as evidence that He knows them, for, according to them, He did not create them. Their fellow Qadariyyah may dispute His knowledge of these acts before they occur, and they cannot use this verse as evidence against them. They may also argue that His knowing these acts while commanding the contrary of what He knows will occur entails imposing obligations beyond one’s capacity, since the contrary of what is known is impossible; He therefore does not know them. They would thus compel them to deny prior determination.

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As for his words:

“Or, if He does decree, this would entail …
its coming into being—a rejected view.”

He seems to mean—and Allah knows best—that if Allah does determine these acts and know them, then His knowing and determining them after they occur entails that knowledge of them arises after their occurrence. It would follow that the Lord neither knows His servants’ acts nor determines them until they have been performed. This is a rejected and false position. The early generations—the Companions and those who followed them in righteousness—and all other Muslim scholars agreed that it is false. Indeed, they declared anyone who upheld it to be an unbeliever. The Quran and Sunnah, together with rational evidence, demonstrate its falsity.

For Allah has foretold His servants’ deeds before they occur. Indeed, He has made them known to whomever He wills among His angels and others. The Most High says:

“And when your Lord said