Shaykh al-Islām, a living representative of the noble early generations, the godly scholar and radiant authority, peerless in his age and unique in his time, the adornment of seekers of knowledge and the finest of those firmly grounded in it, Taqī al-Dīn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Halīm ibn Abd al-Salām Ibn Taymiyyah al-Harrānī—may Allah be pleased with him and reward him with Paradise through His grace and generosity—was asked the following:

O learned scholar whose knowledge
and excellence are renowned among men,
How does the servant choose his deeds
when he is compelled to perform them?
For they have explicitly declared
that even his acts of willing are forced upon him,
And that he is not truly the agent of his deeds—
a judgment widely known.
Hence, the deed has no effect
on what befalls its agent.
“And you do not will” is evidence for this,
confirming the truth of what has been stated.
“And everything”—then, even if this were conceded,
there would be no decree for the Creator.
Or, if there were, its existence would necessarily entail
temporal origination—a rejected view.
Nor may it be said, “Allah’s knowledge concerns what is chosen,”
for what is chosen is already written.