—exalted is He:

“In the same way, those before them denied the truth until they tasted Our punishment. Say, ‘Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow nothing but conjecture, and you do nothing but guess.’”

The like of this occurs in Surah al-Nahl and in Surah Yā Sīn:

“When they are told, ‘Spend from what Allah has provided for you,’ those who disbelieve say to those who believe, ‘Should we feed someone whom Allah could have fed if He had willed? You are clearly astray.’”

Likewise, in Surah al-Zukhruf:

“They say, ‘Had the Most Merciful willed, we would not have worshipped them.’ They have no knowledge of this; they do nothing but guess.”

These are the “polytheistic Qadariyyah,” who invoke divine decree to dismiss the commands and prohibitions. They are worse than the Qadariyyah who are the Magians of this community, concerning whom it is reported:

“If they fall ill, do not visit them; and if they die, do not attend their funerals.”

For the latter acknowledge the commands and prohibitions, reward and punishment, but deny that Allah’s will, power, and creation encompass all things, and sometimes even deny His foreknowledge.

As for the “polytheistic Qadariyyah,” they deny the commands and prohibitions, reward and punishment. Although they do not deny that Allah’s will, power, and creation encompass all things, they nevertheless deny the commands and prohibitions, the promise of reward and the threat of punishment, and disbelieve in all the Messengers and Books. For Allah sent the Messengers only to give glad tidings of reward to those who obey them and to warn those who disobey them of punishment. We have discussed these people at length elsewhere.