will, for, in their view, He does not create them. If He does not create something, He has not willed it, for all Muslims agree that whatever He wills to create, He creates.

The Qadariyyah do not dispute this. They do not dispute that whatever He Himself wills to do, He does, and that He is able to do whatever He wills to do. However, in their view, human actions do not fall within His creation, His power, or His will, nor within what He wills to do Himself. Rather, His will concerning them means only His command. They therefore say: He created them to worship Him—that they themselves should perform this worship—and He has commanded them to do so. If they do not perform it, this amounts to disobeying His command.

Those who affirm divine decree, however, say: Whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass. He, glorified be He, is the Creator of all things:

“Had your Lord willed, He would have made mankind one community.”

“Had Allah willed, they would not have fought one another.”

“Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it.”

And there are other similar passages. Thus, if He created them for the worship He has commanded, yet they do not perform it, He has not willed that it take place. For had He willed it to take place, He would have brought it about. Nevertheless, He has commanded them to perform it, loves and approves of their doing so, and wills that they do so in the religious sense—a will embodied in His command to worship.

This makes the meaning of the verse clear. His words:

“I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me”

are similar to His words:

“So that you may complete the prescribed period and glorify Allah for guiding you,”

and His words:

“Thus He has subjected them to you, so that you may glorify Allah for guiding you,”

and His words:

“So that it may not circulate solely among the wealthy among you,”

and His words:

“That is so you may know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth