Al-An'am (The Cattle): (17) And if Allah touches you...

Issues in the Verse:

This is another proof demonstrating that it is impermissible for an intelligent person to take anyone other than Allah as a protector (Wali).

The Argument's Structure:

1. Definition of Harm (Darr) and Benefit (Naf'): Harm refers to pain, grief, fear, and what leads to them. Benefit refers to pleasure, joy, and what leads to them.
2. Definition of Good (Khayr): Good is the common attribute encompassing both the removal of harm and the attainment of benefit.
3. Exhaustive Dichotomy: A person must either be in harm or in good, because the removal of harm is good, whether pleasure is attained or not.
4. Divine Necessity: Since this dichotomy is established, Allah has clarified that:
   • No harm, minor or major, can be removed except by Allah.
   • No good, minor or major, can be attained except by Allah.

The Proof (Intellectual Demonstration): Everything that exists is either necessary by itself (Wajib li-dhatihi) or contingent by itself (Mumkin li-dhatihi).

1. The Necessary Being is One (Allah).
2. Everything else is contingent by itself.
3. The contingent cannot exist except through the creation of the Necessary Being.
4. Since everything besides the Truth (Allah) exists only through His creation and origination, it is proven that the removal of all harms and the attainment of all goods and benefits can only occur through Him. This rational proof confirms the meaning indicated by the verse.

Objections Raised:

1. Human Agency: We see people warding off harm with their wealth and supporters, and attaining good through their own efforts or the help of others. This seems to contradict the verse's generality.
2. The Greatest Harm/Good: The greatest harm is disbelief (Kufr), and the greatest good is faith (Iman). If the verse is absolute, then disbelief should not incur punishment, and faith should not merit reward, as they would both be solely dependent on Allah's action.
3. Physical Means: We observe people benefiting from taking medicine and being harmed by consuming poisons, which also seems to contradict the apparent meaning of the verse.

The Response: Every action originating from a person requires an internal impetus or motivator (Da'i). The existence of this impetus itself is only from Allah. Therefore, in this context, everything ultimately originates from Allah. This same principle applies to all the other questions raised.

Allah mentioned both the touching of harm (إمساك الضر) and the touching of good (إمساك الخير), distinguishing between them in two ways:

1. Order of Mention: Harm is mentioned before good. This serves as a reminder that after every harm, goodness and safety must follow.
2. Wording Used:
   • Regarding harm, He said: {then none can remove it except Him} (فلا كاشف له إلا هو).
   • Regarding good, He said: {He is over all things competent} (فهو على كل شىء قدير).

Mentioning His absolute power (قدير) concerning good indicates that Allah's will to convey benefits is dominant over His will to convey harms. These points collectively show that the dominance of Allah's will is toward mercy, as stated: (My Mercy has preceded My Wrath).