As for the Muʿtazilah, they hold that He wills what does not occur, and that what He does not will occurs. Those advocates of compulsion stand at one extreme, and these at the other, while Ahl al-Sunnah occupy the middle ground.

Whatever the servants do by their own choice, He—glory be to Him—knows that they do it through their own power and will. Whatever they refrain from doing despite having the power to do it, He knows that they refrain because they do not will it, not because they lack the power to do it. He—glory be to Him—is the Creator of the servants, their power, their will, and their actions. All of this lies within the Lord’s power. This is not something shared between the powers of two agents. Rather, the created agent himself, his power, and what he brings about all lie within the Creator’s power and are created by Him.

The point here is that His words, exalted is He,

“Whether you disclose what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it,”

are true. Abrogation here means removing the understanding of someone who took the verse to mean something it does not indicate. Whoever understood that Allah burdens a soul with what exceeds its capacity has had that understanding and supposition annulled by Allah. Likewise, whoever understood from it that forgiveness and punishment occur without wisdom or justice has had that understanding and supposition annulled. His words,

“Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity,”

refute the first understanding, while His words,

“To its credit is what it has earned, and against it is what it has incurred,”

refute the second. His words,

“He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills,”

are like His words in Āl ʿImrān:

“To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

And His words:

“Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth