originates in the will of the creature, and the creature does not will anything, but with Gods leave. All the verses of the Quran allude to this end. As such, they invalidate predestination, which is maintained by the majority of Sunnis, for they advance the notion of free will. On the other hand, the verses invalidate complete free will, which is maimained by a few Sunnis, for they attribute the act to God. We shall deal with this subject at length, God willing, when we comment on the relevant verses, and shall refute both these views.
This discussion ... is derived from the declarations of the ahl al-bayt [i.e., from
the Imams], and their knowledge. They are those from whom God has removed all pollution, and has purified thoroughly. Here are some of their sayings on this subject.
A man reported the following discussion with the Imam al- adiq:

I said, "Has God coerced His servants to commit disobedience?" He said, "No." I said, "Has He delegated to them the matter?" He said, "No." I said, "Then, what is the truth?" He said, "The benevolence of your Lord is between these two [extremes]."٢

In another tradition from the Imam al- adiq,
ther predetermination nor free will; rather, it is a position between the two."٣
The Shiite compendiums of traditions contain numerous traditions to this effect.

[Returning to the arguments against the inimitability of the Quran]:

٦. They say that if producing an inimitable book is a miracle, then the Elements of Euclid and the Almajeste [of Ptolemy] are miracles. This hypothesis is invalid, however; therefore, the preceding hypothesis is also invalid.

The answer to this is as follows. First, these two books are not inimitable, and no claim to this effect is valid for them. How could they be inimitable when later scholars have produced even better works in these two sciences, and without any difficulty? Further‌ more, the later works are superior for other reasons, such as containing new material not broached by the earlier two. Second, we have already mentioned certain prerequi‌ sites for miracles. One of these is that they are performed as a challenge to demonstrate the truthfulness [of the claim] to the divine office [of prophethood]. Another prerequi‌ site is that a miracle should be beyond the laws of nature. Both these prerequisites are absent in the case of the two books [cited above]. We explained this completely in the beginning of our discussion about miraculous inimitability.

٧. They also say that the Arabs did not counter the Quran, not because it was a miracle and thus beyond human capacity to imitate but because of other reasons that have nothing to do with inimitability. Those who were contemporary with the Prophets mission, and those who came a little later, were prevented from challenging the Quran by the hegemony of the Muslims. They refrained from countering the Quran for fear for their lives and goods from those who were in power. When the power of the first four caliphs came to an end and authority passed on to the Umayyads, who did not base their caliphate on the Islamic call, the Quran had become comfort‌ ingly familiar to all minds because of the elegance of its words and the strength of its meanings. It had become a treasure, inherited from generation to generation; thus, they refrained from countering it.