لَا مَشِيئَةَ لِلْعِبَادِ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ لَهُمْ
Servants have no will except what Allah has willed for them.
Clause structure: Lā mashīʾata lil-ʿibād illā uses negation and exception. The restriction denies independent, absolute human will while relating human willing to Allah’s will.
Meaning and inference: Human choice is not independent of divine will, yet this does not eliminate the servant’s willing and acquisition of actions.
Limit of inference: Both fatalistic compulsion and absolute human independence miss the combined claims of responsibility and divine sovereignty.