I present below the correct translation, together with the research behind it!
To begin with, will is a divine act, not a divine attribute. Intention, too, is regarded as a divine act. Even a divine name is of this kind: an attribute serves to explain a name!
Beyond will lies divine knowledge—which is neither a name, nor an attribute, nor an act, but simply His knowledge. It is among His innumerable treasures. Indeed, it lies beyond even willing. We, with the limits of our understanding and reason, cannot reach those far horizons!
عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: الْمَشِيئَةُ مُحْدَثَةٌ.
It is reported from Muhammad ibn Muslim that Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “Will is originated (created).”
خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْمَشِيئَةَ بِنَفْسِهَا »
عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْمَشِيئَةَ بِنَفْسِهَا ثُمَّ خَلَقَ الْأَشْيَاءَ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ.
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “God created will through His own essence, then created things by means of will.”
1. The antecedent of the pronoun “ـها”:
According to the rules of Arabic grammar, the pronoun “ـها” refers to the nearest feminine noun, which here is “مشیئة” (will). But this is impossible in meaning, since “will” cannot be the cause of its own creation.
Therefore, drawing on other hadiths and rational principles, the antecedent of the pronoun is understood to be “God’s essence,” which is implied in the sentence. It is as though the sentence read: “خَلَقَ اللَّهُ المَشِيئَةَ بِنَفْسِ ذَاتِهِ” (God created will through His own essence).
2. The meaning of “بِنَفْسِهَا”:
This expression indicates that, in creating “will,” God made use of no intermediary—not even will itself. This is God’s first manifestation and act, brought about without an intermediary.
In other words, “will” is the first created thing, brought into being directly and without mediation by the Most Holy Divine Essence.
3. The role of will:
After this initial creation, “will” becomes the means and instrument through which everything else is created. That is why the hadith goes on to say: “ثُمَّ خَلَقَ الْأَشْيَاءَ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ” (Then He created all things by means of that will).
Thus, will is the first creation—the first created thing—and the means by which all other beings are created.
In Arabic, the word “ذات” is grammatically feminine, even when it refers to a masculine being, such as God.
This is a general rule in Arabic: many abstract nouns expressing truth, essence and being are used in the feminine.
Examples:
ذاتُ اللهِ (God’s essence) → takes feminine pronouns and adjectives.
ذاتُ الرَّجُلِ (a man’s essence) → is likewise feminine.
Why is this?
In Arabic, grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) does not always correspond to natural gender (male or female). The word “ذات” derives from the root “ذ و ا,” meaning “possessor” and “being,” and is classified as a grammatically feminine noun, not a naturally feminine one.
Conclusion:
In the hadith “خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْمَشِيئَةَ بِنَفْسِهَا,” the feminine pronoun “ها” in “بِنَفْسِهَا” correctly refers to the feminine word “ذات” (which is implied in the sentence). Therefore, the correct translation is: “God created will through His own essence.”
The genealogy of knowledge
He established knowledge through knowledge—not by means of knowledge, but without aid from knowledge.
A realm free of time and space, and of every coordinate.
Will made the thing a thing. In a realm free of all constraints, He drew back just one veil of His knowledge.
Then He intended, and made His word the sign of His intention—as though the second veil of knowledge and the first veil of His will had been drawn aside.
Then He ordained, and laid the foundations of the geometry of time and space—as though the third veil of knowledge, the second veil of His will, and the first veil of His intention had been lifted.
Then He decreed and confirmed all that He had ordained. That is, the fourth veil of knowledge, the third of His will, the second of His intention, and the first of His ordainment were lifted.
Again, He ratified all that He had decreed. This ratification was the lifting of the fifth veil of knowledge, the fourth of His will, the third of His intention, the second of His ordainment, and the first of His decree.
He also has *badāʾ*: by the sheer force of His absolute will, He transforms any decree.
Nothing can stand in His way.
He is the Wisest of judges.
The journey of sacred unfoldings through five veils