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As for his citation of Ibn Isrā’īl’s statement:

“Commands are of two kinds: a command conveyed through an intermediary and a command conveyed without an intermediary,”

and so forth, its substance is that the command conveyed through an intermediary is the religious, prescriptive command, while the command conveyed without an intermediary is the command pertaining to divine decree and creation. His claim that one kind involves an intermediary while the other does not is false. Religious commands may be conveyed either through an intermediary or without one. Allah spoke to Moses and commanded him without an intermediary. Likewise, He spoke to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and commanded him on the night of the Ascension. He also spoke to Adam and commanded him without an intermediary. These were all religious, prescriptive commands.

As for the command pertaining to creation, the claim that it involves no intermediary is mistaken. Rather, Allah Most High created things by means of other things. The command that brings something into being is not an address heard by the created thing being brought into existence, for that is impossible.

Hence it has been said:

“If this is an address to it after it exists, then it was not brought into being by ‘Be’; rather, it had already been brought into being before the address. If, however, it is an address to it before it exists, then addressing what does not exist is impossible.”

The following answer has been given to this:

“It is an address to something known, since it is present in knowledge, even though it does not exist in concrete reality.”

As for what the faqīr has mentioned, it is undoubtedly a valid objection.