And the Almighty has also said, “You do not will unless Allah wills” (Q 76:30); and He said, “So whoever wills—let him believe, and whoever wills—let him disbelieve” (Q 18:29). This is a warning, and for that reason the man is not judged an unbeliever: he did not reject the verse itself but merely erred in the way he interpreted it; his intention was never to deny the Revelation.

I then said to him, “If someone who has been struck by a calamity is asked, ‘Is this one of the trials with which Allah has tested you, or is it something you yourself have earned?’ and he answers, ‘It is not among the things with which Allah has tested me,’ does that render him a disbeliever?” He replied, “No.” I asked, “And why not?” He said, “Because the Almighty states, ‘Whatever good comes to you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself’ (Q 4:79)—that is, because of your sin, although I have decreed it—and He says, ‘Whatever calamity befalls you, it is because of what your own hands have earned’ (Q 42:30), meaning on account of your sins; and He, Exalted is He, has said, ‘He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills’ (Q 16:93).”

He added, “The man has only fallen into error in his interpretation. The meaning of His words, ‘He intervenes between a person and his heart’ (Q 8:24) is that He comes between the believer and disbelief, and between the disbeliever and faith.”