Believing in Qadr is an essential pillar of Islam which
determines whether one is a believer or not. In order to respond to the
question above, one needs to understand the pillars of Qadr which comprises of
Allah’s knowledge, the writing, Allah’s will and the creation.
One of the pillars of Qadr stated that Allah is the Creator
of all things. Allah says,
“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is
the Wakil (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian) over all things.” [1]
He is the sole creator of everything, including the good and
the evil. Allah says,
“Who has
created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed ...”[2]
Death is perceived by the people as
something evil and life as otherwise. Allah created both good and evil for a
purpose, but Allah does not attribute evil directly to Himself because all good
is attributed to Him. He is perfectly Wise, Just and Merciful in all of His
Actions. Rasulullah (ﷺ) was heard as saying, “…I hear Your
call and am following Your religion, and all good is in Your two hands and the
evil is not attributable to You…”[3]
Hence,
evil exists as an act of one of Allah’s creations and not in Himself, Attributes,
Names or Actions. The existence of evil in His creations is proven in one of
the morning and evening prayers, “I
seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allah from the evil of what He has
created.”[4]
It is out
of Allah’s will that He allows evil to happen through His creations. However,
Allah does not create evil in absolute sense but it is from Allah’s Wisdom and
Knowledge that He created evil which human beings often do not realize.
As Allah says,
“…and it
may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing
which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.”[5]
Allah also says,
“And
whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever
He wills to send astray…”[6]
It is
Allaah who guides whom He wishes by His wisdom and mercy, and He misguides or
allows whomever He wishes to go astray by His wisdom.[7]
For example, the wisdom behind the death of Abu Talib in a state of
disbelieved. Abu Talib is known to have supported Rasulullah (ﷺ) towards extent that he joined the Muslims in the three years
siege and embargo.[8] He could have accepted Islam, but through
Allah’s wisdom that he didn’t. If Abu Talib had accepted Islam, people might
have said that the spread of Islam is not due to the message of Rasulullah (ﷺ) but through Abu Taalib which was
well-respected and honored by the Quraysh.
On the other hand, pure evil comes from the creations
as mentioned earlier. As stated in The Radiance of Faith, “Humans think evil
and, if Allaah permits it, they do evil. However, if Allaah permits them to do
evil, there must be a beneficial side to it known to Allaah.”[9]
Allah told us already that He does not oppress the people but the people who
oppress themselves.
Allah says,
“Truly! Allah wrongs not mankind in aught; but mankind wrong
themselves.”[10]
The
one who choose to do the evil are responsible for their actions. Furthermore,
when they are afflicted with calamities, they would ask, "Why did this
have to happen to me?" Will they then not ask the same question when the
blessings of Allah are showered upon them?[11] This proves the evil act of mankind not being
grateful to Allah despite the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them.
As Allah says,
“Truly,
Allah is full of Bounty to mankind, but most of them are ungrateful.”[12]
The wisdom
behind the existence of evils that we perceived in this world is that Allah
wants to test the mankind. This is to distinguish between those who sincerely
believe in Allah and those who do not.
Allah says,
“Do people
think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe,"
and will not be tested.”[13]
Test comes in many forms such as hunger, hardship, loss in life, and many more.
But Allah also says, “Verily, with hardship, there is relief”.[14]
When people believe that these matters have been decreed by Allah, they will be
rewarded well and their sins shall be expiated.[15]
Allah wants to reward the believers, who face these afflictions with patience
as Allah says,
“And
certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth,
lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones).[16]
Tests by
Allah are also to purify the soul and expiate sins. Rasulullah (ﷺ)
said, “Whatever trouble,
illness, anxiety, grief, pain and sorrow afflict a Muslim, even if it is the
pricking of a thorn, Allah removes some of his sins for that.[17]
Hence, we should change our perspective from looking at it as something evil to
a blessing from Allah to gain more reward from Him.
All people
should know that Allaah is All Wise, and that there is great wisdom behind His
commands and decrees. He will continue to test us in this life in many
different ways and for many different reasons. Hence, it is important to endure
these tests with patience and protect ourselves from evil desire and temptation
by maintaining a strong faith according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
[1]
Qur’an, Az-Zumar, 39:62
[2]
Qur’an, Al-Mulk, 67:2
[3]
Narrated by Ali bin Abi Talib, Sahih Muslim, vol. 1, pp. 373, no. 1695
[4]
Compiled by Sa’id bin Wahf Al-Qahtani, Hisn Al-Muslim, (Riyadh: Darussalam,
2009), pg 116, no. 97
[5]
Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 2:216
[6]
Qur’an, Al-An’aam, 6:125
[7]
Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, The Radiance of Faith, (Ajman, July, 2008), Pg 65
[8]
Dr. Ali Muhammad As-Sallaabee, The Noble Life of The Prophet, Volume 1,
(Riyadh: Darussalam, 2005), pg 518
[9]
Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, The Radiance of Faith, (Ajman, July, 2008), Pg 66
[10]
Qur’an, Yunus, 10:44
[11]
Sheikh AbdulBary Yahya, The Shephard’s Path course by Al-Maghrib Institute,
October 2011.
[12]
Qur’an, Yunus, 10:60
[13]
Qur’an, al-Ankabut, 29:2
[14]
Qur’an, Ash-Sharĥ, 94:6
[15]
‘Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni, Don’t Be Sad, (Riyadh: International Islamic
Publishing House, 2003), Pg 40
[16]
Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 2:155
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