The Qur’an does not suspend the will ( iradah ) of Allah as the Jews do...

The Qur’an does not suspend the will ( iradah ) of Allah as the Jews do, nor does it nullify the law of causality as the Ash‘arite do; rather it affirms the sovereignty of Allah over the universe by the very law of causality.

As a result, when He, the Exalted, wills to bestow His blessings on a people, He sends the winds as a glad tiding before His mercy: “It is He who sends forth the winds as harbingers of His mercy” [^13] , “It is Allah who sends the winds and they raise a cloud” [^14] , “And We send the fertilizing wind and send down water from the sky.” [^15] Thus, He is the one who sends down water from the sky, but by sending {first} the fertilizing winds.

When He wills to give good news of His mercy to a people, He would send to them winds as sign of His mercy so that they may raise the clouds. Thereafter, He would send to them rainfall which would cause their lands to produce what Allah has deposited in it of His mercy. In conclusion, when Allah intends to shower His blessings on a people, He blesses them through its means ( asbab ). Similarly, when He decides to punish a people, He does so through its means.

With regard to His punishment on the people of Fir’awn, Allah says: “Certainly We afflicted Pharaoh’s clan with droughts (sinin) and loss of produce, so that they may take admonition.” [^16] According to this verse, the punishment on the people of Pharoah and their admonition was accomplished through the drought.

‘ Sinin ’ in the above verse is the plural of ‘ sanat ’ which means drought In brief, if Allah willed to bless a community, He would do so by employing its means, such as the winds and the clouds. On the contrary, if He intended to punish a people, He would do so through its specified means, such as drought and shortage of rainfall.

The Law of Mediate Causation The law of mediate causation ( Qanun at-Tasbib ) implies that Allah, the Exalted, in order to achieve what He desires, employs means which would actualize His will ( iradah ).

The following verses of the Qur’an point out to this fact: “Whomever Allah desires to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomever He desires to lead astray, He makes his breast narrow and straitened as if he were climbing to a height.” [^17] This verse has clear indication to the point we have just mentioned. Allah, the Exalted, guides a people or misleads them by means of their own deeds.