intransitive and transitive. These “two kinds” occur in His words:

“He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne.”

Rising over the Throne, coming, arriving, descending, and similar acts are intransitive: they do not extend to an object, but rather subsist in the agent. Creating, providing sustenance, causing death, giving life, granting, withholding, guiding, granting victory, sending down, and similar acts extend to an object.

People hold “three views” concerning these two kinds of acts. Some affirm no act subsisting in the agent, whether intransitive or transitive. In their view, intransitive acts do not exist. As for transitive acts, such as creating, they say that creating is the created thing itself, or something distinct from the created thing. This is the position of the Jahmiyyah, the Muʿtazilah, and those who followed them, such as al-Ashʿarī and his followers. It is also the earlier of Judge Abū Yaʿlā’s two positions and the position of Ibn ʿAqīl.

Many of the Muʿtazilah say that creating is the created thing itself. Others say that it is distinct from it, but maintain that creating itself requires another act of creating, as Maʿmar ibn ʿAbbād holds. They are called the proponents of an infinite regress of meanings.

Some say that creating is identical with willing, as do some of the Muʿtazilah of Basra.

The “second view” is that transitive acts, but not intransitive acts, subsist in His own being. They therefore say that creating subsists in His own being and is not the created thing itself. They in turn hold two views.