existence that can bring anything about independently whenever it wills, except Allah alone. He Most High says:

“And of everything We have created pairs, so that you may take heed.”

That is, so that you may know that the Creator of all pairs is One. Thus, anyone who says, “Only one thing can proceed from Allah, because only one thing can proceed from the One,” is ignorant. For there is no single being in existence that has produced anything by itself—neither one thing nor two—except Allah, who created all pairs: of what the earth grows, of themselves, and of things they do not know.

Fire, in which Allah has created heat, only causes burning when there is both fire and something susceptible to being burned. If it falls upon a salamander, a ruby, or something similar, it does not burn them. A body may also be coated with something that prevents it from burning. Likewise, the rays emitted by the sun require a body upon which they can be reflected. If a barrier, such as a cloud or a roof, intervenes, the rays do not reach beneath it. This has been explained at length elsewhere.

The point here is that “belief in divine decree” is indispensable, for belief in divine decree completes belief in Allah’s oneness. As Ibn ‘Abbās said: “It is what holds belief in Allah’s oneness together. Whoever affirms Allah’s oneness and believes in divine decree has perfected his belief in His oneness; whoever affirms Allah’s oneness but denies divine decree has undone his belief in His oneness.”

Belief in the revealed law is also indispensable: belief in the commands and prohibitions, the promises and warnings, with which Allah sent His messengers and revealed His Books.