How do we reconcile Allah’s saying, “I created My servants as Hanifs, but the devils carried them away,” with His saying, “O My servants, all of you are astray except those whom I have guided”?

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Question:
The questioner asks: How do we reconcile Allah’s saying, “I created My servants as Hanifs, but the devils carried them away,” with His saying, “O My servants, all of you are astray except those whom I have guided”?

Answer:
Yes. Allah empowers the devils, and this empowerment of the devils is from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). It is from Allah.

He causes to stray whom He wills and guides whom He wills

يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ

[An-Nahl 16:93]

And if Allah wills to misguide a servant, He empowers the devils against him and carries him away from his fitrah (innate natural disposition). This is qada' wa qadar (divine decree and destiny) from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), for He knows which of His servants are suitable for guidance and which are not. He knows this about His servants. So, the one who turns to Allah and performs the causes, Allah grants him success in good. And the one who abandons the causes, Allah leaves him to misguidance and the devil. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:

⁽⁵⁾ As for he who gives and fears Allah ⁽⁶⁾ And believes in the best [reward], ⁽⁷⁾ We will ease him toward ease. ⁽⁸⁾ But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need ⁽⁹⁾ And denies the best [reward],

فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَاتَّقَىٰ وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ وَأَمَّا مَن بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَىٰ وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ

[Al-Layl 92:5-9]

“So We will make it easy for him [to do] the difficult.” So, the causes are on the part of the servant, and guidance and misguidance are on the part of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Therefore, the Muslim should ask Allah for guidance and ask Him to keep him away from misguidance. Otherwise, if he does not ask Allah and does not perform the good causes, then Allah (Exalted and Majestic) will empower the devil against him because of his own actions.

⁽⁸⁾ But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need ⁽⁹⁾ And denies the best [reward], ⁽¹⁰⁾ We will ease him toward difficulty.

وَأَمَّا مَن بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَىٰ وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَىٰ

[Al-Layl 92:8-10]

Because he performed the causes of misguidance, the devil was empowered against him.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، كيف نجمع بين قوله تعالى «خلقت عبادي حنفاء فاجتالتهم الشياطين» وبين قوله تعالى «يا عبادي كلكم ضال..» — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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