Explanation of the author's statement: The saying of Allah the Exalted: "And if Allah should touch you with harm, there is no remover of it but He" (the verse).

The Shaykh : "La" is a negator of the genus, its subject is "remover," and its predicate is "for it." "Illa" is a substitute, and if we say it is permissible for its predicate to be a definite noun, then its predicate is "He." This means that no one can ever remove it if Allah touches you with harm, except Allah. This is like the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Here it says "if He should turn you," and regarding harm it says: Is this a matter of variety in expression, as they say that eloquence in speech lies in not repeating words that have the same meaning, or do we say that there is a semantic difference?
The student: A semantic difference.

The Shaykh : What is it? What is the semantic difference? Yes.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, you did well, but you did not hit the mark. Yes.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ... the will for good ... it was more eloquent ... because Allah is more merciful than to make evil ... as for good, this is the apparent difference between the two expressions.

The Shaykh : ... the answer to the condition, ... the predicate and the subject.
The student: A difference between the two expressions, as you said.

The Shaykh : I did not say that. Yes.
The student: The harm is like ... as for the good, it means ... so when it comes ...

The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Okay, no, my intention is: why was harm expressed with "touching" and good with "will"?
The student: It is this ... .

The Shaykh : We have not passed by the fact that disliked things are not attributed to the will of Allah; they are attributed to His action, not to His will. And "touching" is from the actions of Allah, and the harm that touched the person is from His created things; harm is from His created things. So He does not will harm, Glorified and Exalted is He. He does not will harm in the sense that if He afflicts a person with harm, He does not will the harm itself, but He wills what is behind it of profound wisdoms. As for good, it is willed by Allah and is an action for His sake. Did you understand the difference now? Is it clear, or shall I clarify it further? If Allah wills, I will say that harm is not willed by Allah in the sense that Allah did not will to harm His servants. Even if harm occurs from His management, why? Because this harm that occurred—what is it intended for? What is intended is what is behind it of profound wisdoms, which are good and a place of praise for Allah, Mighty and Majestic. As for good, it is willed for its own sake. For this reason He said: As for harm, it is not willed for its own sake with regard to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason it was not expressed with "will." This is similar to what is in the Surah of the Jinn: For example, if a person is afflicted with a disease, did Allah intend harm for this sick person, or not? No, He did not intend harm. He intended the disease, which harms him, but He did not intend its harm; rather, He intended a good behind that disease that results from a profound wisdom. The wisdom may be apparent in the afflicted person himself, or it may be apparent in others as well. So the important thing is that we must not be rigid regarding the wisdom of Allah, because it is broader than our minds. But we know with certainty that Allah the Exalted does not will harm as harm. So harm with Allah is not willed for its own sake, but is willed for something else, and nothing but good results from it. As for good, it is willed for its own sake. And Allah knows best what He intended in His speech. But this is what is clear to me. He said: No one can ever repel the favor of Allah. Even if the entire community gathered to repel the favor of Allah, they would not be able to repel it. This is impossible. O Allah, there is no blocker of what You have given, and no giver of what You have withheld. And the favor of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, no one can repel. And if we believe in this faith, it means that we rely on whom? On Allah alone in supplication, in bringing benefits and repelling harms, and that we rely on Him for the preservation of what He has bestowed upon us. And that we know that no matter how much the community reaches in plotting, scheming, and tricks to prevent the favor of Allah, they cannot prevent it. For this reason He said: Then He said: "He strikes with it"—with what? With the good that He willed, or with His favor? Here is a point, my brothers: the pronoun either refers to "favor" or refers to "good." It refers to "good" because it is the topic of discussion, and it refers to "favor" because it is the nearest. "He strikes with it" means with the good, after He wills it, He strikes with it whom He wills, or with the favor, whom He wills of His servants. And His saying: "whom He wills"—do not let it escape your minds what we have established many times: that every action qualified by the will is also qualified by wisdom. Because the will of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is not a bare will where He does what He wills merely because He does it, but it is for a wisdom. Everything in the Qur'an that is qualified by the will, know that it is accompanied by wisdom, because among the attributes of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is that He is the Wise, one of His names is the Wise, and He is the Possessor of profound wisdom. "He strikes with it whom He wills of His servants." And His saying: Is the servitude here general or specific? It appears to be general, because His saying: "with good" includes the good of this world and the Hereafter. And the good of this world comes to disbelievers. The good of this world strikes disbelievers, such as provision, health, and the like.
And His saying: "The Forgiver" means from forgiveness, and forgiveness is covering the sin and passing over it. "The Merciful" means the Possessor of mercy, which is an attribute established for Allah, Glorified and Exalted, that necessitates kindness and bestowing blessings. The point of this verse is His saying: And Allah has forbidden His Prophet to invoke anyone other than Him besides Him, because they do not benefit and do not harm.