If you say: It has been established that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, forgives polytheism for the one who repents from it, and that He does not forgive what is less than polytheism from the major sins except by repentance. This is according to the Mu'tazila. As for the Ahl al-Sunnah, they say it is forgiven by repentance, by intercession, and by mere grace. What is the meaning of Allah's saying: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, and He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills"? Mahmoud said: If you say it has been established that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, forgives polytheism for the one who repents from it... etc. Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah is that polytheism is never forgiven at all. What is less than it from the major sins is forgiven for whom Allah wills to forgive him, even without repentance. As for with repentance, both are forgiven. The verse is only about the one who does not repent, and it does not mention repentance as you see. Therefore, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has stated the negation of forgiving polytheism and affirmed the forgiveness of what is less than it, coupled with His will as you see. This is the reason for the application of the verse to the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah. As for the Qadarites, they think there is equality between polytheism and what is less than it from the major sins, in that neither of the two types is forgiven without repentance, nor does Allah will to forgive them except for the repentant. When al-Zamakhshari presented this belief to this verse, it rejected it and turned away from it, as forgiveness is negated therein for polytheism. And it is affirmed for what is less than it, coupled with His will. As for whether the intended meaning in both is the one who did not repent, there is no reason for preference between them by linking forgiveness in one of them to His will, while linking it in the other absolutely, as they are equal in the impossibility of forgiveness. Or whether the intended meaning in both is the repentant, he has said regarding polytheism that it is not forgiven, and the one who repents from polytheism is forgiven. At that point, al-Zamakhshari began to separate one from the other, making the intended meaning with polytheism the absence of repentance, and with the major sins repentance, so that the verse aligns with his belief. He imposes two matters that neither of which can be carried: the first is adding repentance to His will, which is not mentioned, and there is no evidence for it in what has been mentioned. Also, if it were intended, it would be the cause that necessitates forgiveness according to their reasoning, and it cannot be linked to His will contrary to it according to their reasoning. So how is it appropriate to remain silent about mentioning what is fundamental and necessary and mention what has no relevance to this faulty belief? The second is that after establishing repentance, he judged and limited it to one of the two categories over the other. This is nothing but making the Qur'an subordinate to opinion; we seek refuge with Allah from that. As for the Qadarites, they, by this belief, fall under the saying: "The master gives and the servant is denied," because Allah, glorified and exalted is He, explicitly declares His generosity with forgiveness for the one who persists in major sins if He wills, while they push back against this declaration and attribute forgiveness based on the principle of what is more beneficial and righteous, which is more deserving of corruption. I said: The meaning is that both the negated and the affirmed actions are directed towards His saying: "for whom He wills," as if it were said that Allah does not forgive polytheism for whom He wills, and forgives what is less than polytheism for whom He wills, on the condition that the former refers to the one who did not repent, and the latter to the one who repents. An example of this is your saying: The prince does not give a dinar and gives a qintar to whom he wills. You mean: He does not give a dinar to the one who does not deserve it, and gives a qintar to the one who deserves it. He has indeed committed a sin, meaning he has perpetrated it, and he is a liar, fabricating what cannot be true.