Now we shall take separately each of the particular doctrines of Shi'ite kalam...

Now we shall take separately each of the particular doctrines of Shi'ite kalam, including the above-mentioned fivefold doctrines: (i) Tawhid: Tawhid is also one of the fivefold doctrines of the Mu'tazilah , as it is also one of the Asha'irah 's, with the difference that in the case of the Mu'tazilah it specifically means al-tawhid al-sifati , which is denied by the Asha'irah .

On the other hand, the specific sense of this term as affirmed by the Asha'irah is al-tawhid al-'af'ali , which is rejected by the Mu'tazilah . As mentioned above, al-tawhid al-dhati and al-tawhid al-'ibadi, since they are admitted by all, are outside the scope of our discussion. The conception of tawhid upheld by the Shi'ah, in addition to al-tawhid al-dhati and al-tawhid al-'ibadi, also includes al-tawhid al-sifati and al-tawhid al-'af'ali .

That is, in the controversy regarding the Attributes, the Shi'ah are on the side of al-tawhid al-sifati , and in the debate on human acts, are on the side of al-tawhid al-'af'ali . Nevertheless, the conception of al-tawhid al-sifati held by the Shi'ah is different from the same held by the Mu'tazilah . Also, their notion of al-tawhid al-'af'ali differs from the notion of the same held by the Asha'irah .

The conception of al-tawhid al-sifati of the Mu'tazilah is synonymous with the idea of the absence of all Attributes from the Divine Essence, or is equivalent to the conception of the Divine Essence being devoid of all qualities. But the Shi'i notion of al-tawhid al-sifati means identity of the Attributes with the Divine Essence.[^18] For an elaborate discussion of this issue one should study works on Shi'ite kalam and philosophy.

The Shi'i conception of al-tawhid al-'af'ali differs from the one held by the Asha'irah . The Ash'arite notion of al-tawhid al-'af'ali means that no creature is of any consequence in the scheme of things, and everything is directly ordained by God. Accordingly, He is also the direct creator of the deeds of the human beings, and they are not creators of their own acts. Such a belief is similar to the idea of absolute predestination and has been refuted through many an argument.

However, the notion of al-tawhid al-'af'ali upheld by the Shi'ah means that the system of causes and effects is real, and every effect, while being dependent on its proximate cause, is also dependent on God. These two modes of dependence do not operate in parallel but in series.