Then “those who affirm divine decree” cite His saying, “All is from Allah,” as evidence, but their argument is countered by His saying:

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

“Those who deny divine decree” cite this second verse as evidence, although they are mistaken in doing so, for their doctrine is that the servant creates all his own deeds. Their argument is countered by His saying, “All is from Allah.”

Both groups have erred because, as mentioned above, they assume that good and evil here mean acts of obedience and disobedience. Rather, good and evil in this verse mean blessings and calamities, as in His saying, Most High:

“We tested them with good and evil, so that they might return.”

And His saying, Most High:

“When good came their way, they said, ‘This is our due.’ But if evil befell them, they regarded Moses and those with him as an evil omen.”

And His saying, Most High:

“If good comes your way, it grieves them; but if evil befalls you, they rejoice in it.”

And His saying, Most High:

“And protect them from evils.”

There are many other such examples.

In this verse, Allah censures the hypocrites who shrink from what He has commanded, whether fighting in His cause or anything else. When they receive provision, victory and well-being, they say, “This is from Allah.” But when poverty, humiliation and illness befall them, they say, “This is from you”—O Muhammad—because of the religion you have commanded us to follow. This is like what Pharaoh’s people said to Moses, as Allah Most High relates:

“When good came their way, they said, ‘This is our due.’ But if evil befell them, they regarded Moses and those with him as an evil omen.”

Likewise, the disbelievers said to the messengers of Jesus:

“We regard you as an evil omen.”

Thus, when calamities befall the disbelievers and hypocrites because of their sins, they regard the believers as an evil omen. It was therefore made clear