Thus, his commission of evil deeds is rooted in a lack of knowledge and freedom from need. Hence Allah says in the Quran:

“They were unable to hear.”

“Did you not, then, use reason?”

“Indeed, they found their fathers astray.”

“So they hasten in their footsteps.”

And there are other passages conveying similar meanings.

As for something existent that causes a particular existing evil, such as pain, examples include forbidden acts: disbelief consisting in denial or arrogance, wickedness consisting in committing prohibited acts, and the like. These cause blame and punishment. The same applies to consuming harmful foods and to strenuous movements that cause pain. Such existence cannot be complete and unalloyed, for complete, unalloyed existence produces nothing but good, just as we have said that sheer nonexistence cannot give rise to anything existent. Rather, it must be deficient existence, whether the deficiency lies in the cause or in its subject. Thus, denial may be caused by a failure to recognize and acknowledge the truth. The absence of this knowledge and acknowledgment is caused by the absence of their means: thorough reflection and attentive listening to the signs and evidences of the truth.

The absence of reflection and listening is caused either by the absence of an impelling cause—in which case it is sheer nonexistence—or by the presence of an obstacle in the soul, such as pride or envy:

“And Allah does not love anyone who is conceited and boastful.”

This is a false conception, caused by the soul’s lack of sufficiency in the truth, for which it substitutes false imaginings.