with the Prophet’s saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“Evil is not attributable to You”?” (1)

The answer is that evil is not attributed to Allah, Most High, because whatever He decrees, even if it is evil, is good. This is unlike anyone other than Allah, who may bring about evil for sheer evil. A person may wrongfully attack your property, your body, or your family, intending evil and harm to you rather than your benefit; in that case, his action is pure evil.

His saying, “what You have decreed,” affirms that decree belongs to Allah.

Allah’s decree is of two kinds: legislative and creational.

The legislative decree is such as His saying, Most High:

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him.” [Surat al-Isra: 23]

The creational decree is such as His saying, Most High:

“And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture: ‘You will surely spread corruption in the land twice, and you will surely rise to great haughtiness.’” [Surat al-Isra]

There are two differences between them:

First: the creational decree must inevitably come to pass, whereas the legislative decree may or may not be carried out by the one to whom it applies.

Second: the legislative decree concerns only that which Allah loves, whether He loves it to be done or loves it to be left undone. The creational decree, however, may concern what He loves as well as what He does not love.

His saying, “what You have decreed,” encompasses whatever He has decreed of good and evil.