Types of will of Allah (swt)

There are two types of will of Allah:

1. General will for creation (Al-Irada’ Al-Qowniyyah Al-Qadariyyah)

This is the type of will by which Allah created creation and decreed life and death and good and bad irrespective of His love for good and hate for bad.  It is by this will that he created Iblees, sin and transgression.

2. Specific will for that which Allah loves (Al-Irada’ Ash-Shar’iyyah Ad-Deeniyyah)

This is the type of will by which Allah decrees only that which he desires and loves.  It is this will by which He desires Islam and wants the non-muslims to accept Islam.

Both wills are equal.  However we look at them independently and ask which will of Allah is involved in any incident.  Sometimes Allah wishes to exercise one of His wills over another. 

Example:

An incident, where a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim.  This decree is not by the specific will which Allah loves.  Rather, it is by the general one.    Likewise, Allah (swt) is the one who created shaitan (and iblees), however this was from the general will of Allah (for creation) and not from the specific will of Allah (for love, like or desire).