This is the position of the imams and the majority, just as they affirm divine decree and believe in it: Allah is the Creator of all things; whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass. They accept neither the position of those among the Muʿtazilah and others who deny divine decree, nor that of the Jahmī determinists and others who deny the Lord’s wisdom.

Thus, they accept neither the position of the Qadariyyah who deny divine decree nor that of the determinist Qadariyyah, whose position entails denying commands and prohibitions, promises and threats, and recompense through reward and punishment—especially those among them who state this openly or say:

“For anyone who witnesses divine decree, commands and prohibitions, promises and threats cease to apply.”

The deniers of divine decree believed, in general, in what the messengers brought. They regarded as obligatory what Allah made obligatory and as forbidden what Allah forbade. They believed in Paradise and Hell and strove to follow the messengers. However, they erred in denying divine decree and supposing that affirming it contradicts commands and prohibitions, promises and threats. They also supposed that their belief that Allah is just and truthful could not be complete unless they denied divine decree and the release from the Fire of those guilty of major sins. They imagined that Allah had declared that He would never bring out of the Fire anyone whose sin merits punishment, nor ever show him mercy. Thus, they did not allow for the possibility that someone might be punished for his sin and then shown mercy. Rather, in their view, anyone whose sin merits punishment would never be shown mercy. Although they did not deliberately intend to deny the messengers, this position of theirs entails