The Mu’tazilah and the Imamiyyah contradict them in relation...

The Mu’tazilah and the Imamiyyah contradict them in relation to the works of men and they have reinterpreted the texts which state that God, the Exalted, is the Creator of good and evil as applying to things other than the deeds of the people.” After that, he says: As to the philosophers, most of then say “Nothing except God has efficiency in the realm of being (لا مُؤَثِّرَ فِي الوُجُودِ إَلا اللهُ.), and that the will of the creatures is the preparatory cause for God, the Exalted, to create the deeds at their hands.” This is in accordance with the creed of the philosophers and the Ash’arites.

And these traditions can also be ascribed possibly to taqiyyah.[^3] (Here end his comments, may God elevate his station.) The Reality Of Good And Evil The attributes ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are applied, in all instances, to perfection and deficiency [respectively] in the essence or attributes of things or to their existence and perfections of existence. All that is essentially good derives from the Reality of Being, and when ascribed to other thugs it is in consideration of their mode of existence.

Also, that which is essentially evil ( sharr bi al-dhat ) , derives from non-being ( ‘adam al-wujud ) or from the absence of the perfection of existence. Its application to other thugs, such as harmful animals and troublesome insects, is accidental. This, on consideration of all the sides, should be considered as self-evident, though there are also strong arguments in its favor.

Let us rake up the statement [of Majlisi that the position of the Imamiyyah and the Mu’tazilah concerning the creation of the deeds of people being opposed to that of the Ash’arites, and his explaining away the verses and traditions that attribute good and evil to God. As to the said opposition to the Ash’arite viewpoint-who subscribe to a creed based on jabr (compulsion), which is contrary to reason, philosophical proofs and intuition-that is correct.

But the verses and traditions do not affirm the creed of the Mu’tazilites, who believe in tafwid (delegation) and their creed is more invalid, disgraceful, and scandalous than the creed of the Ash’arites. As to the Imamiyyah (R) they have adopted the true creed in the light of the guidance of the great Imams of the Prophet’s family and with the blessings of the Household of Revelation and infallibility (A).