The position of the majority among Ahl al-Sunnah who affirm divine decree, as well as others who deny it, is that the effect must come into existence (1) whenever the complete cause is present—namely, decisive will and complete power.

But [another] (2) group of those who affirm divine decree—the Jahmiyya and those who agree with them—and of those who deny divine decree—the Mu'tazila and others—do not regard this as necessary (3). Rather, they say: “A capable agent is one who acts as a matter of possibility, not necessity.” They make this the distinction between such an agent and a cause that necessitates its effect by virtue of its essence. They maintain that a capable, voluntary agent selects one of two possible acts over the other without any determining factor, like a hungry man faced with two loaves or a fugitive faced with two routes.

The Qadariyya among them then say: “A human being possesses power and selects one of two possible acts without any determining factor,” just as they say the same regarding the Lord. Hence, [among] (4) the doctrines of these Qadariyya was the claim that Allah did not bestow upon the obedient blessings (5) peculiar to them by which they obeyed Him (6). Rather, His enabling of the obedient and the disobedient is the same: the former selected obedience without any determining factor, solely through his own power and without any cause necessitating it, while the latter selected disobedience solely through his own power and without any cause necessitating it.

As for the Jabriyya—such as Jahm and his followers—they hold that the human being possesses no power whatsoever.