so the name “the Withholder” is not used apart from its counterpart, nor “the Bringer of Harm” apart from its counterpart, because pairing them conveys an all-encompassing meaning. Every instance of mercy, benefit and welfare in existence comes from His bounty, Most High, while everything else comes from His justice. Every blessing from Him is bounty, and every affliction from Him is justice. As reported in the two Sahīh collections, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“Allah’s right hand is full, undiminished by expenditure, pouring forth night and day. Have you considered what He has spent since He created the heavens and the earth? It has not diminished what is in His right hand. In His other hand is justice; He lowers and raises.”

He thus explained that His right hand holds kindness towards creation, while His other hand holds justice and the balance by which He lowers and raises. His lowering and raising proceed from His justice, and His kindness towards His creation proceeds from His bounty.

As for leaving the agent unmentioned, an example is the statement of the jinn:

“And we do not know whether evil is intended for those on earth, or whether their Lord intends right guidance for them.”

Another is His saying, Most High, in Sūrat al-Fātihah:

“The path of those You have blessed, not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.”

There are other similar examples.

As for attributing evil to its cause, an example is His saying:

“From the evil of what He has created.”

Another is His saying:

“So I intended to damage it,”

in contrast with His saying:

“So your Lord intended that they should reach maturity and bring forth their treasure.”

And His saying, Most High:

“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.”

And His saying:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves.”

And His saying, Most High:

“Why, when a calamity befell you, although you had inflicted twice as much, did you say, ‘Where has this come from?’ Say, ‘It is from yourselves.’”

There are many similar examples.