Those who hold this view then divide into two groups: Ahl al-Sunnah, who affirm divine decree, and those who deny it. Thus, there are “seven” views concerning the verse and “five” concerning divine wisdom.
Ahl al-Sunnah, who affirm divine decree, say that His words:
“I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me”
do not necessarily mean that they will actually worship Him, as the proponents of the preceding views have maintained. Nor do they entail denying what is divinely decreed—that something should exist in His dominion which He does not will, or that He should will something which does not come to pass—as the Qadariyyah maintain. The latter say that the purpose for which He created them was not realized because He wills things that do not happen, and things happen that He does not will.
The former said: “If whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass, then whatever has not occurred was not willed by Him. Thus, whatever worship has not occurred was not willed by Him.” This reasoning is sound. They then said: “Whatever He created them for, He must will to create. Since He did not will to create this, He did not create them for it.”
The fundamental error of both groups is their assumption that He wills the occurrence of whatever He created them for. The former say that He wills to create it, while the latter say that He wills it to occur on their part, meaning that He commands them to do it. They do not acknowledge any will of His concerning human actions apart from His command, which people disobey.
For this reason, they said: “Things happen that He does not will, and He wills things that do not happen,” just as they say: “People do what He has forbidden them and neglect what He has commanded them.” This meaning is correct if what is intended is His religious command.
However, the Qadariyyah, who deny divine decree, understand “He willed” only to mean “He commanded.” Thus, in their view, human actions that are not acts of obedience are things He does not