I said to Abi al-Hasan عليه السلام: Inform me about the Will of Allah and that of the creatures (are they the same)? He said: The Will of the creatures is a conception (thought in the heart) and then what they see fit to put into action, as for Allah the Elevated then His willing is to originate (bring into existence), nothing other than that, for He does not deliberate (consider), does not desire, does not ponder, these attributes are negated for Him, they are the attributes of the creation. The will of Allah is His act, nothing other than that. He says to it ‘be’ and it ‘is’ without wording or intoning by the tongue, without desiring or pondering. There is no ‘how’ to that just as there is no ‘how’ to Him.