For expressions of this kind show that the believer stands upon something from Allah. This wording thus combines the preposition indicating elevation, “upon,” with the preposition (min, “from”), indicating a point of origin. Things described using this preposition of origin—so that one says, “It is from Allah”—fall into two categories. If something is an attribute that subsists neither independently nor in a created being, then it is an attribute of His. But anything that is an entity subsisting independently or in a created being is created.

The first category is illustrated by His words:

“But the word from Me has come into effect.”

And His words:

“They know that it has been sent down from your Lord in truth.”

As the early generations said: “The Quran is the speech of Allah, uncreated. From Him it originated, and to Him it will return.”

The second category is illustrated by His words:

“He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth—all from Him. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reflect.”

And His words:

“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.”

And:

“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah.”

Likewise, it is said that inspiration and prompting toward good are from Allah, while inspiration and prompting toward evil are from Satan, and whispering is from Satan.

Such attribution is of two kinds: sometimes it is made with regard to the cause, and sometimes with regard to the outcome and end result. Here, good things mean blessings, and bad things mean calamities; all are from Allah. However, those good things are blessings Allah has bestowed upon the servant, so they are from Him as acts of kindness and grace. These calamities, by contrast, are punishment for a sin originating from the servant himself. They are therefore from his own self insofar as his evil deed was