the servant would do it if he willed, since he has the power to do so, it may be imposed upon him as an obligation without dispute. Even if some call it something beyond his capacity, this is a dispute over terminology, and over whether ability can precede the act.
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As for his words:
“If compulsion holds true, he would be coerced …
And in your view, one coerced is excused.”
The response is:
The meaning of “compulsion” has already been explained. If compulsion means coercion, as when someone compels another and forces him to act against his will, then Allah Most High is far too majestic, exalted, and powerful to need such compulsion and coercion. Only someone unable to make another person will an action, choose it, love it, and be pleased with it resorts to this. Allah, glorified be He, has power over all things. If He wills to make the servant love and choose what he does, He makes him so. If He wills to make him will it without loving it—indeed, while disliking it, so that he does it despite his aversion—He makes him so.
This is not like one created being coercing another. A created being cannot produce in another’s heart either will and love or aversion and hatred. Rather, the most he can do is something that serves as