The argument cited by this Imāmī scholar is also reported from Abū al-Husayn al-Basrī (1). It is sound, just as the other argument is sound, and both must therefore be affirmed (2). [At the same time, the majority (3) of the Qadariyya maintain that knowledge that the servant brings about his own acts is inferential rather than immediate; in this they disagree with Abū al-Husayn.

Yet Abū al-Husayn also says: “An act depends upon motive and capacity, and when both are present, the act necessarily occurs.” This is the essence of the position held by those who affirm divine determination. Hence several of them—including Abū al-Ma‘ālī, al-Rāzī, and others—express the matter in similar terms.

If it is also said that Allah creates the servants’ acts, the two positions can be reconciled by those who hold that Allah creates things through causes. Those who do not hold this say: “He creates the act upon the presence of these factors, not through them.” This is the position of those who do not regard capacity as having any effect upon its object, such as al-Ash‘arī and others] (4).

If it is asked, “How can Allah bring these acts about while the servant also brings them about?” the reply is: “Allah’s bringing them about means that He created them [distinct from Himself and subsisting in the servant] (5), thereby making the servant perform them through his capacity and will (6), which Allah [Most High] created,