at the same time to signal to those present that they could enter. When they heard him say, “Enter,” they understood that he had given them permission to enter, even though he was reciting the verse. So much for this point.

As for Ibn Aqīl’s answer, he based it on Ibn Kullāb’s principle, which he, his teacher, and others uphold. This is the principle on which they agreed with Ibn Kullāb and his followers, such as al-Ash‘arī and others: that Allah does not speak by His will and power, and that nothing subsisting in Him occurs by His will and power. In their view, matters dependent on choice cannot subsist in Him, because they come into being, and, according to them, nothing that comes into being can subsist in Allah.

For this reason, they interpreted away the revealed texts that contradict this principle, such as His saying, Most High:

“And say, ‘Act, for Allah will see your deeds, as will His Messenger and the believers.’”

This entails that He will see their deeds in the future. Likewise, His saying:

“Then We made you successors in the land after them, to see how you would act.”

And His saying:

“And Allah will see your deeds, as will His Messenger.”

Likewise, His saying:

“Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you.’”

This entails that He loves them after they follow the Messenger. Likewise, His saying, Most High:

“And We certainly created you, then fashioned you, then said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam.’”

This entails that He spoke to them after creating Adam. Likewise, His saying, Most High:

“Then, when he came to it, he was called.”

This entails that he was called when he came to it, and was not called before that. Likewise, His saying:

“His command, when He wills a thing, is only to say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”

There are many such passages in the Quran.