not in their favor; for Allah Most High says:
“Say, ‘All is from Allah.’”
Yet according to them, neither good deeds nor evil deeds come from Allah; rather, both come from the servant. His words, Most High,
“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself,”
contradict their position, since they hold that good deeds and evil deeds come from the servant, not from Allah, glory be to Him.
Likewise, anyone who affirms divine decree but seeks to establish it by citing His words, Most High, “Say, ‘All is from Allah,’” is mistaken. Allah stated this verse to refute those who say that good comes from Allah and evil comes from the servant. Yet no group has said that good deeds come from Allah while evil deeds come from the servant.
Furthermore, although those who affirm divine decree say that Allah created the servant’s act itself, and that it is His creation and something He has brought about, they do not deny that it is the servant who moves and acts, that these acts take place in him and originate from him, even though Allah created them.
Moreover, His subsequent words,
“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself,”
cannot be interpreted as referring to obedience and disobedience. Those who affirm divine decree do not say that Allah creates one but not the other. Rather, they say that Allah creates all acts and everything that occurs.
It should also be understood that the position of the early generations of the Muslim community—while they affirm that Allah is the Creator of all things