Question:
Assalamualaikum. Recently, it is an uproar on Twitter on the statement of an influencer who said that a person cheated on his wife due to the will of Allah. Some other statements of him also possibly will raise misunderstandings towards the society especially teenagers who become his followers. Is it permissible or not to relate an act of ma’siah or evildoing to Allah SWT? It seems like we are saying that Allah blesses the evildoing we committed. Like cheating by the will of Allah, stealing by the will of Allah, committing evildoings by the will of Allah.
Hope for an explanation. Thank you.
Brief Answer:
In conclusion, attributing evildoing, badness and ma’siah committed by a person to Allah SWT is an unethical behavior towards Him. Yes, Allah SWT created all things including all evildoings and bad things, but as an ethic towards Allah SWT, we shall not relate it to Him unless matters which are good only.
According to Ahl Sunnah wal Jamaah, all servants of Allah have their choice whether to do good or bad. However, all are not excluded from the will of Allah SWT. Through these choices, humans are tested and judged due to their choices while living in the dunya.
Besides, saying ‘I committed ma’siah due to the will of Allah SWT’ does not imply that Allah SWT blesses the doing. This is because Allah SWT’s will (iradah) does not denote His blessing. Therefore, whoever commits ma’siah by his own choice and will, deserves the wrath of Allah SWT. Such saying shall not be uttered and shall highly be avoided, whatnot if it is intended to make halal a ma’siah committed by an individual.
Wallahu a’lam.
Explanation:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions, and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgment.
It is undeniable that every matter is created by Allah SWT. This is a fundamental knowledge wajib for us to believe in. This is based on several verses of al-Quran. Among them, Allah SWT says:
ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّـهُ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
That is Allah, your Lord; there is no deity except Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He is Disposer of all things.
Surah al-An’am (106)
Allah SWT also says:
اللَّـهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.
Surah al-Zumar (62)
In another verse, Allah SWT says:
ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّـهُ رَبُّكُمْ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ
That is Allah, your Lord, Creator of all things; there is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?
Surah Ghafir (62)
In another verse, Allah SWT stresses out:
بَلَىٰ وَهُوَ الْخَلَّاقُ الْعَلِيمُ
Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing Creator.
Surah Yaasin (81)
All these verses indicate that every matter; good, bad, faith, and disbelief is created by Allah SWT. Imam al-Baydhawi states:
اللَّهُ خالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ من خير وشر وإيمان وكفر. وَهُوَ عَلى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ يتولى التصرف.
“Allah is the All-Creator of all things whether good, bad, faith and deviance. He is the governor of all things and deciding on its fate”. (Refer Anwar Al-Tanzil Wa Asrar Al-Ta’wil 5/47)
According to Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi when commenting on the saying of Allah SWT, Surah al-An’am verse 102, he said:
تَمَسَّكَ أَصْحَابُنَا بِقَوْلِهِ: خالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى أَنَّهُ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْخَالِقُ لِأَعْمَالِ الْعِبَادِ قَالُوا أَعْمَالُ الْعِبَادِ أَشْيَاءُ، واللَّه تَعَالَى خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ بِحُكْمِ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ فَوَجَبَ كَوْنُهُ تَعَالَى خَالِقًا لَهَا
“The scholars hold on to the saying of Allah that He is the creator of all things and that Allah also create the actions of humans. They said: Human actions is among matters, and Allah SWT is the creator of all matters. So based on this verse, Allah SWT is the creator of all those actions.” (Refer Mafatih Al-Ghaib, 13/93)
However, this does not mean that we may simply relate an evildoing or bad action committed by a person to Allah SWT. In one aspect, relating evildoings and bad actions to Allah SWT is something unethical to Him. This is as mentioned by Syaikh Ali Jum’ah in his book, Aqidah Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, that:
والفعل خيره و شرّه والإيمان والكفر من خلق الله ولكن الأدب يستوجب علينا أن لا ننسب لله إلّا الحسن فينسب الخير لله والشرّ للنفس كسبا وإن كان منسوبا إلى الله إيجادا
Every action whether good or bad, faith or deviance, all are created by Allah SWT. However, ethics towards Allah SWT obligate us to no relate to Allah SWT except matters which are good only. While for evildoings we relate to the doer (kasb) even though it is related to Allah SWT in terms of its creation. (Refer Aqidah Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, 66)
Thus, among the content of the supplication of iftitah recited by the Prophet PBUH as narrated by Ali bin Abu Thalib RA:
وَالْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي يَدَيْكَ وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ إِلَيْكَ
all goodness is in Your hands, and evil is not attributed to You
Sahih Muslim (771)
Imam al-Nawawi explained this phrase mentioned by the Prophet PBUH, in which basically he cited the opinion of al-Khattabi on attributing evildoings to Allah. Al-Khattabi states:
فِيهِ الْإِرْشَادُ إِلَى الْأَدَبِ فِي الثَّنَاءِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَدْحِهِ بِأَنْ يُضَافَ إِلَيْهِ مَحَاسِنُ الْأُمُورِ دُونَ مَسَاوِيهَا عَلَى جِهَةِ الْأَدَبِ
“In the hadith, there is a guide on the ethics of praising Allah SWT which is attributing good matters to Allah without attributing the evil matters in term of ethic.” (Refer Syarh Sahih Muslim 6/96).
He explained further that the hadith shall be ta’wil (interpreted) because basically, all matters which are new whether good or bad are creations of Allah SWT according to the opinion of Ahl Sunnah. He states:
فَمِمَّا يَجِبُ تَأْوِيلُهُ لِأَنَّ مَذْهَبَ أَهْلِ الْحَقِّ أَنَّ كُلَّ الْمُحْدَثَاتِ فِعْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَلْقُهُ سَوَاءٌ خَيْرُهَا وَشَرُّهَا
“So it is among the phrase (and evildoings are not attributed to You) which is obligatory to be interpreted because the madhhab of ahl al-haq is all matters which are, new are created and the creation of Allah SWT whether good or bad.” (Refer Syarh Sahih Muslim, 6/96
Among the interpretation brought by him:
وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ شَرًّا بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَيْكَ فَإِنَّكَ خَلَقْتَهُ بِحِكْمَةٍ بَالِغَةٍ وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ شَرٌّ بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَى الْمَخْلُوقِينَ
“Evildoings are of which not attributed to You, indeed, You create evildoings with hikmah. They are evildoings attributed to creations.” (Refer Syarh Sahih Muslim, 6/96)
While on another aspect, Allah SWT also creates bad and good as a test upon creations. Allah SWT says:
وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً
And We test you with evil and with good as trial;
Surah al-Anbiya’ (35)
Hence, according to Ahl Sunnah wal Jamaah, a servant has choices whether to do good or bad. However, all are not excluded from the will of Allah SWT. It is as an implementation of the cause. From these choices, humans are tested and judged based on their choices while living in the dunya. This is as mentioned by Syaikh Abdurrahman bin Hassan Habannakah. He said:
فأفعال العباد إذن مخلوقة الله تعالى بالنظر إلى المؤثر الحقيقي وهي أفعال العباد إلى صور الأسباب الظاهرة وقد وجهوا إرادتهم إلى فعلها باختيارهم الحر وبذلك يتم ابلاؤهم وامتحانهم.وبذلك يصح في العقل وفي العدل أن يترتب على أفعالهم المدح والثواب أو الذم والعقاب
“Hence, human actions are creations of Allah considering the (will of Allah) actual muatthir (affecter). It is also the actions of the servant himself considering its general manifestation. They with their will did something by their choices. Therefore, here is the test. The same goes for something right in the eyes of logic and justice that their actions deserve something whether praise and reward or are rebuked and punishment.” (Refer Al-‘Akidah Al-Islamiyah Wa Ususuha, 638)
Many verses of al-Quran attribute the action to the servant himself. Among them, Allah SWT says:
وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّـهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ
And say, "Do [as you will], for Allah will see your deeds, and [so, will] His Messenger and the believers.
Surah al-Tawbah (105)
In another verse, Allah says:
اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
Do whatever you will; indeed, He is all-Seeing of what you do.
Surah Fussilat (40)
Allah SWT says in another verse:
جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
as reward for what they used to do
Surah al-Sajdah (17)
Syaikh Ali Jumu’ah explains:
فإرادة الله تعلقت بأن يكون الإنسان مريدا وبذلك سرت إرادة الله إلى كل ما يريده ويختاره من الأعمال وإذا فلا يمكن أن يقع أي تعارض بين إرادة الله وإرادة العبد فالعبد مختار لفعله غير مجبر عليه وهو قادر عليه مكتسب له وفعله مفتقر لإرادته
“Allah’s will intend humans to have their own will. Therefore, Allah’s will is implied upon everything a servan will for and chooses. So, it is impossible to have contradiction between Allah’s will and human’s will. Humans have choices to do something without coercion. A servant may do something and deserves the reward. Human’s action also in need of His will.” (Refer Aqidah Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah 67-68)
Besides that, sayings like ‘I committed ma’siah due to the will of Allah SWT’ and the like clearly is wrong in term of aqidah. The scholars had discussed if Allah SWT allows or willed for a person to commit ma’siah, it does not mean that Allah SWT bless the action. This is because there is a difference between the will (iradah) of Allah SWT and His blessings, in which His will does not denote His blessings. This is mentioned by Imam al-Baijuri in his book Hasyiah ‘ala Jawharat al-Tauhid that:
وغايرت الارادة رضاه تعالى، وهو قبول الشيء والاثابة عليه، وغرضه بذالك الردّ على من فسّر الارادة بالرضا، فإنّ الارادة قد تتعلق بما لايرضى به الله تعالى، كالكفر الواقع من الكفّار فإنّه أراده تعالى ولا يرضى به
“Allah SWT’s will (iradah) is different with His blessing (the meaning of Allah’s blessing is an acknowledgment of something and given a good reward. The author brought this discussion as a reply to the opinion which interpreting the will as Allah SWT’s blessings). Verily, the will of Allah SWT sometimes is related to what is not blessed by Allah SWT, like disbelief committed by the non-believers. The action is made happen by the will of Allah SWT, but He does not bless it.” (Refer Hasyiah ‘ala Jawharat al-Tauhid, 125.
Therefore, we cannot perceive all matters made happen by the will of Allah SWT are all blessed by Him. In fact, everyone who intentionally commit ma’siah and defy the command of Allah SWT, even if the action is allowed to happen by Allah SWT, but deserves His punishment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, attributing evildoing, badness, and ma’siah committed by a person to Allah SWT is an unethical behavior towards Him. Yes, Allah SWT created all things including all evildoings and bad things, but as an ethic towards Allah SWT, we shall not relate it to Him unless matters which are good only.
According to Ahl Sunnah wal Jamaah, all servants of Allah have their choice whether to do good or bad. However, all are not excluded from the will of Allah SWT. Through these choices, humans are tested and judged due to their choices while living in the dunya.
Besides, the saying of ‘I committed ma’siah due to the will of Allah SWT’ does not imply that Allah SWT blesses the doing. This is because Allah SWT’s will (iradah) does not denote His blessing. Therefore, whoever commits ma’siah by his own choice and will, then deserves the wrath of Allah SWT. Such saying shall not be uttered and shall highly be avoided, whatnot if it is intended on permitting a ma’siah committed by an individual.
Wallahu a’lam.