that people reproduce without marriage, and that He caused crops to grow without water or soil.” This is false, and its falsehood is apparent to everyone. The same applies to such claims about the future. Likewise, “deeds” are a cause of reward and punishment.
If someone were to say that Allah expelled Adam from Paradise without any sin on his part and decreed this, or that He forgave Adam without repentance and knew this, that would be a lie and a falsehood. By contrast, someone who recites:
“Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He accepted his repentance,”
and:
“They both ate from it, and their nakedness became apparent to them, and they began covering themselves with leaves from Paradise,”
would be speaking the truth. Allah, glorified is He, knew what Adam would do before it occurred, and He knows it after it has occurred.
The same applies to everything He has related in the “accounts of the prophets.” He knew that it was for their sins that He destroyed the peoples of Noah, ʿĀd, Thamūd, Pharaoh, Lot, Midian and others, and that it was for their faith and piety that He saved the prophets and their followers. As He says:
“When they forgot what they had been reminded of, We saved those who forbade evil and seized the wrongdoers with a terrible punishment because of their defiant disobedience.”
And He says:
“Each We seized for his sin: against some We sent a storm of stones; some were overtaken by the mighty blast; some We caused the earth to swallow; and some We drowned,” to the end of the verse.
And He says:
“That is how We repaid them for their transgression.”
And He says:
“So Allah seized them for their sins, and they had no one to protect them from Allah.”
And He says:
“So We destroyed them for their sins and raised up another generation after them.”
And He says:
“There are their houses, lying desolate because of their wrongdoing. Surely in this is a sign for people who know. And We saved those who believed and were mindful of Allah.”
And He says:
“Such is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes the towns while they are doing wrong. Indeed, His seizure is painful and severe.”
And He says: