those who know the foundations of their thinking. Thus, someone may claim that “Say: He is Allah, One” and al-Fātihah may each be intrinsically equal to all other surahs, and that the Verse of the Throne is equal to all other verses; that they were singled out for greater rewards for their reciters—or al-Fātihah was specifically prescribed for prayer and the like—solely by sheer will, without possessing any quality warranting such distinction. This claim rests on Jahm’s principles concerning creation and command, even though Abū al-Hasan and others agreed with him on it.

The well-known works on the Sunnah containing reports from the early generations mention both positions. They identify this view as that of the Jabriyyah (determinists), who follow Jahm, and include it among the doctrines of the innovating, determinist Qadariyyah. The early generations rejected the position of the Jahmī determinists just as they rejected that of the Mu'tazilite Qadariyyah. This is well known from Sufyān al-Thawrī, al-Awzā'ī, al-Zubaydī, 'Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others. Numerous followers of the imams among the Hanafīs, Mālikīs, Shāfi'īs, Hanbalīs, and the rest of Ahl al-Sunnah have mentioned this in their books. It has been explained at length in its appropriate places, and I have cited the statements of the early generations and the imams concerning it.

We have drawn attention here only to the underlying principle, because many people are unaware of this. They imagine that the position of Ahl al-Sunnah concerning divine decree is none other than what Ahl al-Sunnah themselves regard as the position of Jahm and his determinist followers, or something similar. Likewise, some imagine that the position of Ahl al-Sunnah on questions of religious designations and rulings, and of divine promise and threat, is also the position known among Ahl al-Sunnah as that of Jahm. This is understood by those who know