All Your Fault - 2

In the first part of this article, I introduced a verse from the Quran (4/79), which -according to the scholars- tells that all of the evil that happens to a person is due to their fault. Then, I explained in detail why this interpretation of the mentioned verse causes emotional and rational troubles. Here in the second episode, I want to do two things through a critical analysis of the mentioned verse. One, I want to discuss the root causes leading to the problematic interpretation. Two, I would like to arrive at an understanding of the same verse that is more compatible with reason and heart.

Before anything else, it is useful to see the context in which this verse sits. So, let's read it once again with the verses preceding and following it.

"Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you should be within towers of lofty construction. But if good comes to them, they say, 'This is from Allah'; and if evil befalls them, they say, 'This is from you.' Say, 'All are from Allah.' So what is [the matter] with those people that they can hardly understand any statement?" (4/78) 

"What comes to you of good is from Allah , but what comes to you of evil is from yourself. And We have sent you to the people as a messenger, and sufficient is Allah as Witness." (4/79) 

"He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah ; but those who turn away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian." (4/80) 

"And they say, "[We pledge] obedience." But when they leave you, a group of them spend the night determining to do other than what you say. But Allah records what they plan by night. So leave them alone and rely upon Allah. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs." (4/81)

The first impression from reading these verses, even without a knowledge of deep Arabic language, is that God is talking directly to the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in these verses. This is indicated by the fact that the "you" in all these verses is in the 2nd singular form, be it in the words of the disbelievers or in the words of God. Then, the very first question to ask is "why would anyone make an interpretation regarding all of humanity in the middle of a talk that is involving the prophet directly and addressing the prophet directly." Unless this question is answered satisfactorily, the famous troublesome meaning can not be accepted as a valid one, let alone being used as a timeless lesson!

Of course, throughout the Quran, similar situations arise sometimes, and the believers are invited by God to take lessons from His dealing with the prophet (33/21). However, taking lessons requires a rational thought process that is consistent with the explicit pillars established in the Quran (4/82).

Second issue is that in 4/78, God implies that all events are from Him, be them good or bad in our perspective. But in the 4/79, according to the translations, He says that the good ones are from Him and the bad ones are from the prophet. This just doesn't make sense. So, it is necessary to look at the Arabic original. Not surprisingly, in 4/78, God uses "min indillah", whereas in 4/79 He uses "min Allah - min nafsik". These contrasting usages indicate a nuance between the meanings of these two verses. Perhaps, resolving this issue can help get rid of the rational and emotional complications caused by the traditional interpretation.

Now, let's think about the nuance mentioned in the above paragraph. The former usage in 4/78 refers to an ownership about the creation of all events and the design connecting them. The latter usage in 4/79, however, refers to a location or perspective. So here, God does not refer to a responsibility issue; rather, He refers to a perspective. Accordingly, everything and every event is created by God (4/78), but whether we consider them as good or bad is on us (4/79). When we believe in God and trust Him in no matter what happens, it is as if we see Him and feel a sense of belonging, which seeds and inculcates happiness. So, this notion has the potential to transform everything to "good" in our perspective, and is "through God". 

When this perspective is lost, on the other hand, that is when we feel that we are on our own in the face of life events, we psychologically become a "risk detector", and that converts life into a struggle against enemies. This evil state is due to our loss of connection to God in our thoughts and perceptions, hence the phrase "all evil from your self". However, when the person is enlightened with the knowledge of the future, including the afterlife, then they may change their view of the things.  

Applying this understanding to the case of the prophet explained in 4/78-81, we see the following. In 4/79, the prophet is told that the good in his view are reflective of the blessings of God, whereas the evil in his view is an artifact of his self, a situation due to being limited in time and space. That is, what looks like evil is only so due to the limited perspective of the self. This view is consistent with the verses we are studying, and is acceptable as a "lesson taught by God to the prophet", which can be generalized to all humans and be passed on to other generations as a timeless lesson.

You may think that we have resolved the complications due to the misinterpretation of the verses at hand. But there is yet another complication to be resolved, which can shake the conclusions we have made so far, if left untouched. As you may have realized, the analyses and comments presented above are not that revolutionary. They are not unknown to the Islamic scholars, either. Why, then, did they insist on preaching that "all evil is due to yourself" as a matter of actual responsibility rather than that of perspective?