Verses 77–80

Attribution of Good and Evil to God

9:19[al-Hasanah (good, merit, benefit, beautiful) is opposite of al-Sayyiah (evil, sin, ugly, misfortune)] Probably, man first became aware of the sense of “beauty” by looking at his fellow human beings’ good feature, that is, balanced stature, well-proportioned limbs and lovely face. Then the meaning was extended to other material objects and phenomena; and finally it was used for “conformity of a thing with its natural purpose”.

A human face is called beautiful when its eyes, eye-brows, ears, nose and mouth, etc. are exactly in the shape they should be, and are aligned to one another properly; This in its turn attracts the hearts and excites admiration and love.

If a thing is bereft of beauty, it is called bad, evil and ugly—various words used in different contexts. Ugliness therefore is a negative connotation as beauty is a positive one.

Then the concepts were extended to actions, abstract ideas and other characteristics found in a social set-up, keeping in view whether they were in conformity with society’s purpose or not; whether they agree with felicity of human life and its enjoyment or not. Justice is good; doing good to a deserving person is a merit; it is a virtue to educate, to train, to give good advice, etc., where it is needed. Injustice, transgression and similar things are evil and ugly. Why? Because the first group of actions is in accord with the man’s felicity and happiness and enables him to enjoy fully the benefits his society offers, while the second is not so. This merit and virtue (and this evil and demerit ) get their characteristics from the actions they are related to. There are some actions whose virtue is ever-lasting and perpetual, e.g., justice, because their consistency with the society’s aim and purpose is enduring and permanent. Likewise, there are some perpetual demerits like injustice.

On the other hand, there are some actions whose characteristics differ from time to time, place to place and society to society. Laughter and jokes are good in friends’ gatherings, but not in presence of elders; in joyous functions, not in mourning assemblies nor in mosques and other places of worship. Fornication and liquor-drinking is good in the Western societies, but evil and sin in the Muslims’ eyes.

You should not listen to those who say that ethical values are relative, and no action has inherent merit or demerit in itself. They say that virtue and evil are always changing, they have no permanency, no endurance; they are not absolute. They give example of justice and injustice; a system which a group considers based on justice, is diametrically opposed to that which another nation calls just and fair. Flogging a fornicator is justice in Islam, but not so in the Western countries; and so on and so forth. Thus meaning of justice is not fixed and permanent.

9:20But such people are totally confused. They do not differentiate between the meaning [of justice, for example, ] and its practical application. We should have no track with people of such a low intelligence.

The fact is that man is ready to change all his social customs, at once or gradually, according to the changing circumstances of the society; but he will never agree that he is deprived of the attribute of “justice”, that is, he is called “unjust”. Even if he sees a friend oppressing someone, he will try to find excuses for him [but will not admit that his friend was unjust]. This topic needs detailed discussion, but this is not the place for it, because we are in the middle of a more important discourse. Lastly, the meaning of good and evil was further extended to cover all external happenings which man is faced with in his life owing to various factors. These are the individual or collective events, some of which agree with his expectations and conform with his individual or collective life’s felicity, like health and comfort. These are called good or benefits. There are other happenings on the opposite side like calamities and sorrows, poverty or sickness, humiliation or imprisonment, etc.; and they are called evil or misfortune.

It appears from the above that when good and evil are attributed to various affairs or actions, it is done with this criterion in mind: Are these affairs or action in conformity with human perfection or felicity or not. Good and evil are two attributes which are seen in relation to human felicity. This relationship in some cases is lasting and perpetual; while in other things it is changing. For instance, monetary help is good if given to a deserving person, and bad if dished out to an undeserving man.

Good is always a positive thing, while evil and ugliness has negative connotation. That is, an evil thing or action lacks the above-mentioned conformity with human felicity. Otherwise, if we ignore this conformity or non-conformity, then the thing or action by itself is one and the same without any difference whatsoever.

Earthquake and flood devastate a community; they are evil and misfortune in their eyes, but their enemies will count them as blessings and good fortune for themselves. Every general calamity, looked from the religion’s view-point, is good if it visits the unbelievers, who create mischief in the earth; but the same will be seen as evil and bad if it attacks a believing and good community. Eating food is good and lawful, if it is prepared from one’s own money; and the same will become evil and unlawful if it is a part of another man’s property taken without his permission. Why? Because it lacks obedience to the prohibition in respect of eating other people’s property without permission; or the obedience to the imperative order of restricting oneself to those things only which God has allowed. Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman is good and lawful if it follows marriage; and is evil and sin if it is illicit, without marriage—because the latter lacks conformity with divine commandment. In short, good is a positive aspect of things and actions, and evil is their negative aspect, although the thing or action itself is the same in both cases.

9:21According to Qur’an, all that is called “thing” (except God Himself) is created by God. Allah is the Creator of every thing (39:62);… and He created every thing, then ordained for it a measure (25:2). The two verses show that every thing is His creation. Then God says: [God] Who made good every thing that He has created (32:7). Thus, every created thing is good, and this goodness is an integral part of creation which cannot be separated from it; if it is God’s creation, it is good.

Every thing has its share of beauty according to its share in creation and existence. If you ponder on the meaning of beauty, described earlier, you will understand our stand more clearly. A thing is good and beautiful if it conforms with the purpose it is intended for; and all parts of existence and all portions of this universe are consistent and in complete harmony with each other. Far be it from the Lord of the universe to create a thing whose parts lack consistency and harmony, or work against each other, as it would negate the intended purpose. Can a created thing overpower the Creator? Or, negate the purpose intended for this wonderful system which astonishes the intelligence and stuns the mind? God says: He is Allah, the One, the Subduer (of all) (39:4); and He is the Supreme above His servants (6:18); and Allah is not such that any thing in the heavens or in the earth should weaken Him; surely He is the Knowing, the Powerful (35:44). Thus, nothing can overpower God or weaken Him in anything He intends from His creatures and wishes about His servants.

Consequently, every good blessing in creation is attributed to Him. Likewise, every evil calamity, when seen by itself, and looked according to the basic relationship encompassing the whole creation, is attributable to God—although it seems evil when looked from another angle. It is this reality which is described in some verses of the Qur’an: and if a benefit comes to them, they say: “It is from Allah;” and if a misfortune befalls you, they say: “This is from you.” Say: “All is from Allah;” but what is the matter with these people that well-nigh they do not understand what is told (them)? (4:78); But when good came to them they said: “This is due to us;” and when evil afflicted them, they attributed it to the ill-luck of Moses and those with him; surely their ill omen is only from Allah, but most of them do not know (7:131). There are other verses of the same theme.

9:22As for misfortune, the Qur’an attributes that of the man to the man himself. God says: Whatever benefit comes to you, it is from Allah, and whatever misfortune befalls you, it is from yourself (4:79); And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought, and (yet) He pardons most (of your faults) (42:30); Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition (13:11); This is because Allah does never change a bounty which He has conferred upon a people until they change their own condition (8:53); there are many such verses.

In more clear words, the preceding verses show that the calamities and misfortunes too, like good fortunes, are good and beautiful in their creation. Then how do they turn into misfortunes? It is only because they do not agree with some people’s, or some thing’s, nature and these things or people get hurt by them. It means that God had not created in these items what would agree with these people or things. It is this withholding of generosity which is considered misfortune or calamity for the people or things that get harmed by them, as is clearly seen in the verse: Whatever Allah grants to men of (His) mercy, there is none to withhold it, and what He withholds there is none to send it forth, and He is the Mighty, the Wise (35:2).

Therefore, God states that this withholding of generosity (when it is withheld), or increase or decrease in sending His mercy forth depends on the ability or capacity of the subject: How much is a person or thing able to benefit from His mercy? God explains it in a simile: He sends down water from the cloud, then the valleys flow (with water) according to their measure (13:17). Also, He says: And there is not a thing but with Us are the treasures of it, and We do not send it down but in a known measure (15:21). Thus, God bestows a favor on a thing according to what it deserves and keeping its condition in consideration. Does He not know Who has created? And He is the Knower of the subtleties, the Aware (67:14).

9:23With that blessing and affliction, tribulation and comfort from one thing to another according to its particular situation and condition, as God says: And every one has a direction to which he would turn (2:148). Every thing turns to that direction and seeks that item which agrees with its situation.

From the above discourse you will easily understand that happiness and distress, blessing and affliction, vis-à-vis this man, who lives with a free will in the light of the Qur’anic teachings, are strongly connected to his own free will; because he is proceeding on a path which will lead him to happiness if followed properly, while deviation from it will put him in turmoil and distress. This, of course, concerns those subjects for which he has been granted free choice.

The Qur’an confirms this understanding. God says: That is because Allah would never change a bounty which He has conferred upon a people until they change their own condition (8:53). Their pure intentions and good deeds have influence on the bounty which they have been blessed with; but when their intention is polluted with insincerity and actions tainted with evil, God changes their condition by withholding His mercy from them. He says: And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought, and (yet) He pardons most (of your faults) (42:30). Their actions have a hand in the calamities and misfortunes which befall them, although God pardons most of their misdeeds. Also God says: Whatever benefit comes to you, it is from Allah, and whatever misfortune befalls you, it is from yourself (4:79).

However, you should not imagine that when God revealed this verse to His Prophet, He had forgotten the clear reality which has been stated in the verses which say: Allah is the Creator of every thing… (39:62); [God] Who made good every thing that He has created… (32:7). These verses clearly show that every thing has been created by God and is good in itself. And He says:… and your Lord is not forgetful (19:64); …errs not my Lord, nor does He forget (20:52). So, the verse Whatever benefit comes to you… (4:79) means that: The good which comes to you—and all that comes to you is good—is from God; and the misfortune which befalls you, it is misfortune for you because it does not agree with your aims and desires, although in itself it is good; you have brought it to yourself by your wrong choice and also you have asked God in the same manner. God is too great to initiate any evil, harm or misfortune for you.

As explained earlier, the verse is particularly addressed to the Prophet, yet the meaning covers all human beings. In other words, this verse, like the other two (That is because Allah would never change a bounty which He has conferred… [8:53]; And whatever affliction befalls you… [42:30]) looks at social affairs as well as individual matters; the human society has its own existence, will and choice distinct from individual ones.

9:24The society is a living entity in which the past generations and ancient people are dissolved [succeeded by coming generations]; in this way, the followers are held responsible for the evil deeds of their predecessors, the living bear the burden of the dead, and the innocent share in the punishment of the wrong-doers—while in the cases of the individuals it is never allowed. We have written about this subject in the second volume of this book in the Essay on the rules governing actions.¹

Look at the Messenger of God in th e battle of Uhud. He was inflicted with grievous wounds in the face and upper teeth, (and the Muslims too suffered great losses), and he was a sinless prophet. If we attribute this adversity to the society—because they had disobeyed the order given by God and His Messenger—it was a misfortune wrought by the society, and he was a part of that society. And if it is attributed to his august person, then it was a divinely ordained trial which befell him in the way of God and in course of his sacred divine mission, of which he had full insight and in that case it was rather a grace of God which raised his spiritual status and rank.

Likewise, whatever misfortune befalls a people is attributed to their actions from the Qur’anic point of view—and the Qur’anic view is but truth; and whatever bounty or benefit comes to them, it is from God.

Of course, there are many verses which attribute the benefits to men themselves to some extent. For example: And if the people of the towns had believed and guarded (against evil), We would certainly have opened up for them blessings from the heaven and the earth… (7:96); And We made of them imāms to guide by Our command as they were patient and they were certain of Our signs (32:24); And We caused them to enter into Our mercy; surely they were of the good ones (21:86).

But at the same time God says that nothing in His creation has power to reach its intended goal or to proceed to any good, except when God gives it such power and guides it to that goal; as He says: “Our Lord is He Who gave to everything its creation, then guided it (to its goal)” (20:50);… and were it not for Allah’s grace upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have ever been pure, but Allah purifies whom He pleases… (24:21). These two verses in conjunction with the preceding ones show from another angle how the good comes from God, that is, the man does not possess any good unless God gives it into his possession; therefore all the good is from God and the evil is from the man himself. This further explains the verse: Whatever benefit comes to you, it is from Allah, and whatever misfortune befalls you, it is from yourself.

9:25To sum it up, all good comes from God, because every good thing is His creation and the creation is not separable from goodness; and all good is from Him, because it is good, and He is the owner of all good—others receive goodness only when He gives it into their possession. No harm, evil or misfortune is attributable to God, because evil, per se, is not created, and He is the Creator. So, what is misfortune? When God withholds His mercy from people because of what their hands have done, it is called misfortune, calamity or evil.

As for the good and evil in the meaning of obedience and disobedience, we have discussed about its attribution to God under the verse: Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable… (2:26), in volume one of this book.²

If you see what other exegetes have written on this subject, you will find a great many different views, a lot of conflicting opinions and various objections that will confound you. We hope that what we have written here will be enough for one who contemplates in the words of God. Be careful to keep various aspects of this topic separate from one other, ponder on the Qur’anic usage of the words, good and evil, bounty and punishment, and differentiate between the entities of society and individual, then you will understand this subject clearly.

Examining Narrations

(1) It is written in al-Durr al-manthūr under the verse, Have you not seen those to whom it was said: “Withhold your hands…”: It is narrated by al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Hātim, al-Hākim (who said that this tradition is ‘correct’) and al-Bayhaqī (in his al-Sunan) from ʿIkrimah from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: ʿAbdu al-Rahmān b. ʿAwf and his group came to the Prophet and said: ‘O Prophet of God! We did have power when we were polytheists, but since we accepted the faith, we are humiliated.’ The Prophet said: ‘I have been ordered to forgive (them); therefore do not fight (these) people.’ When God brought him to Medina, He ordered him to fight. But then they withheld (their hands). So, God sent down the verse, Have you not seen those to whom it was said:…?

9:26(2) ʿAbd b. Hamīd, Ibn Jarīr and Ibn al-Mundhir have narrated from Qatādah that he said about this verse: “There were some companions of the Prophet who were in a hurry to wage war while they were at Mecca before hijrah. They said to the Prophet, ‘Allow us to take (our) pickaxes in order to fight these polytheists.’ And we have been told that ʿAbdu al-Rahmān b. ʿAwf was among those who had said it. But the Prophet forbade them to do so and said, ‘I have not been ordered this.’ When hijrah came and they were ordered to fight, those people disliked it, and di d in this connection what you have heard. Then God said: Say: ‘The provision of this world is short, and the hereafter is better for him who guard (against evil); and you shall not be wronged the husk of a datestone.” (ibid.)

(3) Safwān b. Yahyā narrated from Abu al-Hasan that he said: “God, the High, has said: ‘O son of Adam! By My will you have become such that you wish and say; and by My power you discharged the duties imposed by Me (on you); and by My bounty you got power to disobey Me. Whatever benefit comes to you, it is from Allah; and whatever misfortune befalls you, it is from yourself. And it is so because I have more rights on your good deeds than you have yourself; and you are more liable to your sins than Me. And it is because I cannot be questioned concerning what I do, and they shall be questioned.’” (al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)

Author’s comment: A slightly different version of this tradition has been quoted in volume one of this book under the verse: Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable (2:26), and we have discussed it there.¹ (4) [al-Kulaynī has narrated] through his chains from ʿAbdu al-Rahmān b. al-Hajāj that he said: “Trial and tribulation was mentioned near Abū ʿAbdillāh, and how God reserves it for the believer. [The Imām] said: ‘The Messenger of God was asked as to who was most severely put to trial in the world. He said: “The Prophets, then the closer to perfection, and then the closer; and the believer is put to test in promotion to his faith and the merit of his deeds; he whose belief is correct and his deeds good, his trial is harder, and he whose belief is feeble and his deeds weaker, his trial is lesser”.’ “ (al-Kāfī)

9:27Author’s comment: There is the famous tradition of the Prophet: “The world is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the unbeliever.” (5) It is narrated through several chains from the fifth and the sixth Imāms: “Verily when God, the Mighty, the Great, loves a servant, He immerses him in tribulation through immersing.” (ibid.)

al-Ṣādiq said: “The believer is but like the scale of a balance; the more his faith increases, the more his trouble increases.” (ibid.) al-Bāqir said: “Verily God takes care of a believer through trials as a man takes care of his family through gifts during (his) absence; and denies to him the world as a physician denies harmful food to a patient.” (ibid.)

al-Ṣādiq said: “The Messenger of God has said: ‘God does not need a servant in whose property and body there is no share for God.’”

(6) ʿAlī b. al-Husayn has narrated from his father (peace be on both) that he said: “The Messenger of God has said: ‘If a believer were to live on a mountain, God, the Mighty, the Great, would surely send someone to him to annoy him, in order that He should give him [the believer] its reward.’ ” (ʿIlal al-sharāiʾ)

(7) al-Ṣādiq said: “Worries and griefs always remain with a believer until they wipe out his sins.” (Kitāb al-Tamhīs)

(8) The same Imām said: “A believer does not pass forty nights without some thing sorrowful happening to him, which reminds h is Lord to him.” (ibid.)

(9) ʿAlī said: “Even if a mountain loved me it would break down.” Also, he said: “He who loves us, the Ahl al-bayt, should prepare for himself a cover against tribulation.” (Nahj al-balāghah)

Author’s comment: Ibn Abil-Hadīd says in his Commentary of Nahj al-balāghah: “It is confirmed that the Prophet had said to him [ʿAlī]: ‘No one will love you except a believer, nor will hate you except a hypocrite;’ and also it is definitely known that the Prophet had said: ‘Tribulation runs quicker to the believer than water to a downward slope.’ These two premises together lead us to the correct conclusion that even if a mountain were to love ʿAlī, it would break down.”

9:28You should know that there are so many traditions of this theme, and they support the Commentary written above.

(10) Ibn al-Mundhir and al-Khatīb have narrated from Ibn ʿUmar that he said: “We were with the Messenger of God together with a group of his companions. He said: ‘O people! Don’t you know that I am the Messenger of God sent to you?’ They said: ‘Certainly.’ He (again) said: ‘Don’t you know that God has revealed in his Book that whoever obeys me, he obeys God’ They said: ‘Certainly. We bear witness that whoever obeys you, he obeys God, and that obeying you is a part of His obedience.’ Then he said: ‘So, it is a part of God’s obedience that you should obey me; and it is a part of my obedience that you should obey your Imāms; if they pray in sitting position, you should pray in sitting position.’ “

Author’s comment: The last sentence shows that it is obligatory to follow them completely.