Is it not bad to create bad deeds?

Dear Brother / Sister,

9.1.1- Is it not evil to create evil?

Abdullah b. Masud went to visit the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) when was suffering from his last illness and asked,

“O Messenger of Allah! You are suffering a lot from malaria and fever. Is it because you will have a double reward for it?”

The Prophet’s fever went up a lot before his death.  Abdullah b. Masud wanted to find out its spiritual reward; that is why he asked that question. The Prophet (pbuh) made the following explanation: 

“Yes, for no Muslim is afflicted with any harm but that Allah will remove his sins as the leaves of a tree fall down.”¹

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) mentioned a general rule for everything that harmed, distressed and gave pain to a believer. A believer can be purified from his sins through the sickness, pain, grief, sorrow, etc. that affect him. The way to be purified is to meet that misfortune and difficulty by showing patience and consent instead of complaining.

On the other hand, he should take precautions to avoid being hit by misfortunes. According to Abu Hurayra, the Prophet (pbuh) stated the following regarding the issue:

“A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.”²

That is, man should do his best so as not to be hit by a misfortune.If something happens to him due to negligence once, he should try to prevent it from happening again by taking precautions. In other words, the believer is the one who puts his trust in Allah after he ties his camel. The following hadith about consent to qadar (destiny/predestination) is also meaningful:

“He who does not show consent to my predestination and does not show patience in the face of the misfortune I send should find another Lord.”³

There are various wisdoms behind it in terms of the Lordship of God Almighty; besides, He can dispose affairs as He wishes in His property.

The believer might suffer some misfortunes. What he needs to de then is to take refuge in Allah by asking His help, not object or to complain. A person who is a believer and a Muslim shows consent to His Lordship. He can give us bitter medicine instead of sweet sherbet due to some of His wisdoms. In that case, a believer must show consent to it in terms of His Lordship. He must not object to qada and qadar; he must not complain by saying “aargh” and “ow”. The believer must show patience in the face of misfortunes; he must thank Allah and show consent in terms of their aspect of being blessings.

Criticizing qadar and complaining about the misfortunes that hit us means blaming His mercy.⁴

As a matter of fact, our Lord is more merciful to us than ourselves. He who blames His mercy becomes deprived of His mercy. This is like fighting with a broken hand, which will give man more damage. If a person who is hit by a misfortune objects to qadar and complains about it, his misfortune will increase.

1.Umara, p. 376, nr. 610; (Bukhari, Mardawat-Tibb, 1).
2.Ibid, p. 406, nr. 699 (Bukhari, Adab, 83); Bilmen, Mülahhas, p. 46.
3.Ghazali, I, 286; Koçar, p. 222-224, 244;(Munawi, Faydul-Qadir, VI, 224, nr. 9027).
4.It is not evil to create evil; evil things also have beautiful aspects. See Bilmen, Mülahhas, p. 85-86, 88.

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