Summarising The Answer

The Core Objection

The objection claims that Allah’s creating the kuffar (disbelievers), while already knowing that they will enter the Fire, appears to oppose rahmah (mercy) and ʿadl (justice). The claim is that complete mercy would prevent the creation of someone who will end in punishment, and complete justice would prevent punishing someone whose final end was already known and decreed. (See: Journal Ana Afakkir, 44/3.)

This objection is common among deists and atheists. (Deists affirm Allah’s existence and His creation of the universe, but deny His management of creation, prophethood, and revelation. Atheists deny Allah’s existence or doubt it.) Its foundation is weak because it begins with a mistaken understanding of Allah’s perfection. It also measures Allah’s actions by human standards of mercy and justice, then objects when Allah’s actions do not match those limited standards.

Mercy Must Be Joined With Wisdom And Justice

Allah’s rahmah (mercy) is not separated from His hikmah (wisdom) and ʿadl (justice). Mercy is perfect when it is placed where it belongs. Pardon, generosity, and forgiveness are not always perfection in every case. Pardoning the arrogant oppressor, the stubborn rejecter, or the one who persists in harming others is not perfection. It may oppose justice and wisdom.

So, Allah not showing mercy to a person who does not deserve mercy is not a deficiency. Rather, it is perfection, because mercy is being placed according to wisdom and justice. The objector wrongly assumes that perfect mercy must include every person without distinction.

The correct question is not, “Why is everyone not shown the same mercy?”

Rather, the correct question is whether the disbeliever is deserving of that mercy after rejecting truth, opposing guidance, and choosing disbelief.

Prior Knowledge Does Not Force The Servant

Allah’s knowledge comes before the act, but it does not force the person into the act.

His knowledge is prior knowledge, not a force that drives the servant.

Allah hid His prior knowledge from all people, so no one acts while seeing what Allah decreed for him. The servant acts according to the iradah (will), qudrah (ability), intention, and choice that he finds within himself.

The believer and the disbeliever are both created with the means of action and choice. Allah commands both to obey and forbids both from sin. He gives both clarification and guidance. The disbeliever chooses disbelief through the will and ability found within himself, while the believer chooses faith through the will and ability found within himself.

For this reason, the difference between belief and disbelief is not traced back to Allah’s knowledge alone. It is also traced back to the servant’s own choice.

The Disbeliever Is Not Created As A Disbeliever From Birth

Allah does not create the disbeliever as a disbeliever from the beginning of his birth.

Rather, he is created upon the fitrah (natural disposition), which, when sound and protected from corrupting causes, leads to acknowledging the Creator, believing in Him, and submitting to Him.

The disbeliever turns away from this fitrah and chooses the path of disbelief. Guidance and clear proof reach him, but he rejects them. In this way, the believer and disbeliever are equal in the basic matters of justice. Both are created upon fitrah. Both are given the means of choice. Both are given ability and will. Both receive clarification and guidance. This is enough as justice and mercy.

The objector imagines that Allah gave the believer special tools that force him toward Paradise and gave the disbeliever tools that force him toward the Fire. That is not the case. The difference between them is not in the foundation of justice, but in Allah’s favour and kindness.

The Examples Of The Road And The Food

The matter is like two men sent by their father to a distant city. He shows both the safe road and warns both against the dangerous roads. One chooses the safe road and is saved. The other chooses the dangerous road and is destroyed. No person of reason would call the father unjust.

It is also like a generous man who offers food to two starving men. One eats and is saved. The other turns away and dies from hunger. No person of reason would call the generous man unjust.

These examples show that guidance being made clear, together with real choice, removes the claim of injustice.

Allah’s Wisdom Is Greater Than Human Understanding

Allah’s hikmah (wisdom) is vast, and human beings cannot fully encompass it. Not knowing every aspect of wisdom behind Allah’s actions does not permit denying that wisdom exists. A person who objects to Allah’s actions based on limited knowledge is judging Allah by a narrow human measure.

Even so, some wisdoms can be understood. Allah’s creating the kuffar is connected to great meanings in His power, His names, His justice, His punishment, His mercy, His pardon, and His forgiveness.

The Creation Of Opposites Shows Allah’s Power

Allah’s creating opposites shows the perfection of His qudrah (power).

He created guidance and misguidance, bliss and punishment, night and day, cure and illness, life and death, beauty and ugliness, good and evil.

The existence of these opposites shows His complete power, authority, ownership, and rule.

If creation were empty of such opposites, many effects of His wisdom and management would not appear. (See: Shifa’ al Alil, Ibn al Qayyim, 2/649–659. Madarij al Salikin, Ibn al Qayyim, 2/191. Sharh al Tahawiyyah, Ibn Abi al Izz, 1/329–330.)

The Effects Of Allah’s Names

Allah has names connected to might, subduing, justice, punishment, lowering, and humiliation. These names are perfect, and their effects appear in relation to those who deserve them. If all jinn and humans were like angels, the effects of these names would not appear.

Allah also has names connected to forbearance, pardon, forgiveness, covering sins, and freeing whom He wills from punishment. The effects of these names appear through the existence of sins, repentance, forgiveness, and pardon.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “If you did not sin, Allah would take you away, and He would bring a people who would sin and seek forgiveness, so He would forgive them.” (Sahih Muslim 7141.)

Sultan Al Umayri’s Full Answer

Why Does Allah Create The Disbeliever When He Knows They Will Go To Hell?!

This question is raised in different wordings, but its reality returns to this: if Allah knew everything before it occurred, then His creating the disbeliever while knowing that he would enter the Fire would require attributing deficiency and fault to Him. This is because His creating one whom He knew before his existence would enter the Fire is said to oppose complete mercy. So, if Allah were fully merciful, He would not create someone whom He knew would enter the Fire after death.

In such a case, they claim that only one of two answers can be given. Either it is said that Allah did not know the state of the disbeliever before his existence, and this is a deficiency in knowledge. Or it is said that He did know it before his existence, and this would require a deficiency in mercy. So, in both cases, they claim that deficiency and fault must be attributed to Allah.

In addition to that, they also claim that Allah’s creating the disbeliever opposes justice, because Allah will punish a person who cannot depart from what Allah had decreed and knew before his existence, and he does not possess any ability or will by which he can change Allah’s prior knowledge. (See: Journal Ana Afakkir, 44/3.)

This question is one of the most repeated objections raised by critics of religions among deists and atheists. (Deists are those who affirm the existence of Allah and His creating of the universe, but deny His management of it, and deny prophethood and revelation. Atheists are those who deny the existence of Allah or doubt it.) It is one of the most famous objections they bring against those who debate them from the Muslims and others. Those who rely on it have combined two major errors.

The first is a poor understanding of the nature of Allah’s perfection as Muslims believe it.

The second is that they set for themselves particular standards for perfection in the attributes of mercy and justice. Then they began judging Allah’s actions by those standards. When they found that His actions did not agree with them, this led them to attack the existence of Allah and His perfection.

A precise answer to this objection must show that Allah’s creating the disbeliever does not oppose perfection in mercy, nor perfection in justice, nor perfection in wisdom. Rather, it fully agrees with those meanings and is completely upright according to what they require. This claim must be proven, its proofs must be established, and its details must be made clear, because this necessarily uproots that objection from its foundations and destroys its structure at its base.

Why This Does Not Oppose The Perfection Of Allah’s Mercy

As for showing that this does not contradict perfection in Allah’s mercy, mercy is one of the attributes connected to actions, like pardon, generosity, forgiveness, and other such attributes. Attributes connected to actions are not perfection unless they are joined to wisdom, which means placing everything in its proper place, and to justice, which means giving every possessor of a right his right and what he deserves.

Looking at the attributes of Allah’s actions must include these two meanings. Pardon is not perfection unless it agrees with wisdom and justice. For this reason, pardoning the stubborn, the arrogant, the careless, and the one who takes lightly the rights of others is not perfection. Pardon is only perfection when it is placed in its proper place, such as pardoning the one who made a mistake, the one who regrets, the ignorant, the forgetful, and those like them. So, if Allah does not pardon someone because he does not deserve pardon, that is not deficiency. Rather, it is perfection itself.

Likewise, generosity is not an attribute of perfection in every situation. Being generous to the stubborn person, or to someone whom He knows will continue in his oppression, error, and misguidance, is not perfection. Generosity is only perfection when it is placed in its proper place. So, if Allah does not show generosity to someone because he does not deserve it to be placed upon him, that is not deficiency. Rather, it is perfection itself.

The same applies to the attribute of mercy. It is one of the attributes connected to actions, so it is governed by wisdom and justice. It is not an attribute of perfection in every situation. Showing mercy to an arrogant person who wronged people, overpowered others, and persisted in tyranny, and then pardoning him, opposes justice and wisdom. Mercy is only an attribute of perfection when it is placed in its proper place, such as mercy to the regretful person, the forgetful person, the ignorant person, and those like them.

However, those who object to Allah’s creating the disbeliever turned away from this reality. They dealt with the attribute of mercy by cutting it off from its connection to wisdom and justice. They believed that the perfection of Allah’s mercy requires that it include everyone without exception, without distinguishing between people, and without distinguishing between the one who deserves mercy and the one who does not deserve it. So, when they found that Allah did not show mercy to the disbeliever by entering him into the Fire, they wrongly thought that this opposed the perfection of mercy.

The reality is not like that. The attribute of mercy is only perfection when it is placed in its proper place. What they were required to do was first prove that the disbeliever deserves mercy, then object to Allah not showing mercy to him. But they did not do that. Instead, they jumped straight to building a specific understanding of the perfection of mercy, then they began judging Allah’s actions by it.

Why Allah’s Creating The Disbelievers Does Not Oppose Justice

As for showing that Allah’s creating the disbelievers does not oppose the attribute of justice, this returns to the connection between prior decree and the actions of the servants. A detailed answer to that has already been given when answering the previous objection. Its summary is that Allah Most High hid His prior knowledge from all people. No one can know what Allah decreed and what He willed.

At the same time, Allah created the human being with a creation by which he can choose his actions and decide his conduct through his will and ability. Every human being possesses a power by which he can affect his actions and conduct. His knowledge of this is necessary and natural. There is no doubt about it.

So, the disbeliever’s choosing of his actions is not outside this reality. He possesses ability and will, just like the believers. Allah Most High did not distinguish between the believer and the disbeliever in giving each of them the means of action and choice. Allah’s creating of the disbeliever is exactly like His creating of the believer. He created each of them possessing ability and will by which he can affect his actions and decide his conduct. He hid His knowledge from each of them. He commanded each of them to obey and forbade each of them from disobedience. He made them equal in clarification and guidance. But the disbeliever chose, through the will and ability that he finds within himself, disbelief in Allah Most High. The believer chose, through the will and ability that he finds within himself, faith in Allah.

So, among the causes that affect the difference between the state of the disbeliever and the state of the believer is what returns to the different choice of each of them. It does not return to Allah’s knowledge alone. Allah’s knowledge comes before the act. It does not drive the person to the act. Also, each of them, at the time of his action, knows nothing of Allah’s knowledge. Rather, both of them act based on what each of them finds within himself of will and intent.

The state of the believer and the disbeliever with Allah’s prior decree is like the state of two men whom their father sent to a distant city. He mentioned to them the safe path, free from harms, and the destructive paths. He left them freedom of choice. One of them chose the safe path, so he arrived and was saved. The other chose the destructive path, so he was destroyed and lost. No person of reason would say that the father was unjust to either of them.

It is also like the state of a generous man who offered food to two hungry men and left them freedom of choice. One of them came forward to the food and ate from it, so he was saved from death. The other turned away from it and remained hungry until death reached him. No person of reason would say that this man was unjust to either of them. (This example is taken from a topic raised in Forum al Tawhid.)

What makes this matter even clearer is that Allah Most High did not create the disbeliever as a disbeliever from the very beginning of his birth. Rather, He created him upon the natural disposition which, when upright and safe from corrupting causes, requires acknowledging the Creator, believing in His existence and perfection, and submitting to Him. In this, he does not differ from the believer. But the disbeliever turned away from the natural disposition and chose the path of disbelief in Allah. Allah made clear proof and guidance reach him, showing the necessity of believing in Him, but he turned away from all of that.

So, in reality, the disbeliever is equal to the believer in being created upon the natural disposition, in being given the means of choice, ability, and effect, and in receiving clear proof and guidance. This is enough as justice and mercy.

But the objectors were unaware of all these meanings. They wrongly thought that Allah gave the believer certain means and qualities that make him choose the deeds which bring about entry into Paradise, and deprived the disbeliever of them. They thought He gave the disbeliever certain means and qualities that make him choose the deeds which bring about entry into the Fire.

The reality is not like that. The believer and the disbeliever were each given the same kind of means and qualities as the other. There is no difference between them from this side. Allah Most High did not distinguish between the disbeliever and the believer in the matters by which justice is fulfilled. Whatever differences exist between them return to favour and kindness, not to justice.

Why Allah’s Creating The Disbeliever Does Not Oppose Wisdom

As for showing that Allah’s creating the disbeliever does not oppose perfection in the attribute of wisdom, it must first be remembered that the wisdom of Allah Most High is vast. People cannot encompass it. At the beginning of this study, the proofs showing that were already established. The state of people with Allah’s wisdom falls between absolute ignorance, knowing some of what may become clear to the human intellect, and what Allah grants His servants by making it appear to them.

So, if the aspect of wisdom in Allah’s creating the disbeliever does not become clear to a person, he must acknowledge his own inability. According to reason, it is not correct for him to rush into denying wisdom completely, or to attack the existence of Allah and His perfection. That would mean that the human being is judging Allah by the amount of knowledge he has, and issuing rulings on Allah’s management and actions based on his own incomplete knowledge and limited perception. All of that is a departure from the upright way of looking at the greatness of Allah, which is proven by many proofs, among the nearest of which is the greatness and vastness of the universe.

Even with that, if we widen our view and reflection on the variety of Allah’s creation, we can recognise a number of wisdoms connected to Allah’s creating the disbeliever. Among those wisdoms are the following. (See: Shifa’ al Alil, Ibn al Qayyim, 2/649–659. Madarij al Salikin, Ibn al Qayyim, 2/191. Sharh al Tahawiyyah, Ibn Abi al Izz, 1/329–330.)

The Showing Of Allah’s Power In Creating Opposites

One wisdom is that Allah’s servants may see the power of the Lord Most High in creating opposites that stand against one another. His creating these opposite realities, such as the guided and the misguided, bliss and punishment, is among the strongest things that shows Allah’s perfection in power. His power is also shown in creating night and day, cure and illness, life and death, beauty and ugliness, good and evil.

This is among the clearest proofs of the perfection of His power, might, ownership, and authority. He created these opposites, placed some against others, and made them a place where His control and management appear. If existence were completely empty of some of them, that would mean leaving no place for His wisdom, the perfection of His control, and the management of His kingdom to appear through them.

The Showing Of The Effects Of His Names Connected To Subduing And Punishment

Another wisdom is the appearance of the effects of His names connected to subduing and punishment, such as the Subduer, the Avenger, the Just, the One who brings harm, the Severe in punishment, the Swift in punishment, the Possessor of severe seizure, the One who lowers, and the One who humiliates. These names and actions are perfection, and there must be something to which they relate. If the jinn and mankind were all upon the nature of the angels, the effects of these names would not appear.

The Showing Of The Effects Of His Forbearance, Pardon, And Forgiveness

Another wisdom is the appearance of the effects of His names that contain His forbearance, pardon, forgiveness, covering, overlooking His own right, and freeing whomever He wills from among His servants. If He had not created the causes that He hates, which lead to the appearance of the effects of these names, these wisdoms and benefits would not appear. The Prophet ﷺ pointed to this in his saying: “If you did not sin, Allah would take you away, and He would bring a people who would sin and seek forgiveness, so He would forgive them.” (Reported by Sahih Muslim 2749. Some collections also list it as Sahih Muslim 7141.) 

If the one who reflects used his reason in contemplation, he would be able to find many wisdoms besides what has been mentioned. But those who object to decree do not search for wisdom, nor do they want to connect Allah’s actions to it. Rather, they often flee from that as a gazelle flees from a lion, because they realise that connecting Allah’s actions to wisdom closes every door through which they try to enter in order to cause doubts about the existence of Allah, His perfection, or His decree and determination. It also ruins all the understandings they built concerning the meanings of mercy and justice.

So, through the explanation given above, it is established that Allah’s creating the disbeliever does not oppose perfection in the attribute of wisdom, nor in the attribute of mercy, nor in the attribute of justice. By this, it is established that this objection is false, built upon wrong understandings and false assumptions that have no basis in truth and no support from reason.

Al-‘Uqūd al-Dhahabīyah by Sultan Al Umayri 2/213-219