Your question, O man, is that of an obstinate adversary,
Disputing with the Lord of the Throne, the Maker of creation.

This is the very question with which Iblīs, the source of calamity,
Long ago disputed with the heavenly assembly.

Whoever makes himself an adversary of the All-Watchful
Will surely tumble headfirst into the pit.

Allah’s adversaries—the Qadariyyah—will all be summoned
To the Fire on the day of their return:

Whether they deny predestination, invoke it to dispute with Allah,
Or use it to argue against His Law.

The root of people’s error, in every sect,
Is probing God’s actions and asking why.

For they failed to grasp the wisdom of His acts,
And so fell into a form of pre-Islamic ignorance.

For all creation was necessarily brought into being
By the will of the Lord of creation, its Maker.

The essence of creation’s God exists of necessity,
With His attributes, likewise necessary and beginningless.

His will, His knowledge, and His power
Are inseparable from Allah’s essence—He who decrees all things.

His bringing forth, through these, whatever He wills to create
Embodies wisdom and manifold forms of mercy.

When we say that all things proceed by His will,
We do not thereby deny His unerring revelations.

Rather, the truth is that judgment belongs to Allah alone;
His are creation and the command expressed in His Law.

He is the Sovereign, worthy of praise in every circumstance;
His is the dominion, undiminished by any partner.

Whatever our Lord and God wills comes to pass;
What He does not will, no stratagem can bring about.

His power has no deficiency, and His decree
Encompasses all: nothing is excepted in this matter.