and if He wills to turn it astray, He turns it astray.’”
Concerning His saying, “And We leave them wandering blindly in their transgression,” Ibn ‘Abbās said: “I forsake them and leave them to persist in their misguidance.”
As for making things seem fair, He says:
35:8 “What of one whose evil deeds have been made appealing to him, so that he considers them good? Indeed, Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills.”
He also says:
6:43 “And Satan made what they were doing seem appealing to them.”
Making things seem fair is attributed to Him, glorified be He, in terms of His creation and will. At times He leaves its agent unnamed; at others He attributes it to its immediate cause and to the one through whom He brings it about.
This making things seem fair is good when it comes from Him, glorified be He, for it is a trial and a test for His servants, distinguishing the obedient from the disobedient and the believer from the disbeliever. As He, Most High, says:
18:7 “Indeed, We have made whatever is on the earth an adornment for it, to test them as to which of them is best in deeds.”
When it comes from Satan, however, it is evil.
Moreover, when He, glorified be He, makes a servant’s evil deeds seem appealing to him, this is a punishment for turning away from worshipping Him alone and serving Him, and for preferring evil deeds to good ones. For He, glorified be He, certainly makes the distinction between evil and good known to him. Then, if he prefers what is evil, chooses it, loves it, and is content with it for himself, He makes it seem appealing to him and blinds him to its ugliness after he had recognized it as ugly. Allah, Most High, invariably shows every wrongdoer, every wicked person, and every defiantly disobedient person the ugliness of his wrongdoing, wickedness, and disobedience. If he persists in it, his heart loses sight of its ugliness. He may then come to see it as good, as a punishment for him. Its ugliness is only disclosed to him through the light in his heart, which is Allah’s proof against him. When he persists in his error and wrongdoing, that light departs, and he no longer sees its ugliness amid the darkness of ignorance, disobedience, and wrongdoing. Even so, Allah’s proof against him remains established through the message conveyed by His messengers and through his initial awareness.
Thus, the Lord’s making things seem fair is justice, and His punishment is wisdom, whereas Satan’s making things seem fair is misguidance