16
to the truth concerning that over which they had differed, by His permission; and Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path.⦗1⦘
(1) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya states that in the Qur’an and the Sunnah evil is ascribed to Allah only in three ways:
1. By way of a general affirmation, as in: “Allah is the Creator of all things” (39:62).
2. By linking the evil to its proximate cause, as in: “from the evil of what He created” (113:2).
3. By omitting the agent altogether, as in the words of the jinn: “We do not know whether evil has been intended for those on earth or whether their Lord intends for them what is right” (72:10).
He then remarks: “For this reason, none of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah conveys any sense of evil; rather, evil is mentioned only with respect to His actions,” citing, for example, “Inform My servants that I am indeed the All-Forgiving, the Ever-Merciful, and that My punishment is the painful punishment” (15:49-50) and “Indeed, your Lord is swift in punishment, yet He is surely Forgiving, Merciful” (6:165). See Majmuʿ al-Fatawa, 8:94-96.
الحق لما اختلفوا فيه بإذنه، والله يهدي من يشاء إلى صراط مستقيم١.
١ ذكر شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية ﵀ أنَّ الشر لم يضف إلى الله في الكتاب والسنة إلا على أحد وجوه ثلاثة:
١- إما بطريق العموم؟ كقوله: ﴿اللَّه خالق كل شيء﴾ .
٢- وإما بطريقة إضافته إلى السبب، كقوله: ﴿من شر ما خلق﴾ .
٣- وإما بحذف فاعله كقوله عن الجن: ﴿وَأَنَّا لا نَدْرِي أَشَرٌّ أُرِيدَ بِمَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ أَمْ أَرَادَ بِهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ رَشَداً﴾ ثم قال: "ولهذا ليس من أسماء اللَّه الحسنى اسم يتضمن الشر، وإنما يذكر الشر في مفعولاته؛ كقوله: ﴿نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الأَلِيمُ﴾ وقوله: ﴿إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَسَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ﴾ ، انظر الفتاوى (٨/ ٩٤- ٩٦) .