And the Most High also says, “You do not will except that Allah wills” (Qur’an 76:30). He likewise says, “So whoever wills—let him believe, and whoever wills—let him disbelieve” (Qur’an 18:29). The latter is a warning; for that reason the person in question is not judged an unbeliever, because he did not intend to reject the verse—he merely erred in interpreting it and never meant to deny its revelation.

I then said to him, “Suppose someone, when struck by a misfortune, is asked, ‘Is this one of the trials with which Allah has tested you, or is it something you yourself have earned?’ and he replies, ‘It is not among the trials Allah has appointed for me.’ Does such a reply render him an unbeliever?”

He answered, “No.”

I asked, “Why?”

He replied, “Because Allah the Exalted has said, ‘Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever misfortune befalls you is from your own self’ (Qur’an 4:79)—that is, on account of your sin, even though I have decreed it. And He has said, ‘Whatever calamity befalls you is because of what your own hands have earned’ (Qur’an 42:30), meaning because of your sins. And He says, ‘He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills’ (Qur’an 16:93). The man’s only mistake lies in his interpretation.

“As for the divine statement, ‘He comes between a person and his heart’ (Qur’an 8:24), its meaning is that He places a barrier between the believer and disbelief and between the disbeliever and faith.”