in Himself?” They differed. Some of them say, “He remained without knowing in Himself (1) until He brought knowledge into being, for He had existed without yet acting.” Others say, “He has always known in Himself (2).” If they are asked, “[Has He then] (3) always been acting?” they reply, “Yes, but we do not affirm the eternity (4) of action.”

He said: “There are some among the Rāfidah who maintain that Allah knows what will occur before it occurs, except for the deeds of His servants, which He knows only at (5) the time they occur.”

He said: “The ninth group among the Rāfidah maintain that Allah Most High [has always been] (6) knowing and living (7), and powerful. They incline toward rejecting any likeness between Allah and creation; they do not affirm (8) that knowledge came into being (9), nor do they affirm what we have related concerning corporealism and the other forms of likening Allah to creation that we have reported [about them] (10).”

He said (11): “The Rāfidah differed (12) concerning the will of Allah—glory be to Him (13)—and they comprise four groups:”