he is told: “This does not preclude punishment from being inflicted upon whoever denies and turns away. If He has not created faith in you, then you are among those whom He will punish; but if He makes you a believer, then you are among those upon whom He bestows felicity (1). We are messengers who convey the message to you and warn you. The messenger’s objective has thus been fulfilled (2), and the clear message has been conveyed. The morally accountable person’s dispute is only with his Lord, on the ground that He commanded him to do something without assisting him in doing it. This neither concerns the messenger nor harms him (3). Allah—glorified and exalted—is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.”

The tenth line of argument:

It may be said: This objection applies to (this) author (4), as well as to other leading Mu'tazilite and Rāfidite scholars who followed Abū al-Husayn al-Basrī (5), for he held that whenever the motive and capacity exist, the act within one’s capacity must necessarily occur. This is because Allah created the motive within the servant.

The position of Abū al-Husayn and his followers regarding predestination (6) is also the position of the leading scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah, who say that Allah created the servant’s capacity and will, which necessarily entails His creating (7) the servant’s act.

They further say:

The servant is genuinely the agent of his own act (and the producer of his act) (8), while Allah—glorified and exalted—made him its agent (9) and producer. This is the position of the great majority of