The Wisdom Behind the Creation of Disbelievers and Sinners

Question

A discussion on why God created disbelievers and sinners despite knowing their fate, and how this relates to divine mercy. [AR_ID:419]

Answer 1

Peace be upon you,

Your question has two parts:

First part: The question about the wisdom behind the creation of disbelievers.

Second part: The question about whether the creation of disbelievers contradicts divine mercy.

Regarding the first part:

It is important to note that God's wisdom is vast and cannot be fully comprehended by humans. Sometimes, we may grasp a portion of it, but if one cannot understand the reason behind a divine action, it should be attributed to human limitations in knowledge and perception.

Returning to your question, we can identify several aspects of wisdom. If you reflect on various acts of worship such as jihad, patience, controlling anger, and gratitude for the blessing of faith and the beauty of justice, you will see that they reach their highest levels when contrasted with their opposites. For instance, when the people of Paradise see Hell, their appreciation for the bliss of Paradise increases. Similarly, when a person suffers from illness, they become more aware of the blessing of health, and when they experience injustice, they turn more towards the beauty of justice. Likewise, when one witnesses disbelief, they recognize the blessing of faith.

God willed for humans to reach their perfection through their choices, and the essence of choice necessitates the possibility of choosing disbelief or faith. Faith, in this regard, is contingent upon the possibility of disbelief and the choice to embrace it. God did not create disbelievers as such by compulsion; rather, a disbeliever is a disbeliever by their own choice, and a believer is a believer by their own choice. The existence of both is good because existence is superior to non-existence, and humans have the freedom to attain perfection.

Thus, since faith, which leads to perfection and eternal happiness, depends on choice, this necessitates the existence of disbelief.

God's knowledge that some people will choose disbelief instead of faith does not deprive others of attaining eternal happiness.

For example, if you wanted to establish a school to educate students, and you knew that in this city, many students would fail if they entered the school, while a few would excel and achieve great success, would your knowledge of some failing justify depriving others of the opportunity to create this school and gain the blessing of knowledge? And if those others did fail, would you be unjust for having established the school? Or would your action be devoid of wisdom? Isn't it clear that the success of some students, contrasted with the failure of others, highlights the importance of the successful ones and appreciates their efforts, distinguishing the diligent from the idle?

Furthermore, consider God's attributes such as the Compeller, the Proud, and the Subduer, or even the attributes of beauty such as the Accepting of Repentance, the Forgiving, and the Merciful. Reflect on the worship of disavowing God's enemies, the worship of jihad, and other acts of worship through which the worshiper attains high ranks due to their compliance. You will find that the belief in disbelief is one of the most significant aspects of these acts of worship. For believers, there is reward and merit, while for disbelievers, there is justice. On the other hand, the belief in disbelief is one of the most important reasons for the manifestation of those divine names, whether majestic for those who remain in disbelief or beautiful for those who transition from disbelief to faith. The manifestation of those names contributes to the perfection of the servants and their journey. Therefore, we must embrace, disavow, strive, and be patient. Hence, the existence of the belief in disbelief is not devoid of clear wisdom, as it is a requirement for the existence of optional faith, as previously mentioned. Its absence would necessitate the absence of faith. Since the existence of optional faith achieves eternal happiness, everything required for that falls within the realm of this blessing.

As for the second part of the question, which is whether the creation of disbelievers contradicts divine mercy:

Mercy is an attribute of action, like forgiveness, generosity, and pardon. Attributes of action are not complete unless accompanied by wisdom, which means placing everything in its proper context.

When considering divine actions, one must take into account their association with this meaning. Forgiveness is not complete unless it aligns with wisdom; thus, forgiving the obstinate, arrogant, careless, and dismissive of others' rights is not complete. It only becomes complete when it is directed towards those who are mistaken, regretful, ignorant, or forgetful, and so forth, as God knows their condition. If God does not forgive someone because that individual does not deserve forgiveness, this is not a deficiency but rather perfection itself.

Similarly, generosity is not a complete attribute in all circumstances. For instance, if a father gives a large sum of money to his young child, he may be considered generous, but this generosity is not complete; it is folly and a deficiency because it is unwise to give a small child a large sum of money, as it may lead to waste. Likewise, being generous to someone who will persist in their wrongdoing and misguidance is not complete; it only becomes complete when it is directed towards the appropriate recipient. If God does not show generosity to someone because they do not deserve it, this is not a deficiency but rather perfection itself.

Thus, the same applies to the attribute of mercy. It is an attribute of action, and therefore governed by wisdom. It is not a complete attribute in all circumstances. The mercy shown to the arrogant who oppresses others and persists in tyranny may contradict wisdom. Mercy is only a complete attribute when it is directed towards the appropriate recipient, such as the regretful, forgetful, or ignorant, and so forth, as God knows their condition and circumstances.

Therefore, the issue is resolved when we consider that God is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, and He is Wise and All-Knowing. Mercy should not be separated from wisdom. Mercy towards the undeserving is not wise. As for determining who is deserving, that is in the hands of God, who does not wrong anyone, not even an atom's weight. On the Day of Judgment, the disbeliever will not find themselves wronged if they are judged to enter Hell; they will see that God is the Truth, and that this is justice and wisdom.

Thus, we must first establish that the disbeliever is deserving of mercy before we can argue that depriving them of it contradicts their deservingness or is in conflict with it.

It has been established through the previous explanation, dear reader, that God's creation of disbelievers does not contradict perfection in the attribute of wisdom, nor in the attribute of mercy, let alone in the attribute of justice. Perhaps it may ease the weight of the matter for you to know that the disbeliever deserves punishment under certain conditions, and deservingness is one thing while the inevitability of punishment is another, and this is a discussion that is not within the scope of this response.