Allah, saying, “…or whether their Lord intends for them guidance.” But when they mentioned evil they said, “…whether evil is intended,” never, “whether Allah intends evil,” even though Allah does will both good and evil. The point is that the evil Allah wills is not evil in His action; rather, it is evil only in its effects. As for Allah’s own act, there is no doubt that it is good, yet He decrees evil for the sake of a higher good and a wisdom He alone knows.

The upshot is that a person ought to exercise refinement in phrasing without undermining the meaning. It is related that a certain king once saw in a dream that all his teeth had fallen out. Troubled, he summoned his dream-interpreters. One of them said, “Your courtiers and your family will all die.” The king panicked and disliked this explanation, so he ordered the man to be flogged. He then called for another interpreter and asked him about the dream. This man said, “Your Majesty will be the longest-lived of your household.” The meaning was exactly the same, yet the king honored him and rewarded him, for wording carries great weight. For this reason the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “And if it is otherwise, then it is a burden you will have lifted from your necks.”

He then cited the hadith of Abu Saʿid al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him: when a man dies and his bier is lifted, if he was righteous it says, “Take me forward, take me forward!”—in a voice audible to everything except human beings, who do not hear it.