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As for his words:

“And all things; then, were it conceded …
the Creator would have no decree.”

If he means that admitting that the servant truly performs his own acts, or accepting similar statements of the early generations, necessarily entails denying divine decree, then this alleged entailment is rejected. If, however, he means that conceding that the servant can will what Allah has not willed would entail that Allah’s will does not encompass prohibited and permissible acts, then this follows by common agreement. Indeed, it would entail that His will does not, in reality, encompass any of His servants’ acts, just as it would entail denying His power over all their acts and denying that He creates any of them. This negates divine decree in the sense of willing, power, and creation.

As for divine decree in the sense of His determining those acts within Himself, knowing them, speaking of them, and recording them, its denial clearly follows only from the position of those who deny foreknowledge. Most of the Qadariyyah do not deny it. Yet if they allow numerous events to occur apart from His will, power, and creation, they affirm that numerous events in the world are brought about by someone other than Him, while He is unable to bring them about. In that case, they cannot appeal to His words,

“Does He who created not know?”