and they affirm the causes He has established and the benefits within His creation and His commands that He has made a mercy to His servants, while acknowledging that He is the Creator, Lord, and Sovereign of everything—the deeds of His servants and all else. They affirm that whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass; and that everything that occurs in His creation and His commands is just and wise, whether or not the servant understands how this is so.

The wisdom arising from His commands is of three kinds:

The first is wisdom inherent in the act itself—even if it has not been commanded—as with truthfulness, justice, and similar acts whose benefits accrue to those who perform them, even without a command to do so. Allah commands what is good and forbids corruption.

The second is that what He commands acquires goodness from His command, and what He prohibits acquires badness from His prohibition. Thus wine, which was initially not forbidden, was then prohibited and became foul; and prayer facing the Rock, which had been good, became bad when He prohibited it. For He loves and is pleased with what He commands, and He hates and is displeased with what He prohibits. When He loves a servant and takes him as a friend, He bestows upon him good qualities that give him distinction over those whom He hates and takes as enemies. Likewise, He singles out places and times that He loves and honors—such as the Kaaba and the month of Ramadan—for qualities that distinguish them above others, so that in those times and places there is a measure of His mercy