What is the difference between negating the will and negating the action in the phrase "Allah did not will"?

The questioner : The questioner says: I told a friend of mine, "Allah did not will this thing," and he said to me, "It is not permissible to negate the will; rather, negate the action and say, 'Allah willed that this thing not happen.' What is your opinion?"

The Shaykh : Our view is that there is no difference between the two phrases: "Allah did not will this thing" and "Allah willed that it not happen." As long as the intention refers to a specific time in which the thing did not occur, if you say, for example, "Allah did not will for this thing to happen on the twenty-eighth day of Ramadan," and it did not happen, then this is a correct statement, because if Allah had willed it, it would have happened. And if you say, "Allah willed that this thing not happen on the twenty-eighth day of Ramadan," and the day ended and it did not happen, then this is also correct. The important thing is that the intention refers to a specific thing, whether you negate the will in it or negate the occurrence of the thing; it is all the same. If the time you specified has passed and what you mentioned did not happen, then we know that Allah did not will it, and that if He had willed it, it would have come to be.