[that] (1) the act in question is brought about by Him while being the servant’s act (2). As for the extraordinary occurrence itself, it is not an act of the servants (3), such that it could be said to be evil on their part. Were such an act to be posited (4), it would be (5) evil on His part, not the servant’s. The Lord is exalted above doing evil.

Thus, anyone who says, “If Allah creates what is harmful to the servants, it is possible for Him to do what is harmful (6),” makes a false assertion. Likewise, if it is possible for Him to create the servant’s act [which] (7) is evil on the servant’s part, while His creation of it is not (8) evil on His part, this does not entail that He may create something that is evil on His part and in which the servant has no act.

Attesting a liar as truthful consists only in declaring (9) that he is truthful, whether through a statement or through an act (10) that serves as the equivalent of a statement. This is impossible for Him because it is an attribute of deficiency. Allah—glorified is He—is exalted above all deficiencies, as established by reason (11) and by the agreement of all rational people.

Those who say:

“It is inconceivable that He should perform an evil act. Rather, anything it is possible for Him to do is good if He does it,”

maintain:

“Whatever entails negating attributes of perfection and attributing deficiency to Him is impossible for Him—such as incapacity, ignorance, and the like—and lying is an attribute of deficiency