and reason. This is the position of all the Companions, the leading scholars of the Muslims, and the majority of Muslims; it is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah.
For this reason, those mentioned above adopted a restrictive interpretation of the verse. They could not reconcile belief in divine decree with His having created them to worship Him when they did not worship Him. They said: “Those whom He brought into being for Hell, He did not create to worship Him.” Whoever says, “He created His creatures so that the believers among them would worship Him,” has followed this approach.
As for “those who deny wisdom,” such as al-Ashʿarī and his followers, including al-Qādī Abū Bakr, Abū Yaʿlā, and others, their fundamental principle is that Allah does not create anything for the sake of anything else. Thus, He did not create anyone for worship or for any other purpose. According to them, there is no lām indicating purpose in the Quran. They may, however, acknowledge a lām indicating outcome, as in His words:
“Then Pharaoh’s household picked him up, only for him to become their enemy and a source of grief.”
They say the same concerning His words:
“We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind.”
They mean that Hell was the eventual outcome for those people, and worship the eventual outcome for the believers, without the Creator having intended to create them for either end. Rather, He willed the creation of everything He created, not for any further purpose. This is their position, and it is weak for several reasons:
(First, the lām indicating an outcome for the sake of which the action was not intended applies only to the action of someone who is ignorant or powerless. An example of ignorance is His statement:
“Then Pharaoh’s household picked him up, only for him to become their enemy and a source of grief.”
Pharaoh did not know that this would be the outcome. An example of powerlessness is the saying:
“Bear children for death, and build for ruin.”
They know this outcome, but they are powerless to prevent it. Allah Most High, however, is All-Knowing and All-Powerful. It therefore cannot be said that His action is like that of someone who is ignorant and powerless.