knowledge—He upholds justice. There is no deity worthy of worship except Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

He Most High also says:

“Indeed, Allah does not wrong anyone even by an atom’s weight; and if there is a good deed, He multiplies it.”

And He Most High says:

“And He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware.”

The entire Muslim community agrees upon all this in general, without detailed explanation. Once it is explained in detail, however, they disagree.

The issue concerns these corrupt deeds and pains—evil that actually exists and affects living creatures. Such evil must be either a deed or a pain experienced by a living creature. The evil of such a reprehensible deed or pain lies in the harm it causes.

Regarding these deeds and this suffering, the Mu‘tazilah and their followers among the Shia claim that these deeds are not His creation, nor did He bring them into being. They also maintain that He may not inflict pain except as recompense for a previous deed or with compensation through some subsequent benefit. Many of the affirmationists and the determinists who follow them, however, say: Rather, He created all of it; He does whatever He wills and decrees whatever He wishes. With respect to Him, there is no distinction between creating harms and benefits, or good and evil.

The latter say that it is utterly inconceivable for Him to act unjustly or foolishly. Rather, if it were supposed that He did anything whatsoever, His doing it would be wise, just, and good, since nothing is reprehensible except what He has forbidden, and no one has forbidden Him anything. They place granting creatures bliss and tormenting them on the same footing, as they do punishing one who does good and raising the ranks of disbelievers and hypocrites.

Both groups agree that He neither benefits from His servants’ acts of obedience nor suffers harm from their disobedience.