The point is that these are fabrications of those who have gone astray. As for those who are guided and attain success, they believe in both. They believe that Allah is the Creator, Lord, and Sovereign of everything; that whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass; that He has power over all things, encompasses everything in His knowledge, and has recorded everything in a clear Record. This principle affirms Allah’s knowledge, power, will, oneness, and lordship, and that He is the Creator, Lord, and Sovereign of everything—all of which are fundamental principles of faith.

Yet they do not deny the causes Allah has created, through which He creates their effects. As He Most High says:

“Until, when they carry heavy clouds, We drive them to a lifeless land, then send down water through it, and with that water bring forth fruits of every kind.”

And He Most High says:

“Through it Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of peace.”

And He Most High says:

“He causes many to go astray through it, and guides many through it.”

He thus tells us that He acts through causes. Whoever says that He acts when they occur, but not through them, contradicts what the Quran teaches and denies the powers and natural properties Allah has created. This is akin to denying the powers Allah has created in living beings, through which they act, such as a human being’s capacity to act. Likewise, whoever regards these powers as themselves the creators of those effects has associated partners with Allah and attributed His action to another.

For every cause depends upon another cause for its effect to occur. There must also be an impediment that prevents it from producing its effect unless Allah removes that impediment. Thus, there is nothing in