As for a thing that is known, mentioned, and written down, if addressing it with a creative command is like directing the will toward it, this is not impossible; rather, it is possible. Indeed, a person finds something similar within himself: he conceives of something he wishes to do, then directs his will and desire toward that intended and desired thing he has conceived. Its realization depends on his ability. If he has the power to bring it about, it comes about with resolute will and desire; if he is incapable, it does not. A person may say, “Let such-and-such be,” or use similar expressions of demand, but the realization of what he seeks depends on his power to accomplish it. Allah, glorified is He, has power over all things. Whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass. Thus, when He wills a thing, His command is only to say to it, “Be!” and it is.
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As for the second question, the questioner says:
“In the words of the Exalted,
‘I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me,’
if this lām—the particle ‘to’—denotes the eventual outcome, that outcome has not come about. If it denotes purpose, it would follow that none of the created beings could fail to worship Him. Yet this is not the case. How, then, can this difficulty be resolved?”
The reply is:
This lām is not what grammarians call the lām of outcome or eventual result. No one has maintained that it is here, given the questioner’s observation that this outcome did not come about—except