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Does Allah Ever Wish Bad for Anyone?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Seekersguidance.org

Answered by Shaykh Abdullah Anik Misra

Question:

Does Allah ever wish bad for anyone? (including non-Muslims)

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

No, Allah does not wish bad for people, non-Muslims included. When we speak about “wishing bad for someone,” it indicates the human trait of being malevolent, of not wanting good for another, hoping something bad will happen to them, and having petty negative feelings for them such as resentment, anger, envy, or the inclination to be unfair to them. Allah Most High is exalted high above any of that.

Allah Most High is the transcendent, necessary divine being and is therefore completely dissimilar to anything in His creation. Human emotions, motives, and especially petty feelings like revenge, malice, or ill-will do not apply to Him. Allah Most High says, “There is nothing that is the like of Him.” [Quran 42:11]

Can Allah Wrong Anyone?

Allah Most High never commits wrong or oppression in the slightest against anything in His creation. Allah says, “And Allah does not will the slightest oppression on the worlds of being.” [Quran 3:108] In fact, while He is the Most Just, His mercy is often overcomes His divine wrath. [Tirmidhi, Sunan]

In the same way that Allah does not wrong anyone, He commands that His creation also not wrong themselves or others. So there is a system of divine guidance to teach people not to do wrong, and also a system of divine justice to take them to account if they disobey and do it anyway.

What About Punishment?

Divine punishment is given as recompense against wrong actions, whether by believers or disbelievers, according to the magnitude of the wrong.  For those who have evil in their hearts or do evil actions, they can also be misguided as a result of that. This is not wishing bad from Allah’s part, but people getting what they chose and deserve because Allah has given humans free choice.

The same goes for rejecting the truth after hearing about it. But we can trust that only Allah knows who has done that and that no one will be wronged in the slightest.

Sometimes, Allah, the All-Wise, destines that something negative befalls someone as a test in this world or even to uplift them. Although these are “bad” occurrences outwardly, this does not mean that Allah Most High bears ill-will towards any of His creation or wants bad for them out of spite. If they are patient and react with goodness, they will be rewarded eternally for everything they go through, and if they react unjustly, the test itself is a punishment, and they are merely getting what their own states and actions have made them deserving of.

An Unhealthy Line of Reasoning

Realizing the emotions and motives behind our question can be more important than the answer sometimes. The question of whether ever Allah wishes bad for anyone can often indicate that one’s sees Allah anthropomorphically – with the same eyes as they see themselves and other imperfect humans with.

Rather than recognize His perfect and lofty status as the transcendent being, we entertain misgivings that He has petty or spiteful motives. Rather than recognize His immense mercy and love for us, we suspect that we know better. We don’t put complete faith and trust in Him. This is a disease of the spiritual heart, and the origin of such thoughts are devilish whispers and our all-too-human base desires (the nafs).

Some people have been influenced by atheistic voices they should not have paid attention to that have cast doubts, and others may be resentful for something that happened to them and are untrusting or bitter. Realizing this negative thought pattern is the first step towards purifying the heart from it.

Think Well of Your Lord and Purify your Thoughts

The Prophet Muhammad [Allah bless him and give him peace] said, “Do not accuse/think bad of Allah in any single thing that He decrees for you.” [Ibn Hanbal, Musnad]

When we entertain suspicions and low thoughts of Allah, our mindset begins to interpret everything in a skewed way, leading to further misguidance and bad outcomes. But if we think well of Allah and submit to His perfect wisdom and trust in His justice and love for us, we will see the wonders and signs of that divine mercy all around us and understand more. Allah has said, “I am to My servant the way they think of Me…” [Bukhari, Sahih]

So think well of Allah Most High, trust Him, and know He is more avid for our best interests than we are, and that He loves us seventy times more than our own mothers.

Wassalam,

Shaykh Abdullah Anik Misra

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdullah Misra was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1983. His family hails from India, and he was raised in the Hindu tradition. He embraced Islam in 2001 while at the University of Toronto, from where he completed a Bachelor of Business Administration. He then traveled overseas in 2005 to study the Arabic language and Islamic sciences in Tarim, Yemen, for some time, as well as Darul Uloom in Trinidad, West Indies. He spent 12 years in Amman, Jordan, where he focused on Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith Sciences, Prophetic Biography, and Islamic Spirituality while also working at the Qasid Arabic Institute as Director of Programs. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies (Alimiyya, Darul Uloom) and authorization in the six authentic books of Hadith and is currently pursuing specialized training in issuing Islamic legal verdicts (ifta’). He holds a certificate in Counselling and often works with new Muslims and those struggling with religious OCD. He is an instructor and researcher in Sacred Law and Theology with the SeekersGuidance The Global Islamic Seminary. Currently, He resides in the Greater Toronto Area with his wife and children. His personal interests include Indian history, comparative religion, English singing, and poetry.

This answer was collected from Seekersguidance.org. It’s an online learning platform overseen by Sheikh Faraz Rabbani. All courses are free. They also have in-person classes in Canada.

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