The majority among Ahl al-Sunnah and others who affirm divine decree and the attributes say: He is a voluntary agent, and whenever He wills something, it comes to pass. His will and power are necessary concomitants of His essence, whether they posit one pre-eternal will, successive wills, or pre-eternal wills (1) that necessitate the origination of other wills. Under each position (2) among these three positions, they hold that what He wills must necessarily exist.

If necessitation by virtue of essence is understood in this sense, the dispute is merely verbal. The proof we have mentioned can (3) be formulated (4) in terms of that which necessitates by virtue of its essence, cause and effect, the effective agent and its effect, or the voluntary agent. Under all these formulations, it demonstrates the impossibility of anything in the universe being pre-eternal and the necessity of the temporal origination of everything other than Allah.

There is another matter here: people have differed concerning the voluntary agent. Must His will precede the act, such that it cannot coincide with it? Or must His will—which is intent—coincide with the act, while what precedes the act is resolve rather than intent? Or are both possibilities admissible? There are three positions.

We have demonstrated the necessity of the temporal origination of everything other than Allah under each position (5) among these three: the position of those who require concurrence, [the position of those who say (6) that concurrence] (7) is impossible, and the position of those who admit both possibilities.