The prevalent view among the affirmationist theologians and the jurists who agree with them is that He commands what He does not will. The Qadariyyah, the Mu‘tazilah, and others, however, say that He commands only what He wills.

The precise distinction is that will in the Book of Allah is of two kinds: a religious, legislative will and a universal, decretive will. Examples of the first include His words, Most High:

“Allah desires ease for you and does not desire hardship for you.”

And His words, Most High:

“But He wishes to purify you.”

And His words, Most High:

“Allah wishes to make things clear to you and guide you to the ways of those before you,”

through to His words:

“And Allah wishes to accept your repentance.”

Here, will means love and approval; this is the religious will. This is also indicated by His words:

“I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”

As for the universal, decretive will, an example is His saying, Most High:

“Whomever Allah wills to guide, He opens his heart to Islam; and whomever He wills to lead astray, He makes his heart tight and constricted, as though he were climbing into the sky.”

Another example is the Muslims’ saying: “Whatever Allah wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass.” Everything that occurs falls within this will and volition: neither good nor evil, neither right nor wrong, falls outside it. This will and volition encompass things that the legislative command does not encompass. The religious will, however, corresponds exactly to the legislative command; the two never differ. The same distinction found in the term “will” also applies to the terms “command,” “words,” and “judgment”