The response to the suspicion that whatever bad thing has befallen you is from yourself

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Some enemies of Islam claim that in Surat An-Nisa there is a contradiction between verse 78 and the verse that follows it directly, which is verse 79. Now let us look at the two verses and see if there is really a contradiction in them or not.

An-Nisa (verse 78): Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you were in lofty towers. And if good befalls them, they say, “This is from Allah,” but if evil befalls them, they say, “This is from you.” Say, “All is from Allah.” So what is the matter with these people that they can hardly understand speech?

An-Nisa (verse 79): Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself. And We have sent you to mankind as a messenger, and sufficient is Allah as a witness.

The objector says that according to verse 78, the befalling of good and evil is from Allah and not from Muhammad, but the verse that follows it, verse 79, the evil is from Muhammad and not from Allah. How is this?

In response, we say
that the objector misunderstood the two verses, and if he had looked closely at them, he would have found that the second verse explains the first.

Note: If you use the word (calamity) to refer to the wordbad) that is present in the verses that are the subject of doubt, this will be to simplify the explanation for the reader, but in reality there is a difference between the word(bad)and the word (calamity)in the Holy Quran.Bad is something that befalls the sinner only as a punishment for him,while calamity befalls the sinner and the believer, such as the calamity of death or the calamity of a loss of wealthas a trial and a law of life.This is evidence of the precision of the Quranic words.
We begin with the blessing of God,as we said previously,

that the second verse explains the first verse as follows:

In the first verse, the accusation of the disbelievers against the Messenger (PBUH) appears, that he is the reason for their suffering from harm and bad things, and that these matters were not caused by God, but rather caused by the curse of his claim to prophethood. This is their accusation against him. So the response from God to this accusation came in two points.

The first point: It is in the first verse, and it shows that everything is from God, that is, by the will and desire of God, so there is no other will that triumphs over the will of God or another will that opposes the will of God, but rather everything is by His will and desire, and just as God afflicts them with good, He is also the One who afflicts them with evil, and there is no one other than God who afflicts them with evil (like the god of evil among the Greeks and the Greeks and the Persians who would strike them with calamities if he was angry with them, and the god of good would wrestle with him in order to save them from his calamities, as they believed). This is what is meant by his saying in the first verse: Say: All is from God. As for the second point, it is in the second verse, and it shows the reasons for the will and desire of God when He afflicts with good, and the reasons and desire of God when He afflicts with evil, and who is afflicted with evil.



The second verse says that if a good deed befalls a person, it is from God, meaning that He is the One who befalls the person and causes it out of His mercy and His gift without compensation to the person because it may be necessary for the person to survive on earth or to preserve his life, such as food and drink, without which a person cannot live, as well as the blessings of God that a person cannot do without, and God befalls all people with them regardless of their faith, out of His mercy for them. All the good deeds that befall a person are from God and by His grace and mercy without compensation.
However, if a bad deed befalls a person, it is from that person, meaning because of a bad deed done by that person upon whom the bad deed befell, and not because of the actions of other people. God here shows that the bad deed befalls the person who did the bad deed only and not the people around him. This is consistent with what is stated in more than one place in the Qur’an, such as (And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another) Al-An’am 164 and also (And We have made every person to have his own flight in the Hereafter ). His neck) Al-Israa 13
Therefore, God said in the second verse, addressing the Messenger and also mankind: “ And whatever evil befalls you is from yourself, ” meaning that whoever is afflicted with evil is because of himself, not because of others. If you were the cause, O Muhammad, as they claim, then the evil would have befallen you alone, but the evil befell them, so they falsely accused you of being the cause of their being afflicted with evil. Here, He responds to the disbelievers that the reason for their being afflicted with evil is because of themselves, not because of a bad deed by another soul. Consequently, any bad deed they committed to be afflicted with evil is other than their denial of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH).
If the second verse did not exist, they would have said that God afflicts a person with his good and another with his evil without standards and improvised (God forbid). Therefore, the second verse came to clarify why God afflicts a person with evil and who is afflicted with evil. This means that evil is from God by creating it and sending it down upon a person and afflicting him with it and by His will and desire. There is no other power or god that afflicts a person with evil. And from the human soul with his sins, so the sin is a reason for God to afflict this person and not others with evil,



and here is an example of that, which is the entry of the disbelievers into the fire,
so we can say that God is the one who entered them into the fire from the aspect of entering Himself, as He is the one who ordered His angels to drive the disbelievers into the fire,
and we can also say that the disbelievers entered themselves into the fire from the aspect that they caused their entry into the fire because of their actions, sins and disbelief,

and another exampleis a person falling into adultery and then after that he is afflicted with a disease as a result of that, so
we can say that this disease came from God,meaning God is the one who sent this disease to him to be afflicted with it,
and we can also say that this disease came from the person’s soul,meaning the person’s soul is the one that caused this disease to come because of falling into the sin,and God mentioned the word “soul” and He is speaking about the one who causes the occurrence of the bad thing because the soul is the reason for the person falling into sin or the person turning away from sin, and therefore God said, speaking about the human soul in Surat Ash-Shams: “

And the soul and what proportioned it ” (7). ( 8 ) He has succeeded who purifies it ( 9 ) and he has failed who instills it with corruption (10). As for the word “al-‘andiyyah,” it is used to refer to the one who brought about the good or bad thing upon the person, which is God .
The verses under suspicion can be read in light of the previous statement as follows: “ If something good befalls them, they say, ‘This is from God.’” That is, if something good befalls them, they say, “God has afflicted us with this good because of our deeds .” “If something bad befalls them , they say, ‘This is from you.’ ” That is, if something bad befalls them, they say, “Your claim to prophethood has afflicted us with this evil because of the lie of your claim .” “Say, ‘All is from God.’” That is, say, “God is the One who afflicts people with good, and He is the One who afflicts people with evil, and nothing else afflicts people with good or evil. Whatever good befalls you is from God. Whatever good befalls you is because of God, not because of you. Whatever evil befalls you is from yourself . “ Whatever evil befalls you is because of you, as a punishment for a sin.” Abu Ja`far said: He - may His praise be exalted - means by His saying: Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself. Whatever befalls you , O Muhammad, of ease, blessings , well-being and safety is from Allah’s grace upon you, which He bestows upon you as a favor from Him to you. As for His saying: Whatever evil befalls you is from yourself , it means: Whatever hardship, difficulty, harm and misfortune befalls you, “from yourself ” means: because of a sin for which you deserved it, which your soul earned , as: - Muhammad ibn al-Husayn told us: Ahmad ibn al-Mufaddal told us: Asbat told us, on the authority of al-Suddi : Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself . As for “from yourself, ” he means: because of your sin.- Bishr ibn Mu`adh told us: Yazid told us: Sa`id told us, on the authority of Qatadah: Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself : a punishment, O son of Adam, for your sin. He said: It was mentioned to us that the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say: No man is afflicted with the scratch of a stick, nor a stumble of a foot, nor a twitch of a vein except for a sin. Al-Qurtubi’s interpretation ofthe words of Allah the Almighty:That is, whatever befalls you, O Muhammad, of fertility, prosperity, health, and safety is due to Allah’s grace and kindness to you. And whatever drought and hardship befalls you is due to a sin you committed for which you were punished. The address is to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and what is meant is his nation. That is, whatever befalls you, O people, of fertility and abundance of provision is from Allah’s grace upon you. And whatever drought and hardship befalls you is from yourselves; that is, it was because of your sins that this befell you.Al-Baghawi’s interpretation ofthe words of Allah the Almighty: ( Whatever good befalls you ) good and blessing ( is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you)















) A calamity or a matter that you dislike, ( is from yourself ) meaning: because of your sins, and the address is to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, but what is meant is someone else.
If it is said, how can we reconcile between His statement ( Say: All is from God) and His statement ( is from yourself ), it is said: His statement ( Say: All is from God ) meaning: fertility and drought, victory and defeat are all from God, and His statement: ( is from yourself ) meaning: whatever bad thing befalls you from God is because of your own sin as a punishment for you, as God Almighty said: And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned (Ash-Shura: 30) Tafsir Ibn Kathir ( And if good befalls them ) He said: And good is fertility, their horses, livestock and cattle produce offspring, and their women give birth to good boys, they say: ( This is from God), and if evil befalls them ) and evil is drought and harm to their wealth, they took a bad omen from Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and said: ( This is from you ) they say: Because of our abandoning and following Muhammad, this calamity befell us, so God Almighty revealed And the Almighty said: ( Say: All is from Allah ) meaning, all are by the decree and predestination of Allah, and it is effective for the righteous and the wicked, the believer and the disbeliever. Then - addressing - the Messenger [peace be upon him] - meaning the human race, so that the answer may be obtained: ( Whatever good befalls you is from Allah ) meaning: from the grace, favor, kindness and mercy of Allah ( and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself ) meaning: from before you, and from your own deeds, as : ( And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned. But He pardons much ) Tafsir Ibn Ashur. As for His statement: Whatever good befalls you is from Allah and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself, the word “from” was not used in it, indicating that the beginning of the coming of the good is from Allah, and the coming of the evil is from the person being addressed, the beginning of the causer of the action, and not the beginning of the influencer of the effect. And His statement, “ And We have sent you to mankind as a messenger” is in apposition to His statement, “ Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself,” in response to their statement, “The evil is from Muhammad,” meaning that you were sent as a conveyor of the Shari’ah and a guide, and you have no influence on events. Ibn Yusuf al-Andalusi’s interpretation of the meaning is that if these hypocrites are afflicted with good, they attribute it to Allah, the Most High, and that it is not due to following the Messenger or believing in him. And if evil befalls them, they attribute it to the Messenger and say, “It is because of him.” ( Say, “ All is from Allah ”) Allah commanded His Prophet to inform them that both good and evil are from Allah, there is no Creator or Inventor other than Him. So the matter is not as you claim; Allah alone is the One who benefits and harms, and all beings issue from His will. ( Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself ) The address is general; as if it was said, “What befell you, O human being?” And it was said to the Messenger, but what is meant is someone else. The meaning of the verse is that God Almighty informed us, by way of renewal and certainty, that the good is from Him by His grace, and the bad is from man by his sins, and from God by creation and invention













. So the conclusion
is that God explains that everything, whether good or bad, By the will and desire of God, and good is from God and is caused by God without compensation out of His mercy for the human being, and evil is from God because of the human being who committed the evil deed and it afflicts the human being who committed the evil deed himself without afflicting those around him, and it is not as the infidels believe that evil is not from God and is caused by the one who does the evil and afflicts those around the one who did the evil deed.