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Then, toward the end of the era of the Companions, the Qadariyya emerged. The Khārijites had concerned themselves with Allah’s revealed rulings: His commands and prohibitions, the promises and threats associated with them, the status of those who complied with them and those who opposed them, and who was a believer or a disbeliever. These are the “questions of religious designations and rulings.” They were called the Muhakkima because they engaged wrongfully in questions of judgment. When a man said, “Judgment belongs to Allah alone,” they would say, “He is a muhakkim,” meaning someone who engages in discussion of Allah’s judgment. Thus, those people engaged wrongfully in discussing Allah’s revealed law, whereas the Qadariyya engaged wrongfully in discussing His decree.

The root of their error was their assumption that divine decree contradicts revealed law. They therefore split into two factions. One faction revered the revealed law—its commands and prohibitions, promises and threats—and upheld following what Allah loves and is pleased with, and abandoning what He hates and what incurs His displeasure. They thought that this could not be reconciled with divine decree. Thus, they severed what Allah had commanded to be joined and broke Allah’s covenant after it had been confirmed, just as the Khārijites severed what Allah had commanded to be joined: the harmony between the Book, the Sunnah, and those who adhere to the Muslim community. They separated the Book from the Sunnah, separated the Book from the Muslim community, divided the Muslims, and severed