In all such instances—and in others like them—evil is likewise ascribed to the non-existence that is attributable to the servant himself. Thus the saying of Abraham is realized: “And when I fall ill, He is the One who cures me” (26:80). For illness, though it is a tangible pain, stems from a weakening of one’s powers and the disappearance of sound health; that deficiency belongs to the human being and proceeds from what is lacking in him.

In the same vein the Almighty’s word is fulfilled: “Whatever misfortune befalls you is from yourselves” (4:79), and His word: “When you asked, ‘Whence is this?’ say, ‘It is from yourselves’” (3:165), and the like—regarding everything whose cause is the abandonment of an obligation. The Companion expressed the same meaning when he said, “If I am correct it is from Allah, and if I am mistaken it is from me and from Satan.”

This makes clear that every prohibited act—whether disbelief, defiance, or disobedience—is committed by the servant only because of his ignorance or his need. For if he were aware of its harm and free of all need for it, he would refrain. Ignorance, at its root, is a form of non-existence, and need likewise originates in a deficiency.

The root cause of a person’s misdeeds, then, is the absence of knowledge and sufficiency; for this reason the Quran says, “They were unable to listen” (11:20) and, “Did you not…"