it is His creation and belongs to Him. He is not questioned about what He does, whereas they will be questioned.”

He said to me, “May Allah guide you aright. I only asked you in order to test your understanding. [A man from Juhaynah or Muzaynah] (4) came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what do you think of what people do and strive at? Is it something that has already been decreed for them, and in which a prior decree has taken effect upon them? Or does it concern what lies ahead of them, in light of what their Prophet brought them and by which the proof was established against them?’

“The Prophet said, ‘No; rather, it is something that has already been decreed for them and has taken effect upon them.’

“The man said, ‘Then what is the point of deeds?’

“He said, ‘Whomever Allah created for one of the two stations, Allah prepares him for it. The confirmation of this is in the Book of Allah, exalted is He: “By the soul and He who proportioned it, then inspired it with its wickedness and its piety.”’ (5)