You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good
وتذل من تشاء بيدك الخير
Good is in the hand of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and good is everything that contains benefit and utility for the servant, whether it be in the matters of this world or the matters of the Hereafter. So sustenance, health, and knowledge—what are these? These are good, and righteous deeds are also good. So whatever a person benefits from in his religion and his worldly life is good, and all of this is in the hand of Allah, as He, the Exalted, said:
And whatever you have of favor - it is from Allah
وما بكم من نعمة فمن الله
Here, it is mentioned that good is in His hand, while evil is not mentioned, even though good is from Allah and evil is from Allah. So some of the exegetes said: This is from the category of omitting the known counterpart, like His saying:
and has made for you garments which protect you from the heat
وجعل لكم سرابيل تقيكم الحر
And they claimed that the implied meaning of the verse is: In His hand is good and evil. But this is a false error; this is a false error. This is not a place for omission and restriction or abbreviation. This is a place of praise, and praise requires elaboration and expansion in speech. So omission is inappropriate in wording and false in meaning, because evil is not attributed to Allah, and it is not permissible for us to say that evil is in His hand. Because it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
And evil is not with You.
والشر ليس إليك
So evil is not attributed to Allah in speech or action. Allah speaks the truth and guides to the path, and He does good and does not do evil. And if evil is found in the created things, it is evil from one aspect and good from another aspect. But the creation of these evil things by Allah is not evil, but it is good, pure good. So the action of Allah contains no evil whatsoever. And evil is only in what? In the created things, not in the actions. As for good, it is in the created things and the actions. For this reason, it is attributed to Him, because He said:
In Your hand is the good
بيدك الخير
But evil is not attributed to Allah. Let us give an example of this with wild beasts and crawling creatures. The wild beasts contain evil, and the stinging and biting crawling creatures contain evil without a doubt. The devils are all evil. But the creation of these things by Allah is good, good that is necessary, and wisdom necessitates it. Because the perfection of the creation of Allah cannot be known except by the creation of opposing things. Then, in the creation of these things, there is much good in the rectification of the servant, his return to his Lord, and his seeking refuge in Him from these evil matters. Then, good is not known except by its opposite; good cannot be known except by knowing its opposite, so that the magnitude of the good is known. Then, the creation must undergo a trial; it must undergo a trial. If it were always in good, this trial would cease, because it would always be in good. So when evil is found, then the trial is known or then the trial becomes clear. If a person were always in health, always in wealth, always in intellect, and always in ease, there would be no trial in this, and the magnitude of the blessing would not be known, nor would it be thanked for. But when he is afflicted with illness, he knows the magnitude of health; by poverty, he knows the magnitude of wealth; by fear, he knows the magnitude of safety, and so on. So the existence of these things has great benefits, so their creation is good and not evil. But they themselves contain evil. Likewise, the existence of destructive things like earthquakes, storms, floods, and the like are evil in themselves, but they contain great good, so their creation is good and not evil. So we must keep the verse on its apparent meaning without implied interpretation, which is His saying:
In Your hand is the good
بيدك الخير
And no evil is attributed to Allah. As for the created things, there is no doubt that they contain good and evil.
Indeed, You are over all things competent
إنك على كل شيء قدير
And from Your power is changing these great things: giving kingship, removing it, honoring, and humiliating. All these are great matters that only the All-Competent, Glorified and Exalted is He, can accomplish. And His saying:
Indeed, You are over all things competent
إنك على كل شيء قدير
The verse is general, so He is competent over everything, over what He wills and what He does not will. He is competent over what He wills and over what He does not will. So what He does not will, He is competent to create, and what He wills, He is competent to create. If it is restricted by time, He is competent to annihilate it if it exists. The important point is that Allah is competent over everything, over creating the non-existent and annihilating the existent, whether He wills it or does not will it. And by this, we know that restricting the power of some people to the will is an error. Those who say: He is competent over what He wills—this is an error. Because Allah is competent over what He wills and what He does not will. But what He wills, He cannot be prevented from. And by this last understanding—that what He wills, He cannot be prevented from—the answer to His saying, the Exalted:
and He is over gathering them, if He wills, competent
وهو على جمعهم إذا يشاء على قدير
becomes clear. And that is that the will here is not referring to the power, but it is referring to the gathering. Meaning, if He wills to gather them and desires to gather them, He is competent over it and cannot be prevented from it.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan.
(27) You cause the night to enter the day, and You cause the day to enter the night; and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give provision to whom You will without account." (28) Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever [of you] does that has nothing with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in prudence. And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the [final] destination. (29) Say, "Whether you conceal what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it. And He knows that which is in the heavens and that which is on the earth. And Allah is over all things competent.
تولج الليل في النهار وتولج النهار في الليل وتخرج الحي من الميت وتخرج الميت من الحي وترزق من تشاء بغير حساب، لا يتخذ المؤمنون الكافرين أولياء من دون المؤمنين ومن يفعل ذلك فليس من الله في شيء إلا أن تتقوا منهم تقاة ويحذركم الله نفسه وإلى الله المصير، قل إن تخفوا ما في صدوركم أو تبدوه يعلمه الله ويعلم ما في السموات وما في الأرض والله على كل شيء قدير
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. Allah, the Exalted, said:
Say, "O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.
قل اللهم مالك الملك تؤتي الملك من تشاء وتنزع الملك ممن تشاء وتعز من تشاء وتذل من تشاء بيدك الخير إنك على كل شيء قدير
