الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا 

وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمدًا عبده ورسوله

You have most likely met people who are very educated and you wonder how can they not realize that their belief or lack of does not make any sense.  You must have also seen reports about people who commit major atrocities and wonder how can any human being commit such crimes. 

The Quran is unique because it very hard to confront a question without finding in it an answer to the question or a hint to lead you to the answer.   Regarding this unique feature of the Quran, Allah tells us in Surat Al-Nahl that it contains everything

وَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡكَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ تِبۡيَـٰنً۬ا لِّكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةً۬ وَبُشۡرَىٰ لِلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ (٨٩)

We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition of (explaining) everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims. (Al-Nahl 16:89)

Allah also said:

ما فرطنا في الكتاب من شيء

“We have neglected nothing in the Book” (Al-An’am 6:38)

كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ} [إبراهيم: 1[

“ (This is) a Book which We have revealed unto you (O Muhammad SAW) in order that you deliver mankind, with the will of their Lord, out of darkness into light leading them to the Path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy. ” (Ibrahime 14:1)

Abdullah ibn Abbas said

(لو ضاع مني عقال بعير لوجدته في القرآن) عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنه

“Even if the halter (rope) of my camel is lost, I will find it in the Book of Allah.

Abu Hurrirah reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ” إن الله سبحانه وتعالى لو أغفل شيئاً لأغفل الذرة والخردلة والبعوضة ” رواه ابن أبي حاتم في تفسيره ، وأبو الشيخ بن حيان في ” كتاب العظمة ” .

“If Allah almighty had overlooked something, he would have omitted the atom, the mustard seed and the mosquito.” 

So, we should find that answer to these complex questions in the Quran.  This answer may come in terms of a divine rule that those people are subjected to.  In this regard, we can find in the Quran a critical rule that implies that Allah has established evil forces in this world to be assigned to those whose arrogance to prevent them from accepting His guidance.  Allah gives those people many chances to repent and return to Him, but at some point, Allah no longer is interested in guiding them and he unleashes on them the evil forces to keep them astray from the truth and encourage them to commit injustices and beautify for them immorality.    This rule is derived from the following verses:

سَأَصۡرِفُ عَنۡ ءَايَـٰتِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ ڪُلَّ ءَايَةٍ۬ لَّا يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِہَا وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ سَبِيلَ ٱلرُّشۡدِ لَا يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلاً۬ وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ سَبِيلَ ٱلۡغَىِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلاً۬‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ بِأَنَّہُمۡ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَكَانُواْ عَنۡہَا غَـٰفِلِينَ (١٤٦)

“I shall turn away from My Ayat (verses, revelation) those who behave arrogantly on the earth, without a right, and (even) if they see all the Ayât (proofs, verses, revelations, etc.), they will not believe in them. And if they see the way of righteousness, they will not adopt it as the Way, but if they see the way of error, they will adopt that way, that is because they have rejected Our Ayât (proofs, revelations, etc.) and were heedless (to learn a lesson) from them” (Al-Araf 7:146)

وَيَوۡمَ يُحۡشَرُ أَعۡدَآءُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَى ٱلنَّارِ فَهُمۡ يُوزَعُونَ (١٩) حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا مَا جَآءُوهَا شَہِدَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ سَمۡعُهُمۡ وَأَبۡصَـٰرُهُمۡ وَجُلُودُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ (٢٠) وَقَالُواْ لِجُلُودِهِمۡ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمۡ عَلَيۡنَا‌ۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَنطَقَنَا ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمۡ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ۬ وَإِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ (٢١) وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَتِرُونَ أَن يَشۡہَدَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ سَمۡعُكُمۡ وَلَآ أَبۡصَـٰرُكُمۡ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمۡ وَلَـٰكِن ظَنَنتُمۡ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَعۡلَمُ كَثِيرً۬ا مِّمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ (٢٢) وَذَٲلِكُمۡ ظَنُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمۡ أَرۡدَٮٰكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم مِّنَ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرِينَ (٢٣) فَإِن يَصۡبِرُواْ فَٱلنَّارُ مَثۡوً۬ى لَّهُمۡ‌ۖ وَإِن يَسۡتَعۡتِبُواْ فَمَا هُم مِّنَ ٱلۡمُعۡتَبِينَ (٢٤)

وَقَيَّضۡنَا لَهُمۡ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُواْ لَهُم مَّا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡ وَحَقَّ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡقَوۡلُ فِىٓ أُمَمٍ۬ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِ‌ۖ إِنَّهُمۡ كَانُواْ خَـٰسِرِينَ (٢٥)

“And (remind them of) the day when the enemies of Allah will be musterted towrads the Fire, so they will be driven into it (19) ———–

And We have assigned them intimate companions (in this world), who beautified for them, what was before them (evil deeds) and what was behind them (denial of the the Hereafter as regards punishment or reward). And thus the Word (i.e. the punishment) is justified against them along the communities that passed before them from the jinn and men. Indeed they (all) are the losers.” (Fussilat 41:25)

وَمَن يَعۡشُ عَن ذِكۡرِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ نُقَيِّضۡ لَهُ ۥ شَيۡطَـٰنً۬ا فَهُوَ لَهُ ۥ قَرِينٌ۬ (٣٦) وَإِنَّہُمۡ لَيَصُدُّونَہُمۡ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَيَحۡسَبُونَ أَنَّہُم مُّهۡتَدُونَ (٣٧)

“And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of Al-Rahman (Allah), We appoint for him Shaitân (a devil) to be an intimate companion to him. (36) And verily, they (devils) hinder them from the (right) Path while they think that they are guided.” (Al-Zukhruf 43:36-37)

أَلَمۡ تَرَ أَنَّآ أَرۡسَلۡنَا ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ عَلَى ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ تَؤُزُّهُمۡ أَزًّ۬ا (٨٣) فَلَا تَعۡجَلۡ عَلَيۡهِمۡ‌ۖ إِنَّمَا نَعُدُّ لَهُمۡ عَدًّ۬ا (٨٤)

“Have you not seen that We have sent the Shayâtin (devils) onto the disbelievers to incite them with all their incitements. (83) So make no hurry about them; We are but counting for them a countdown (the remaining number of the days of the life that they may increase in evil and sins).” (Maryam 19:83-84)

You may say why Allah created these evil forces and why Allah pushes those evil forces on those who reject the truth so they can transgress even further.

The answer is quite simple,

لَا يُسۡـَٔلُ عَمَّا يَفۡعَلُ وَهُمۡ يُسۡـَٔلُونَ (٢٣)

“He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned.” (Al-Anbiya 21:23)

So, asking why Allah does something is not befitting because it is not proper for a slave to ask the master.  We must realize that whatever rule Allah establishes, it must be for good reason and there must be a wisdom behind it even if we never understood this wisdom.

Allah does not owe us any explanations and while understanding can wait, submission cannot, if we are true believers.    Insisting on knowing why Allah established certain rules is a sign of arrogance and Allah gave this grave warning to those who are arrogant:

سَأَصۡرِفُ عَنۡ ءَايَـٰتِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ (١٤٦)

“I shall turn away from My Ayât those who behave arrogantly on the earth, without a right,” (Al-Araf 7:146)

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن عبدالله بن مسعودٍ، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ((لا يدخل الجنة من كان في قلبه مثقال ذرةٍ من كبرٍ)) رواه مسلم

“No one will enter Paradise who has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart”.

The wise person should instead of focusing on why Allah assign evil forces to certain people to make Hell justifiable for them, is to focus on avoiding of being one of those people. 

You may also ask but those evil people hurt good people and here you need to understand a key nature of this life which is:  Life is time for testing.  Everyone will be subjected to regular testing to assess who truly deserves to be in Heaven and who truly deserves to be in Hell.

The concept of life as a test has been made abundantly clear in many verses in the Quran. Allah says in surah Al-Ankabout:

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَنْ يَسْبِقُونَا سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ مَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ لَآتٍ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

“Do people think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe,” and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, so Allah can affirm who the truthful are and who the liars are.  Do those who do evil think that they will get unnoticed by Us? How foolish is their judgment!  For those who hope to meet Allah, the time appointed by Allah is surely coming: and He hears and knows all things.” (Al-Ankabout 29:2-5)

Allah also says:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ

 “Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you with misfortune and with blessing by way of trial. To Us you must return.” (Al-Anbiaa 21:35)

While we may not know when or how we are going to be tested, we can predict the nature of some of the tests from the Quran and we can also learn how we should respond to these tests, as Allah says in surah Al-Baqara:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ

“We shall surely test you with some fear and hunger, and some loss in wealth, lives and the fruits of your labor. But give glad tidings to those who are patient.  Who say when misfortune strikes them: We belong to Allah and to Him is our return; they are those on whom Allah grants blessing and mercy, and they are the rightly guided.”? (2:155-157).

But Allah is merciful and Just and thus, no one will be subjected to a test that he/she cannot handle.  Allah says:

وَلَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۖ وَلَدَيْنَا كِتَابٌ يَنطِقُ بِالْحَقِّ ۚ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ) المؤمنون – الآية 62(

“And We do not impose a burden on anyone except according to his capacity, and with Us is a Record which speaks the truth, and they will not be wronged.” (Al- Mumenoon 23:62)

There should be no doubt in our mind that the presence of evil in the world does not negate the perfection of Allah’s actions.  The real question is how do we react to evil? 

Obviously if you see evil in the world and stand idle complaining about it, you would have failed the test. 

 The Prophet (PBUH) has taught us three ways to remove evil in his famous Hadeeth that is reported in Muslim and was narrated by Abu Saeed Al-Khudri that the Prophet (PBUH) said:  

عن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه قال : سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : ( من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده ، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه ، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه ، وذلك أضعف الإيمان ) رواه مسلم .

“Whoever sees an evil must correct it with his hand, if he cannot then by his tongue, if he cannot, then by his heart and this is the weakest of faith”. 

So, if you cannot do anything about evil, you should at least reject it with heart by not supporting those who are doing it in anyway.

But, this discussion about the presence of evil and assigning evil forces to encourage evil people to transgress further raises the old philosophical argument that is framed as follows:

Since Allah knows all what the person will do

And since Allah’s knowledge is perfect and never wrong

Then the person must do what Allah has already known 

This implies that the person is compelled to do what Allah has already known. How can this be justice to justify punishing such a person?

This philosophical argument must be false because we know that Allah is the absolute Just and He will never do injustice to anyone.  Allah says: 

وَٱتَّقُواْ يَوۡمً۬ا تُرۡجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفۡسٍ۬ مَّا ڪَسَبَتۡ وَهُمۡ لَا يُظۡلَمُونَ (٢٨١)

“And be fearful of the Day when you shall return to Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly” (Al-Baqara 2:281)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا وَلَٰكِنَّ النَّاسَ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ) يونس – الآية 44(

 “Surely, Allah does not wrong people at all; but people do wrong themselves” (Younes 10: 44)

But this philosophical argument that since Allah knows in advance what I’ll do wrong, I must do it and thus how can I be responsible for it, is false for several reasons:

First: The clear teaching of Islam that every person has free will and that no one will be held accountable for what he does under force.  Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: (إن الله تجاوز عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استُكرهوا عليه) حديث حسن رواه ابن ماجة والبيهقي وغيرهما.

Verily Allah has pardoned for my nation their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and that which they have been forced to do under duress. [reported by Ibn Majah, Al-Bayhaqi, and others]

(The exception to forgiveness for doing something under duress is what the action involves hurting others such as killing.  It is not acceptable for a person to save his own life on the expense of another person life.) 

But, even announcing disbelieve, Allah does not hold the person accountable if he declared the disbelief under duress, Allah says:

من كفر بالله من بعد إيمانه إلا من أكره وقلبه مطمئن بالإيمان (النحل :106)

“Whoever disbelieved in Allah after his belief, not the one who is compelled under duress while his heart is content with belief.” (Al-Nahl 16:106)

Allah does not leave anyone one without guidance but only those who reject the guidance are let astray, Allah says:

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا

“We guided him to the path; he will either be grateful or be ungrateful.”(Al-Insan 76:3)

The verse state that Allah has programmed every one of us with an innate (intrinsic, inborn, natural, imposed) guidance to know Allah and equipped us with the capacity to differentiate truth from falsehood.  

But if this is not sufficient, Allah provides guidance thru instructions by appointing prophets and messengers to teach and manifest His revelations.   Allah refers to this element of universal guidance in in Surah Fusulat (فصلت) when Allah discussed the people of Thamud and the guidance sent to them thru Prophet Saleh. Allah says regarding Thamud:

وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّوا الْعَمَى عَلَى الْهُدَى فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ صَاعِقَةُ الْعَذَابِ الْهُونِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ) فصلت(

“As to the Thamud, We gave them guidance, but they preferred blindness (of heart) to Guidance: so the stunning Punishment of humiliation seized them, because of what they had earned.’ (Fusulat 41:17)

Therefore, we must realize that Allah does not let people go astray until they truly deserve it after they exhaust all their opportunities for guidance and remain steadfast on their rejection of all sources of guidance and continue with their mischief.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“And when it is said to them: do not make mischief in the earth, they say: we are only improving matters.  They are indeed making mischief but they are not aware of it.”  (Al-Baqara 2:11-12)

So, we know that Allah does not punish anyone who is forced to do evil and thus it is illogical that Allah Himself will be forcing people to do evil and then punish them.  Also, Allah does leave people to go astray until they have exhausted all their opportunities to be guided.

The argument that Allah pre-knowledge of what people will do is reason for them doing evil is refuted on humanistic level and legal one.  We know that we have free will and we only do what we want to do and legally courts differentiate between premeditated and unintentional actions.

The reason for the confusion happens because we as human beings have limited abilities to rationalize the absolute attributes of Allah and thus, we cannot relate to His infinite knowledge, infinite justice, infinite power, etc. The philosophical argument states:

Since Allah knows all what the person will do

And since Allah’s knowledge is perfect and never wrong (because they are infinite)

Then the person must do what Allah has already known

Any time we talk about something infinite our logic fails, here is an example:

You will have no objections if I say:

Since x + a   = x + b

Then a = b

This means that if “x” equals 10 and “a” equals 7, then “b” must also be equal 7.

This is only valid is “x” is finite but if “x” is so large that it is infinity (∞), this logic fails because I can say:

∞ + 10 = ∞ + 1000

But we know that 10 is not equal to 1000.  The reason is that for an infinite number all the following relationships are valid

∞+a=∞          ∞−a=∞

∞∗a=∞          ∞÷a=∞

So, you cannot use logic that is based on finite input to apply to an infinite input.

There is another point that makes the whole argument wrong because the way it is made, it jumps between different attributes of Allah.  The statements are related to Allah’s knowledge but having knowledge does not mean having external impact.  External impact can only be achieved by another attribute which is ultimate ability (قدرة). 

Knowledge cannot create external impact unless they are associated with ability.  So, if you really want to frame the argument, you should say as follows:

Since Allah has full knowledge of what you will do

Since having knowledge will have no external influence

My action is based solely on my will and Allah does not force me to do them.

While Allah offers guidance to all people, there is unique guidance that Allah only offers to those who accept the innate guidance created in them and the guidance offered by the revelation through the Prophets, this is the guidance of support.

This concept of this guidance of support of those who accepted the universal guidance is illustrated by the following verse in Surah Mohammad:

وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْ  )محمد(

“But to those who consent to be guided, He increases their guidance, and bestows on them their piety and restraint (from evil).” (Muhammad 47:17)

This point is emphasized when you read that Allah increases the guidance of those who are already guided, as He says:

وَيَزِيدُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا هُدًى   )مريم(

“Allah increases guidance for those who are guided” (Maryam 19:76)

So, when Allah speaks about not guiding someone, he is peaking about the guidance of support that He offers only to those who deserve it by accepting the universal guidance.  So, when we read the following verse in Surah Al-Qasas, we recognize that Allah is speaking about the special guidance which is guidance of support:

إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

“You will not be able to guide every one whom you love; but Allah guides those whom He wishes and He knows best those who accepted guidance. (Al-Qasas 28:56)

In addition to the universal guidance and the support guidance, there is actually a third type of guidance and this is the sustaining guidance.  It is the guidance that you need to properly answer the angles in the grave about who is lord and who is your messenger.  Allah says:

يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ )إبراهيم(

Allah reinforces those who believe with the proper response, in this world and in the Hereafter; but Allah leaves the wrongdoers to go astray: Allah does whatever He wills. (Ibrahime 14:27)

You also need this guidance to project light in front of you to stay on the path to heaven. In this regard Allah says:

سَيَهْدِيهِمْ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَهُمْ وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ ) محمد(

“He will guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden which He has announced for them. (Mohammad 47:5-6)

Allah also says regarding this guidance, that it will take a form of light:

يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَى نُورُهُمْ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ )  الحديد(

“On that day you will see the believing men and the believing women with their Light streaming on ahead of them and off their right: (their greeting will be): “Good News for you this Day, gardens through which rivers flow to live in forever.  That is indeed the highest Achievement.” (Al-Hadead 57:12)

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