Considering the above-mentioned classification...

Considering the above-mentioned classification, it must be clarified under which of the aforementioned categories the concurrence of Divine causation, agency, and will with those of His creatures—including human beings—falls. If this concurrence were of the first, second, or third types, the result would be the existential independence of the human being and the rest of the creatures from Allah, which would contradict the unity of the Divine Acts.

Thus on careful examination, the possibility of such instances would prove unacceptable. It cannot be of the fourth category either, as this does not have any occurrence in reality.

Furthermore, it is erroneous to consider the concurrence of the human will with Divine will impossible as the human being would not even exist without his connection to Allah, and thus his complete agency as parallel to Allah is not possible (1) so to give rise to the potentiality of parallel and simultaneous concurrence in generating one effect. (2) Thus, the only category plausible is the last one; that is, the human will and agency being vertically inferior to Divine will and agency.

However, to understand how the concurrence of Divine and human will in such a vertical manner does not contradict man’s free will, attention must be paid to the different types of Divine will. In a general classification, Divine will is understood in two ways: 1. The will of Essence; 2. The will of Action. The latter is subdivided into the generative will and the legislative will.

The Will of Essence It is the Divine will that is assigned to Him without the need to consider the creatures or Allah’s relation to them. Hence, it is identical with the Divine Essence and is the necessary requirement of Divine volition, of His not being restrained by any other agent, of His not being overpowered by anything, and of His needlessness in relation to all creatures. The human being and his relation to Allah have no role in this sense of Divine will.

The Generative Will of Action This is Allah’s will in establishing the objective destiny and portion; that is, it pertains to the systems governing the cosmos, how things come about and operate, and their certain and definite ends. This is manifested in the creation of creatures in different shapes, different ways, and in different times.