Praise be to Allaah.
Praise be to Allaah Who is praised in all languages,
worshipped at all times, Whose knowledge encompasses all places, and Whose
attention is never distracted from anything. Glorified be He above having
any peer or rival, and exalted be He above having any wife or child. His
ruling applies to all His slaves.
“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All‑Hearer, the
All‑Seer”
[al-Shoora 42:11 – interpretation of the meaning]
And blessings and peace
be upon the one who was sent as a mercy to the worlds and as proof for all
of mankind. He conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust, and strove for
the sake of Allaah in the truest sense, until he left us with a clear path
whose night is as clear as its day, and no one deviates from it but he is
doomed…
We must note that anyone who believes in the existence of
Allaah and that He is the Lord and Creator, even if this believer in the
existence of Allaah is not a Muslim, knows that this Lord is distinct from
His creation in all aspects. There is no room for likening or comparing Him
to His creation. Hence Allaah says:
“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All‑Hearer, the
All‑Seer”
[al-Shoora 42:11 – interpretation of the meaning]
If the owner of an item in this world can dispose of it
however he wishes without any person bringing him to account for that
because it is his property, then Allaah the Creator – like unto Whom there
is none – may dispose of His “property” however He wills. We Muslims have
certain faith that our Lord Who created us has the utmost wisdom which
cannot suffer the slightest shortcoming whatsoever. Rather everyone who
believes in the existence of the Lord and accepts Him as his Lord must
believe this, otherwise he is believing in an imperfect Lord, and the one
who has the least reason and faith knows that there can be no Lord Who is
not perfect in every sense and far removed from any imperfection. Otherwise
he is not a Lord in any real sense. We in turn, because we are part of the
creation of Allaah, cannot comprehend any part of His wisdom unless He tells
us of it. What He has taught of the reasons behind His actions, we
understand and accept; what He has concealed from us and kept the knowledge
thereof to Himself, we believe in it and we know that He does not do
anything unless there is great wisdom behind it, because He is the All-Wise
and All-Knowing. It should never, under any circumstances, cross our minds
to think that we can bring Him to account for what He does in His dominion
and creation, otherwise we will be transgressing upon the preserve of
Lordship and overstepping the mark, if we claim that we can know what He
knows. No one can utter such words except a heretic who does not believe in
the existence of a Lord in the first place. We seek refuge with Allaah from
that.
If we accept the words of human specialists when they are
dealing with their specialties, and we do not argue with them – such as
doctors, engineers, etc. – because our educational level does not enable us
to understand everything that they know, then it is even more appropriate
that we should accept that however the All-Knowing, from Whose knowledge
nothing is hidden, deals with the affairs of His creation is undoubtedly
correct and wise.
We humans sometimes think that it is wise to do some things
that we dislike, because there is some benefit in that for us, and if we did
not do them we would be accused of being lacking in wisdom and reason. For
example, if a person is sick and there is the fear that he may die, but it
is known that he may be cured – by Allaah’s leave – if he takes a certain
medicine, then the wise thing for him to do is to take that medicine even if
it is bitter; if he fails to take it, that is regarded as a shortcoming and
lack of reason on his part. There are many things that we do in life that we
dislike, because of the benefits that they bring to us.
For Allaah is the highest description (cf. al-Nahl 16:60),
and there is no way that He can be compared to His creation. He allows some
things to happen in His dominion that He hates, because they serve a greater
wisdom which we, or most of us, cannot comprehend. Some of His wisdom may
become clear to us, and that is by the mercy of Allaah towards His believing
slaves, as He shows them some of His wisdom in this world so that they might
find peace of mind. For example, if we want to ask about the reasons for
something we could understand, such as why Allaah creates a child then
causes him to die, perhaps if that child lived he would have committed major
sins such as those that doom a person to Hell, and that would have condemned
him to remain in Hell for eternity, or for a very long time, or he may have
caused others such as his parents to deviate from the path of Allaah – as
mentioned in the story of the boy whom al-Khidr killed, as told in the story
of al-Khidr and Moosa in Soorat al-Kahf.
Alternatively, if this child lives he may face such
difficulties that in his case death is a mercy from Allaah.
Moreover, if Allaah creates him handicapped, perhaps this
handicap will prevent him from committing many sins which, if he did them,
would lead to his being punished on the Day of Resurrection.
Not every sickness or handicap is necessarily a punishment;
rather it may be a test for the child’s parents, by which Allaah will
expiate for their bad deeds, or raise their status in Paradise if they bear
this trial with patience. Then if the child grows up, the test will also
include him, and if he bears it with patience and faith, then Allaah has
prepared for the patient a reward that cannot be enumerated. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Only those who are
patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning” [al-Zumar
39:10]
For us Muslims, life does not end when we die, rather we
believe that beyond death there is Paradise and Hell, in which is true
life. Those who did good will find the reward for the good deeds that they
did in this world, waiting for them with Allaah, and those who did evil will
find the punishment for their evil deeds waiting for them. Good and evil
cannot be equal, and the patience of the one who was tested and bore it with
patience will not be wasted with Allaah. Indeed, those who were not tested
in this world may wish that they had suffered similar calamities when they
see the high status attained by those who bore calamities with patience.
There is a great deal of evidence to this effect in the Qur’aan and Sunnah,
for example:
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And certainly, We shall
test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits,
but give glad tidings to As‑ Saabiroon (the patient)” [al-Baqarah 2:155]
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for all of
it is good, and that applies to no one except the believer. If something
good happens to him he gives thanks, and that is good for him, and if
something bad befalls him he bears it with patience, and that is good for
him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999).
From this it should be clear to you that the calamities that
befall those who seem to us to be innocent, and indeed happen to all people,
are not necessarily a punishment, rather they may be mercy from Allaah, but
our minds and reason are imperfect and are often unable to understand the
wisdom of Allaah in such matters. Either we believe that Allaah is more just
than us, and more wise, and more merciful towards His creation, so we submit
to Him and accept (His will), whilst also acknowledging our inability to
understand the true nature of our own selves; or we boast of our imperfect
reason and feel proud of our weak selves and insist on calling Allaah to
account and objecting to His decree. Such thoughts can never cross the mind
of anyone who believes in the existence of a wise Lord, Creator and
Sovereign Who is perfect in all ways.
If we do that then we have exposed ourselves to the wrath and
vengeance of Allaah, but nothing can ever harm Allaah.
Allaah drew attention to this when He said (interpretation of
the meaning):
“He cannot be questioned
as to what He does, while they will be questioned” [al-Anbiya’ 21:23]
A sign of man’s weakness and shortsightedness, is that he
focuses on the calamities without paying any attention to the benefits they
may bring, and not looking at other blessings that he enjoys and sees around
him. For Allaah has blessed mankind in ways that do not compare with the
calamities that may befall them. If there was a man who does a lot of good
but occasionally does not do good, then forgetting the good things that he
does would be regarded as ingratitude and denial. So how about when this is
our attitude towards Allaah, to Whom belongs the highest description, and
all of Whose dealings with His creation are good and cannot be bad in any
way?
Moreover, the Prophets and Messengers are the most beloved
of creation to Allaah, yet despite that they are the most severely tested of
mankind and suffer the most calamities – why? It is not a punishment for
them and it is not because of their insignificance before their Lord. Rather
it is because Allaah loves them and has stored for them a perfect reward
which they will enjoy in Paradise, and He has decreed that these calamities
should befall them so that He might raise them in status. He does whatever
He wills, however He wills, whenever He wills; none can put back His
judgement, none can repel His command and He is All-Wise, All-Knowing. And
Allaah is Most High, Most Knowledgeable and Most Wise.
Note: with regard to what you say about your female friend,
it should be noted that it is haraam to establish an illegitimate
relationship between a man and a woman. For more information on this
important topic please see the fatwas under questions 9465 and 1200 on this site.
