As for our contentment with the divine decree, we have only been commanded to be content in the face of calamities of that sort.

These include sickness, poverty, humiliation, estrangement, and any harm(1) that befalls us without(2) any wrongdoing on our part.

As for those actions that He has declared detestable for us, no scriptural evidence obliges us to approve of them as an act of obedience.

Some scholars(3) therefore say that there is no room for acceptance of sinful deeds and major transgressions(4).

For the Lord of creation has not approved them for us; so we do not approve of anything He rejects merely because it occurs by His will(5).

Another group says, “We are pleased with His decree(6), but we are not pleased with the decreed act itself, the ugliest of traits(7).”

Yet another group says, “We are content with its attribution to Him(8), but as for what proceeds from us, we meet it with displeasure(9).”