A Summary of the Concepts of Ahl al-Sunnah:
Evil is not attributed to Allah Almighty.
For it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in one of the opening supplications of prayer,
in which he said:
"And evil is not attributable to You."
It was reported by Muslim, Abu Dawud, and al-Tirmidhi.
This negation necessitates the impossibility of attributing evil to Allah Almighty in any manner whatsoever:
neither in His Essence, nor in His names or attributes,
nor in His actions.
For He, Glory be to Him, is far above and exalted beyond that,
and His actions are all pure goodness.
Evil exists only in relation to the created being, what pertains to it, and what emanates from it.
This is as Allah Almighty said:
“Whatever of good befalleth thee (O man) it is from Allah, and whatever of ill befalleth thee it is from thyself. We have sent thee (Muhammad) as a messenger unto mankind and Allah is sufficient as Witness.” (4:79)
“Whatever of good befalleth thee (O man) it is from Allah, and whatever of ill befalleth thee it is from thyself. We have sent thee (Muhammad) as a messenger unto mankind and Allah is sufficient as Witness.” (4:79)
Meaning: Whatever afflicts you, O son of Adam, of that which harms or grieves you,
it is because of your own sins and disobedience.
This does not contradict the fact that evil, just like good,
occurs by the decree and predetermination of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
As Allah Almighty said in refutation of the hypocrites:
“Wheresoever ye may be, death will overtake you, even though ye were in lofty towers. Yet if a happy thing befalleth them they say: This is from Allah; and if an evil thing befalleth them they say: This is of thy doing (O Muhammad). Say (unto them): All is from Allah. What is amiss with these people that they come not nigh to understand a happening?” (4:78)
“Wheresoever ye may be, death will overtake you, even though ye were in lofty towers. Yet if a happy thing befalleth them they say: This is from Allah; and if an evil thing befalleth them they say: This is of thy doing (O Muhammad). Say (unto them): All is from Allah. What is amiss with these people that they come not nigh to understand a happening?” (4:78)
“Wheresoever ye may be, death will overtake you, even though ye were in lofty towers. Yet if a happy thing befalleth them they say: This is from Allah; and if an evil thing befalleth them they say: This is of thy doing (O Muhammad). Say (unto them): All is from Allah. What is amiss with these people that they come not nigh to understand a happening?” (4:78)
"So what is [wrong] with these people that they hardly understand any statement?"
For what Allah enacts of justice among His servants,
and His punishment of those among them who deserve punishment,
is beloved, pure good,
even if it is considered evil in their view or relative to them—
such as severing the hand of the thief or executing retribution upon the murderer.
In summary, Allah is the Creator of both good and evil,
but evil is a separate created effect (maf'ul),
and not an attribute of Allah Almighty.
Nor is it said that He, Glory be to Him, is a "doer of evil."
Rather, it is good from the standpoint of its connection to His action and predetermination,
and evil only from the standpoint of its attribution to the one for whom it is evil.
Thus, it is a relative matter with two aspects:
One aspect is good,
which is the aspect attributed to Allah Almighty
in terms of creation, bring into existence, and divine will,
due to the profound wisdom contained therein—
wisdom whose knowledge Allah may reserve exclusively for Himself,
or disclose of it what He wills to whom He wills among His creation.
The second aspect is evil,
which is the aspect attributed to the created being who caused it and experienced it.
For this reason, one must observe proper etiquette with Allah in speech
and refrain from attributing evil to Him, Glory be to Him.
Just as al-Khidr said to Moses (peace be upon him)
when he explained to him what he had done to the ship:
"So I intended to damage it,"
attributing the action [of damaging] to himself.
Whereas when he explained the aspect of good in rebuilding the wall,
he said: "So your Lord intended that they reach maturity
and extract their treasure as a mercy from your Lord,"
attributing the goodness to Allah Almighty.
Then he said regarding all of it:
“And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father had been righteous, and thy Lord intended that they should come to their full strength and should bring forth their treasure as a mercy from their Lord; and I did it not upon my own command. Such is the interpretation of that wherewith thou couldst not bear.” (18:82)
"That is the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience."
A Summary of the Concepts of Ahl al-Sunnah.