among them maintains that these acts are not created by Allah (1) or brought into existence by Him, and that they are an acquisition (2) belonging to the servants (3): they produced them, devised them [and originated them] (4), and performed them.”

I say: On the contrary, most of the early Shia affirmed divine decree. Its denial appeared only among their later generations, just as did the denial of the divine attributes. Most of their early generations affirmed the attributes, and the reports transmitted from the Prophet’s Household affirming the attributes and divine decree are almost innumerable. As for those who acknowledge the Imamate of the [three] caliphs (5) despite being Qadarīs, there are many among (6) the Muʿtazila and others besides them. (7) The Qadariyya generally acknowledge the Imamate of the caliphs (8), and no early Qadarī is known to have denied the caliphate of the caliphs. This appeared only when certain people became Rāfidīs, Qadarīs, and Jahmīs, thereby combining the foundations of religious innovation, as did the author of this book and others like him.

The Zaydīs who acknowledge (9) the caliphate of the three caliphs are (10) among the Shia. Some of them are Qadarīs and others are not. The Zaydīs are better than the Imāmīs, and those among them who most closely resemble the Imāmīs are (11)