and some of it in Medina. Their more moderate members and the majority of them came to affirm the prior divine decree and the previously written record. People’s disagreement then came to concern “the will” and “the creation of human actions.” They divided into two parties over this. The “negators” said: “Will means nothing other than volition. He willed only what He commanded, and He did not create any human actions.”

Opposing them were those who debated divine decree among the “advocates of compulsion,” such as al-Jahm ibn Safwān and others like him. They said: “Will means nothing other than volition, and commands and prohibitions do not entail willing.” They also said: “The servant has no action whatsoever and no power; rather, Allah alone acts and possesses power.” Alongside this, Jahm denied the divine names and attributes. It is reported that he said: “Allah is not to be called a ‘thing,’ nor by any other name applied to human beings, except ‘the All-Powerful,’ since the servant possesses no power.”

The Khawārij had already spoken about declaring sinners among those who face the qiblah to be unbelievers. They said: “They are unbelievers who will remain in the Fire forever.” People then debated this matter, and the Qadariyyah entered the debate after the death of al-Hasan al-Basrī. ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd and his followers said: “They are neither Muslims nor unbelievers; rather, they occupy a position between the two, and they will remain in the Fire forever.” Thus, they agreed with the Khawārij that these people would remain there forever and that they possessed nothing of Islam or faith. However, they did not call them unbelievers, and they withdrew from