Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Ahmad. They said:

“Allah commands things that He does not will to occur (1), as in cases of disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience.”

They argued for this on the grounds that if a person swore to perform an obligatory act (2) and said, “If Allah wills,” [he] would not break his oath (3); and that Allah commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son but did not will him to do so (4). Rather, He abrogated that command before Abraham carried it out. The same applies to the fifty prayers on the Night of the Ascension.

The precise truth is that He commands what He does not will to create, yet He commands only what He loves and is pleased with. He thus wills the servant to do it—in the sense that He loves it—while He Himself does not will (5) to create it and thereby assist the servant in doing it. [This is as in cases of disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience] (6).

If a person swore, “I will certainly do such-and-such, if Allah wills,” he would not break his oath even if the act were obligatory. If, however, he said, “If Allah loves it” (7), he would break his oath, just as if he said, [“If Allah commands it.” And if he said,] “I will certainly do it when Allah wills” (8), [he might use “will” to mean love, as people say of someone who commits vile deeds, “He does what Allah does not will” (9). Or he might mean volition, as they say of something that did not come to pass, “Allah Most High did not will this” (10). If this is what he intended, he would break his oath. 0