Discussion of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Say: Who is it that can protect you from Allah if He intends harm for you or if He intends mercy for you?”
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There is a difficulty in the verse, which is that its apparent meaning is that Allah intends harm, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) So what is the answer?
The student: ...?
The Shaykh : No.
The student: This harm is with respect to the created being, whereas with respect to the Creator...
The Shaykh : We say that harm is with respect to the things acted upon, whereas with respect to the action of Allah Himself, which is His action, it is not harm. For example, illness is harm with respect to the servant; it distresses him and does not please him, but with respect to Allah’s decree for him, it is good and wisdom, as we have pointed out many times. So, in answering this difficulty, we say that the harm returns to the thing acted upon, not to the action, which is Allah’s decree. The analogy is if a compassionate, merciful father’s son were struck by a disease, and he cauterized him with iron heated over fire, this would undoubtedly be harmful to the son because it causes him pain and suffering, but is it harm to him or not? No, with respect to the father’s action, it is not harm, but rather it is good, even though it causes the son pain. Yes.
The student: ...is it taken from the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Ar-Rum 30:27]?
The Shaykh : No... this is separate from that.
The student: ...is the address with respect to the state of the one being addressed?
The Shaykh : No, Sulayman... no, in reality, the harm is not attributed to Allah. That is, the meaning is that His actions are not themselves harm; the harm is only in the things acted upon.
And evil is not with You.
والشر ليس إليكThe student: ...?
The Shaykh : No.
The student: This harm is with respect to the created being, whereas with respect to the Creator...
The Shaykh : We say that harm is with respect to the things acted upon, whereas with respect to the action of Allah Himself, which is His action, it is not harm. For example, illness is harm with respect to the servant; it distresses him and does not please him, but with respect to Allah’s decree for him, it is good and wisdom, as we have pointed out many times. So, in answering this difficulty, we say that the harm returns to the thing acted upon, not to the action, which is Allah’s decree. The analogy is if a compassionate, merciful father’s son were struck by a disease, and he cauterized him with iron heated over fire, this would undoubtedly be harmful to the son because it causes him pain and suffering, but is it harm to him or not? No, with respect to the father’s action, it is not harm, but rather it is good, even though it causes the son pain. Yes.
The student: ...is it taken from the saying of Allah the Exalted:
and that is [even] easier for Him
وهو أهون عليهThe Shaykh : No... this is separate from that.
The student: ...is the address with respect to the state of the one being addressed?
The Shaykh : No, Sulayman... no, in reality, the harm is not attributed to Allah. That is, the meaning is that His actions are not themselves harm; the harm is only in the things acted upon.