Discussion of the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and its two types: direct and indirect.

The Shaykh: And indeed, the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—and of course, I am compelled to be concise so that we can answer these questions, especially since we have dealt with this research in detail many times before—draws the attention of the questioner and those present to the fact that the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has two forms: direct creation in which humans have no role. In this case, the human being is a created entity, and its examples are very clear. Right now, we are in a gathering with dozens of people; this one is tall, this one is short, this one is dark-skinned, this one is blond, this one is white, and so on. This is the creation of Allah, and none of us has any will in it whatsoever. But we see some of us with clear heads, others with shaved heads, some with beards, and some with hair. Did Allah create us like this? No, all of this is the work of us, but by the will of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) .
A more precise example of this reality is that we, as the offspring of Adam (peace be upon him), each have two parents. So we are the creation of Allah, but if my father had not connected with my mother, I would not be me. If your father and mother had not connected with each other, you would not be you, and so on. We are the creation of Allah, but through intermediation. What is the intermediation? Allah tasked us to protect ourselves, to protect our women, and to enjoy what is lawful for us. From that comes, if Allah wills, the offspring. So all creation is the creation of Allah, but some of it Allah creates without imposing a duty on humans, and some of it is a duty imposed by Allah on these humans. So I must dwell on this second type of Allah’s creation so that it is firmly established in the mind: everything is the creation of Allah; it is not as the Mu'tazilah think, never. And everything is by the will of Allah, but the important thing is to know the detail: some of Allah’s creation is through us, where He commanded us, tasked us, and made it an act of worship, so we did it purely by our own will and choice. So this is creation, but through our acquisition and our will.