and success, and bad because they lead to their corruption? Allah, glorified is He, is exalted above being affected by anything unbefitting His glory.

As for his question:

“Is it causally effective in bringing the act into existence, or not?”

This must be discussed in two respects.

(The first)

Taken at face value, this question is unsound, because the servant’s acquisition is his very act and deed. How, then, can one ask whether his acquisition has a causal effect upon his act, or whether something can have a causal effect upon itself? Even if someone supposes that acquisition means engaging in something, undertaking it directly, intending it and attempting it, these are all acts to which the same discussion applies as to bodily acts such as standing and sitting.

I think the questioner understood it in this sense and seized upon the statement of those who say:

“The servant’s act comes about through Allah’s creation—mighty and majestic is He—and the servant’s acquisition.”

The precise formulation is:

“The servant’s act is Allah’s creation—mighty and majestic is He—and the servant’s acquisition.”

An exception would be if the intended meaning were that his bodily acts come about through his acquisition—that is, through his intention and deliberate pursuit. This would amount to saying that his outward acts come about through his inward acts.

It is hardly surprising that this question has not been formulated afresh, for it is a place where feet slip and minds go astray. A well-posed question is half of knowledge, if the questioner has formed a clear conception of the question and seeks only to affirm or deny the matter in question. Were a complete conception attained, one of the two alternatives would be known.