Summary of Sunni concepts
Evil is not attributed to God Almighty
It was reported on the authority of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in one of the supplications that open the prayer
And in it
And evil is not yours
Narrated by Muslim Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi
This denial requires refraining from adding evil to God Almighty in any way
Not for Himself, nor for His names or attributes
Nor for his actions
He, Glory be to Him, is above that
His actions are all pure good
Rather, the matter is evil in relation to the creature and what it relates to and does
This is as God Almighty said
Whatever good befalls you is from God
Whatever evil befalls you is from yourself
That is, whatever befalls you, son of Adam, that makes you sad
It is because of your sins
This does not contradict the fact that evil is the same as good
A reality according to God Almighty’s appreciation and decree
As God Almighty said in response to the hypocrites
And if good befalls them, they say, “This is from God.”
And if an evil befalls them, they say, “This is from you.”
Say it's all from God
What is the matter with these people who can hardly understand a word?
What justice God does to His servants
And the punishment of those who deserve punishment
He is the best lover
Even if it is evil in their view or for them
Such as cutting off the hand of a thief or retribution against a murderer
The bottom line is that God is the creator of both good and evil
But evil is a separate effect
It is not a description of God Almighty
It is not said that He, Glory be to Him, is a doer of evil
Rather, it is good insofar as it is related to His actions and appreciation
It is evil insofar as it is attributed to someone to whom it is evil
It is a relative matter that has two aspects
One of them is good
It is the aspect that is attributed to God Almighty
Creation, formation, and will
Because of its great wisdom
Which God may have limited knowledge of
Or He gives whomever He wishes of His creation what He wishes of them
The second is the face of evil
It is the aspect that is attributed to the creature that caused it and the one who is in it
This is why we should be polite with God in conversation
And not attributing evil to Him, Glory be to Him
As Al-Khidr said to Moses, peace be upon him
When he explained to him what he did on the ship
I wanted to shame her
So he attributed the matter to himself
When he explained the good side of building the wall
He said, “So your Lord wanted to reach their maturity.”
Their treasure will be extracted as a mercy from your Lord
So we attribute goodness to God Almighty
Then he said about everyone
And what you did about me
That is the interpretation of what you did not have patience for
Summary of Sunni concepts