that He has created, the lām of outcome cannot apply to Him, since it entails either a lack of knowledge or a lack of power.

These people denied that Allah loves and approves of some things but not others. They said: “Love and approval have the same meaning as will. Allah wills everything He has created, so He approves of it and loves it.”

They claimed that the Quran’s denial that He loves or approves of disbelief and sins, as in His words:

“Allah does not love corruption,”

and:

“He does not approve of disbelief for His servants,”

refers only to those of His servants who have not committed such things, or means that He did not will them as a religion for which He would reward them. They also claimed that Allah does not love or approve of the acts of worship He has commanded unless they actually occur; then He wills them, just as He then wills whatever disbelief and sins have occurred. These and other views of theirs are discussed at length elsewhere.

Many later scholars suppose that this is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah, yet none of the early generations of this Muslim community or its leading scholars ever held it. Rather, all the early scholars who affirmed divine decree distinguished love and approval from will. Abū al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī, however, followed Jahm in this regard.

Abū al-Maʿālī al-Juwaynī said:

“Among the matters concerning which the people of truth differed over whether the terms may or may not be applied are love and approval. The earlier scholars held that He, glorified be He, neither loves nor approves of disbelief, and likewise every sin.

“Our shaykh Abū al-Hasan said: ‘Love is will itself, as are approval and choosing. He, glorified be He, wills disbelief