The people's statements regarding the effect of causes, along with the stronger position on the matter.

Affirming causes is what the Shari'ah, reason, and reality indicate. Denying their benefit is a deficiency in reason and a deficiency in religion, meaning their denial. For everyone knows that everything has a cause, but some causes are known to us and some are unknown. The scholars of the religion differed regarding causes: some exaggerated in them, some went to the extreme in negating them, and some took the middle path. As for those who exaggerated in them, they said that causes have an effect in themselves, without a receptive place or an active cause; they have an effect in themselves and Allah has no connection to them whatsoever. These are the naturalists and philosophers who make things interact in themselves with no relation to Allah the Exalted. There is no doubt that this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) and denial of the Creator. The second group went to the extreme in negating causes, saying that causes have no effect at all, and if we were to attribute an effect to them, we would have established a partner for Allah. They say that the burning of what is susceptible to burning by fire is not by the fire, but it burned when it was placed in it, not by it. Similarly, they say regarding breaking: when glass breaks by a stone, they say the stone did not break the glass; rather, it broke at the time of the impact, not by the impact. There is no doubt that this is foolishness in reason and misguidance in religion. As for the foolishness in reason, it is clear: if you take any child and throw a stone at glass and it breaks, and you ask, "What broke it?" What does he say? "The stone by its nature and essence." As for its harm in religion, the Qur'an and the Sunnah are full of mentions of causes and the effect of causes, but their effect is by the effective power that Allah placed in them.