said:

“O Allah, these are the people of my household, so remove defilement from them and purify them completely.”

Thus, he asked Allah to remove defilement from them and purify them. Had the verse conveyed that Allah had already removed defilement from them and purified them, there would have been no need for this request and supplication.

This is even more evident according to the Qadariyyah, for in their view Allah’s will does not entail that what He wills must come to pass. Rather, He may will what does not occur, while what He does not will may occur. Thus, the fact that He Most High wills this does not indicate that it has actually taken place. This Rāfidī and those like him are Qadarīs. How, then, can they cite His words,

“Allah only desires to remove defilement from you, O People of the Household” [Surah al-Ahzāb: 33],

as proof that what He willed has occurred, when they maintain that Allah willed everyone on earth to believe, yet what He willed did not occur?

As for those who affirm divine predestination, the precise position is that the will mentioned in the Book of Allah is of two kinds: a legislative, religious will that entails His love and pleasure, and a creational, determinative will that entails His creation and predestination. The first is exemplified by these verses. The second is exemplified by His words, Most High:

“Whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens their heart to Islam; and whoever He wills to leave astray, He makes their heart constricted and distressed, as though they were climbing into the sky” [Surah al-An‘ām: 125];

and by the words of Noah:

“My counsel will not benefit you—however much I desire to counsel you—if Allah wills to lead you astray” [Surah Hūd: 34].