and His will regarding the servants’ acts (1) is His commanding them to perform the act; this will is distinct from their act. They refuse to accept that Allah willed acts of disobedience and that they consequently occurred.”

The fourth group among them say:

“Before an act occurs, we do not say that Allah willed it (2). If an act of obedience is performed (3), we say, ‘He willed it’; but if an act of disobedience is committed (4), He hates it and does not love it (5).”

I say: The third position is that of the later Shia, such as al-Mufīd and his followers, who followed the Mu‘tazila. This is the group to which the author of this book belongs. The first position (6) is that of the Basran Mu‘tazila, while the second is that of the Baghdadi Mu‘tazila. Thus, these Shia adopted the position (7) of the Mu‘tazila. (8)

(* As for these doctrines that have been transmitted concerning anthropomorphic assimilation and corporealism, we have not seen (9) people attribute them to any Muslim group more extensively than they have attributed them to the early Rāfida. The Rāfida were then deprived of the truth in this matter, just as they were deprived of it in others, for their early authorities