The first group consists of the followers of Hishām ibn al-Hakam and Hishām al-Jawālīqī. They claim that Allah’s will is a motion and a reality (1). It is neither Allah Himself (2), nor is it (3) other than Him. They also claim that it (4) is an attribute of Allah and is not other than Him. This is because (5) [they] (6) claim that when Allah wills something (7), He moves, and what He wills comes to be (8).
The second group consists of Abū Mālik al-Hadramī, Alī ibn Mītham (9), and their followers. They claim that Allah’s will is other than Him and that it is Allah’s motion, as Hishām said. However, they differed from him by claiming that the will is a motion and is other than Allah, by means of which He moves.
The third group consists of the proponents (10) of Mutazilism and the doctrine of the Imamate (11). They claim that Allah’s will is not a motion. Some of them affirm it (12) to be other than what is willed, saying, “It is created by Allah without any will (13).” Others say, “Allah’s will (14) to bring a thing into being is the thing itself,”
(1) “And it is a reality” is absent from B; A reads: “and it is determinate,” which is a corruption.
(2) B alone reads: “It is not Himself,” which is a corruption.
(3) “It” is absent from B alone.
(4) B and A read: “Rather, it is.”
(5) B alone reads: “And therefore.”
(6) “That they” is absent from N, B, and A; I have restored it from ʿ, M, and *Al-Maqālāt*, 1:110.
(7) ʿ alone reads: “something.”
(8) M reads: “in place of what He willed.” In *Al-Maqālāt*, this is followed by the phrase: “Exalted is He above that.”
(9) B, ʿ, N, and M read: “Alī ibn Mityam”; A reads: “Alī ibn Mītam.” The adopted reading is from *Al-Maqālāt*, 1:111. He and Abū Mālik al-Hadramī were discussed previously in this volume (p. [0–9] 33).
(10) *Al-Maqālāt* reads: “and they are the proponents.”
(11) B, N, and A read: “and the Imāmiyyah”; M reads: “and except what,” which is an error. The adopted reading is from *Al-Maqālāt* and ʿ.
(12) B, N, M, and A read: “affirms it.”
(13) N alone reads: “not by His will.”
(14) N reads: “Indeed, it is Allah’s will,” which is an error; *Al-Maqālāt* reads: “Allah’s will—glorified is He.”