This, then, is the unqualified position of the scholars without exception. It is the view of the leading ḥadith authorities and the great majority of them; it is likewise the position held by most schools of kalām, such as the Hishamiyyah, the Kullabiyyah, and the Karramiyyah; by the overwhelming majority of the jurists who follow Abū Ḥanīfah, Aḥmad, Mālik, and al-Shāfiʿī; and by the Sufis, as recorded by the author of al-Taʿarruf concerning the Sufi path. Al-Baghawī, author of Sharḥ al-Sunnah, also cites it as the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.

The objectors argue: “If the creative act were other than the created thing, it would have to be either eternal or originated. Were it eternal, the created thing would likewise be eternal, which would entail the eternity of the universe. If it were originated, it would itself need another creative act, leading to an infinite regress and to the conclusion that the Lord becomes a locus for temporal events.”

Our reply is that every one of these premises is contested; you are unable to establish a single one. Concerning your claim that, were the act eternal, the created thing would also be eternal, those who agree with you on the pre-eternity of the Divine will answer: we both hold that the will is eternal even though its object comes into existence later. If the object of an eternal will can be delayed, then, by even stronger reasoning, the created thing can be delayed relative to the creative act. This is the rejoinder advanced by the Hanafis and the Karramiyyah.