Thus, if “affinity” means this and similar things, then such affinity is real and is an attribute of perfection, as indicated earlier. For one who loves attributes of perfection is more perfect than one who makes no distinction between attributes of deficiency and perfection, or who does not love attributes of perfection.

Suppose there are two beings: one loves knowledge, truthfulness, justice, benevolence, and similar things; the other makes no distinction between these things and ignorance, falsehood, injustice, and the like, neither loving the former nor hating the latter. The one who loves those things is more perfect than the other. This shows that if someone strips Him of “attributes of perfection and existence,” denying Him knowledge so that He is like an inanimate object, then a being who knows would be more perfect than Him. It is also well known that one who loves what is praiseworthy and hates what is blameworthy is more perfect than one who loves both or hates both.

The foundation of “this issue” is the distinction between Allah’s love, pleasure, anger, and displeasure, on the one hand, and His will, on the other. This is the position of the early generations, the jurists, and most of those who affirm divine decree, whether among Ahl al-Sunnah or others. Some of the Qadariyyah and some of those who affirm divine decree, however, have held that there is no distinction between them.

The “Qadariyyah” then said: He does not love disbelief, wickedness, or disobedience, nor does He will them. Thus, what He does not will occurs, and He wills what does not occur.

The “affirmers of divine decree” said: Whatever He wills occurs, and whatever He does not will does not occur. Therefore, He has willed disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience, but has not willed them as religion; or He has willed them on the part of the disbeliever but has not willed them on the part of the believer