anything of His knowledge except what He wills,” and His calling Himself a “thing” in His saying:

“Say, ‘What thing is greatest in testimony?’ Say, ‘Allah is witness between me and you.’”

Nor did they consider that the scope of His words, “all things,” depends on the surrounding statement, for a term’s scope varies according to its qualifications.

Thus, His saying, “He has knowledge of all things,” includes Himself, since He can be known. His saying, “He has power over all things,” includes everything that can be subject to power, encompassing everything whose existence is intrinsically possible. It may also be said that this includes everything called a “thing” in the sense of “something willed,” for shay’ (“thing”) was originally a verbal noun bearing the meaning of mashī’ (“something willed”). Thus, He has power over everything that can be willed. Alternatively, you may say: He has power over everything that can be subject to power. What is intrinsically impossible is not a thing, as all rational people agree.

Regarding His saying, “Allah is the Creator of all things,” it is known that the Creator is not the creation and is not included within the term’s scope here. Rather, it encompasses every created thing—that is, everything that has come into existence.

At the same time, Ahl al-Sunnah affirm that the servant has will, ability, and volition, and truly performs his own acts. They warn against using the term “compulsion,” because it suggests that Allah forces the servant to act against his own will, just as a woman may be forced into marriage. This is not the case. Rather, the servant chooses and acts by his own choice and will, willingly and out of love. He is not compelled and devoid of will, and Allah is the Creator of this