Another chapter on the Divine Will

When one is asked, “Tell me: if Allah had willed to create all creatures obedient—like the angels, for example—would He have been able to do so?” and he answers, “No,” he has ascribed to Allah the Exalted something other than what He has ascribed to Himself, for He says, “He is the All-Dominant over His servants” (Qur’an 6:18) and “He is able to send against you a punishment from above you” (Qur’an 6:65).

But if he says, “He is able,” then say, “Tell me: if Allah had willed for Iblīs to be like Gabriel in obedience, would He not have been able to do so?” If he replies, “No,” he has abandoned his own statement and has depicted Allah in a manner unbefitting Him.

If he then says, “When someone commits fornication, drinks wine, or levels a false accusation—are these not by Allah’s will?” the answer is, “Indeed, they are.”

Should he continue, “Then why are the prescribed penalties (ḥudūd) not enforced against him?” it is said, “One does not set aside what Allah has commanded. If a man were to cut off his slave’s hand, that act would occur by Allah’s will, yet people would still hold him liable; and if he acknowledges that the ḥudūd apply to him, both the act and the ḥudūd come about by Allah’s will. He has certainly acted by the will of Allah, but whoever acts by the will associated with sin finds in it neither divine approval nor justice in his deed or his word.”