The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “The like of the conduct of the people of Noah, ‘Ad, and Thamud, and those who came after them. And Allah does not intend injustice for the servants.”
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Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the people of Noah, ‘Ad, and Thamud were the first of the hostile groups, as He said: [Ibrahim 14:9].
Among the benefits of this noble verse is the negation of the intention of injustice from Allah the Exalted, as He said:[Ali 'Imran 3:108] And if the intention is negated, the action is certainly negated, because Allah the Exalted does what He wills. So if He does not will injustice, injustice is negated.
Moreover, in other verses He negated injustice itself, saying:[Al-Kahf 18:49] And He said: [Fussilat 41:46] And He said: [Qaf 50:29] Thus, Allah the Exalted has negated injustice from Himself and negated the intention of injustice, and that is due to the perfection of His justice.
This attribute is among the attributes they call the negative attributes or the negated attributes. We have a rule in the chapter of Names and Attributes that pure negation does not exist in the attributes of Allah, ever. Every negation in the attributes of Allah includes two things:
First: the negation of what is negated from Allah. Second: the affirmation of the perfection of its opposite. So it is said: “He does not wrong because of the perfection of His justice,” or if you wish, say: “Because of the perfection of His justice, He does not wrong.” Because if His justice were not perfect, He might wrong in some matters. But the Lord, Exalted is He, has perfect justice, and injustice cannot enter into it in any way.
Is this injustice negated from Allah due to the perfection of justice impossible in its essence, or is it permissible but impossible for Allah the Exalted due to His perfection? It is the latter, contrary to the Jahmiyyah who said that injustice is impossible for Allah in its essence, in the essence of injustice. Because if it were impossible in its essence, it would not be praise. One does not praise someone for what is impossible for him, because it is impossible. They say it is impossible in its essence because all creation is His property, and He does what He wills in His property. And whoever acts in his property is not called a wrongdoer, even if he prioritizes one thing over another or diminishes something from its right. But we say that Allah the Exalted explicitly stated that He has forbidden injustice for Himself. This indicates that injustice is rationally possible in His case, but He has forbidden it for Himself due to the perfection of His justice.
In summary, one of the rules of the Names and Attributes is that pure negation does not exist in the attributes of Allah. Rather, there is no negation in the attributes of Allah except for the perfection of its opposite:[Qaf 50:38] Why? Because of the perfection of His strength, not because fatigue does not befall Him, but because of the perfection of His strength, fatigue does not befall Him. The meaning is not that it is not possible for fatigue to befall Him. No, but it is impossible due to the perfection of His strength.
The scholars said: We say this because pure negation is pure non-existence, correct? If you negate something, it means it does not exist. And pure non-existence is nothing, let alone being praise, because it is non-existence, and non-existence is not praised.
Or the negation may include an affirmation. This affirmation may be weakness. For example, if we say: “So-and-so does not wrong because he is not capable of wrongdoing,” this does not mean we have praised him. Rather, this is a blame of him, as the poet said:
A tribe that does not betray a pledge, nor wrong people by a mustard seed
The first thing you hear this, you say: What Allah willed, these are faithful people with justice. But in reality, it is a blame. It says that none of them is capable of betraying, nor capable of wronging. And the second says:
But my people, though they are numerous, are not of evil in any way, even if we are humiliated
They repay the injustice of the unjust with forgiveness, and the ill-treatment of the wicked with kindness
Meaning that if a person ill-treats them, they treat him kindly, and if he wrongs them, they forgive him and overlook it. But is this due to the perfection of their kindness and the perfection of their forgiveness, or due to their weakness? Due to their weakness. For this reason, he said:
I wish I had a people who, when they mount, launch raids on horseback and on foot
“I wish I had” means: instead of them. And this indicates that he blamed them greatly.
The negation may be due to the unsuitability of this description for what is negated from them. The negation of a thing from a thing may be because it is not capable and not suitable to be described with it. As if I said: “The wall does not wrong.” Is this praise for the wall? No, because it is not capable and not suitable for injustice or non-injustice. Thus, it becomes clear that Allah the Exalted does not negate anything from Himself except for the perfection of the opposite of this negated thing, not because He is not capable of it or not suitable for it in His case, or the like of that from the rational aspect.
[Ghafir 40:31] So we benefit from this the negation of the intention of injustice from Allah due to the perfection of His justice.
and those after them
والذين من بعدهمAmong the benefits of this noble verse is the negation of the intention of injustice from Allah the Exalted, as He said:
and Allah wants no injustice
وما الله يريد ظلماMoreover, in other verses He negated injustice itself, saying:
And your Lord does injustice to no one.
ولا يظلم ربك أحداAnd your Lord is not ever unjust to [His] servants.
وما ربك بظلام للعبيدThe word will not be changed with Me, and never will I be unjust to the servants."
ما يبدل القول لدي وما أنا بظلام للعبيدThis attribute is among the attributes they call the negative attributes or the negated attributes. We have a rule in the chapter of Names and Attributes that pure negation does not exist in the attributes of Allah, ever. Every negation in the attributes of Allah includes two things:
First: the negation of what is negated from Allah. Second: the affirmation of the perfection of its opposite. So it is said: “He does not wrong because of the perfection of His justice,” or if you wish, say: “Because of the perfection of His justice, He does not wrong.” Because if His justice were not perfect, He might wrong in some matters. But the Lord, Exalted is He, has perfect justice, and injustice cannot enter into it in any way.
Is this injustice negated from Allah due to the perfection of justice impossible in its essence, or is it permissible but impossible for Allah the Exalted due to His perfection? It is the latter, contrary to the Jahmiyyah who said that injustice is impossible for Allah in its essence, in the essence of injustice. Because if it were impossible in its essence, it would not be praise. One does not praise someone for what is impossible for him, because it is impossible. They say it is impossible in its essence because all creation is His property, and He does what He wills in His property. And whoever acts in his property is not called a wrongdoer, even if he prioritizes one thing over another or diminishes something from its right. But we say that Allah the Exalted explicitly stated that He has forbidden injustice for Himself. This indicates that injustice is rationally possible in His case, but He has forbidden it for Himself due to the perfection of His justice.
In summary, one of the rules of the Names and Attributes is that pure negation does not exist in the attributes of Allah. Rather, there is no negation in the attributes of Allah except for the perfection of its opposite:
And We did certainly create the heavens and earth and what is between them in six days, and there touched Us no weariness.
ولقد خلقنا السماوات والأرض وما بينهما في ستة أيام وما مسنا من لغوبThe scholars said: We say this because pure negation is pure non-existence, correct? If you negate something, it means it does not exist. And pure non-existence is nothing, let alone being praise, because it is non-existence, and non-existence is not praised.
Or the negation may include an affirmation. This affirmation may be weakness. For example, if we say: “So-and-so does not wrong because he is not capable of wrongdoing,” this does not mean we have praised him. Rather, this is a blame of him, as the poet said:
A tribe that does not betray a pledge, nor wrong people by a mustard seed
The first thing you hear this, you say: What Allah willed, these are faithful people with justice. But in reality, it is a blame. It says that none of them is capable of betraying, nor capable of wronging. And the second says:
But my people, though they are numerous, are not of evil in any way, even if we are humiliated
They repay the injustice of the unjust with forgiveness, and the ill-treatment of the wicked with kindness
Meaning that if a person ill-treats them, they treat him kindly, and if he wrongs them, they forgive him and overlook it. But is this due to the perfection of their kindness and the perfection of their forgiveness, or due to their weakness? Due to their weakness. For this reason, he said:
I wish I had a people who, when they mount, launch raids on horseback and on foot
“I wish I had” means: instead of them. And this indicates that he blamed them greatly.
The negation may be due to the unsuitability of this description for what is negated from them. The negation of a thing from a thing may be because it is not capable and not suitable to be described with it. As if I said: “The wall does not wrong.” Is this praise for the wall? No, because it is not capable and not suitable for injustice or non-injustice. Thus, it becomes clear that Allah the Exalted does not negate anything from Himself except for the perfection of the opposite of this negated thing, not because He is not capable of it or not suitable for it in His case, or the like of that from the rational aspect.