—namely disbelief. Yet He is pleased to punish them and to exact retribution from them for abandoning obedience and persisting in sin.

I asked, “Did Allah will disbelief for the believers?”
He said, “No. Rather, He willed faith for the believers, just as He willed disbelief for the unbelievers; just as He willed fornication for the fornicators, theft for the thieves, knowledge for the people of knowledge, and goodness for the people of goodness. For Allah willed—before creating them—that the unbelievers would be unbelievers and astray.”

I said, “Does Allah punish the unbelievers for that which He is pleased to create, or for that which He is not pleased to create?”
He replied, “Rather, He punishes them for what He is pleased to create.”

I asked, “Why?”
He answered, “Because He punishes them for disbelief.”