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Summary (from the source)
It is the nature of a servant to encounter in this worldly life matters concerning divine decree and creation that trouble him, since Allah the Exalted has not given the intellect the capacity to encompass everything in knowledge. The path of the believer who is granted success in such matters is to hold fast to his faith that Allah is perfect in knowledge, wisdom, mercy and justice, and to measure what he does not know of the wisdom behind things by what he knows and is certain of, namely that in everything there is profound wisdom. As Shaykh Abd al-Razzaq Afifi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "The infliction of pain on animals is ugly if it comes from a created being without a crime or a sound purpose. If it comes from Allah, then it must have a wisdom, even if we do not perceive it, because of the evidence for His justice and wisdom." End of quote, from his commentary on "al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam" (1/86).
Question
Why do animals suffer and endure the pangs of death, although they are not charged with obligations and will receive no reward or recompense for this suffering?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Firstly:
When a servant approaches such matters purely with his own intellect, he becomes lost and astray, his thoughts deviate from what is correct, and he emerges from them only with disgraceful opinions.
Shaykh Mar'i al-Karmi, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, said:
"As for explaining all of Allah's actions that take effect among the accountable and others, this is something for which there is no way to know or to grasp the secret of its reality, and in such a matter understandings have stumbled:
A group said: Indeed, beasts and children do not feel pain and do not sense suffering. This is a denial of what is necessarily known and an obstinate contradiction of what is perceived...
A group of the extreme Rafidah held to the transmigration of souls. They said that it was only good for them because they deserved it due to past crimes they committed in other forms, so their souls were transferred into these forms as a punishment for them.
The cause of this confusion is that these people's hopes became attached to knowing the reality of the secrets of Allah the Exalted's actions regarding the accountable and others, and this is something for which there is no way to know.
Knowing the wisdom and the reasoning behind the reward and punishment of the accountable suffices, and that is what is intended... " End quote. "Removing the doubt and deception from one who argues for committing sins by predestination" (p. 57).
Such matters are ones which the believer must approach in the manner required by the sincerity of his faith. As long as he affirms that Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise, perfect in knowledge, wisdom, justice, mercy and generosity, he should not ask why Allah the Exalted did this and did not do that.
Allah the Exalted said:لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَAl-Anbiya/23.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, said:
"He, glory be to Him, is the Creator of everything, its Lord and its Sovereign, and in what He created there is perfect wisdom, abundant blessing, and general and specific mercy.
He is not questioned about what He does, while they will be questioned; not merely because of His power and dominance, but because of the perfection of His knowledge, power, mercy and wisdom." End quote. "Majmu' al-Fatawa" (8/79).
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, said:
"Indeed, for Him, exalted is He, in everything He created and legislated there is perfect wisdom and abundant blessing, for the sake of which He created and commanded, and for which He deserves to be praised and lauded, just as He is praised for His beautiful names and His exalted attributes.
So He is praised for all of that with the most complete and perfect praise, because of the perfection contained in His attributes, the excellence of His names, and His actions containing wisdoms and ends that necessitate praise of Him, corresponding to His wisdom and agreeing with what He loves.
For He, glory be to Him, is perfect in His essence and perfect in His names and attributes; from Him proceeds only every noble action that corresponds to wisdom and necessitates praise... " End quote. "Tariq al-Hijratayn" (1/322).
But as for the one who is not content, and whose heart is not at rest unless he shares with Allah, glorified and exalted be He, in the perfection of His knowledge, such a person's heart has not become certain of the perfection of Allah's most beautiful names and attributes, and he has not fulfilled faith in the unseen.
Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
" Does the one who thinks suppose that the obligations are washing the limbs with a pound of water, or standing in a prayer niche to perform two rak'ahs?! Far from it! That is the easiest of obligations!
And the real obligation is that which the mountains refused to bear. Among its components is:
That when I see the decree proceeding in a way the intellect cannot comprehend, I oblige the intellect to submit to the One who decrees, and this is among the most difficult of obligations, especially in matters whose meaning the intellect does not know, such as causing children pain and slaughtering animals, while believing that the One who decrees this and commands it is the Most Merciful of the merciful.
So this is something over which the intellect is perplexed, and its obligation is to submit and to refrain from objection. How great is the difference between the obligation of the body and the obligation of the intellect?! " "Sayd al-Khatir" (pp. 81-82).
And Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
" Know that the foundation of servitude and of faith in Allah, His books and His messengers, rests on submission and on not asking about the detailed wisdom behind the commands, prohibitions and laws.
That is why Allah, glorified be He, did not relate of the nation of any prophet, which believed in its prophet and accepted what he brought, that it asked him about the detailed wisdom behind what He commanded it and forbade it, and what he conveyed to it from its Lord. Had it done so, it would not have been a believer in its prophet; rather, it would have submitted, complied and yielded.
Whatever wisdom it came to know, it knew it.
Whatever remained hidden from it, it did not hold back from complying and submitting on account of knowing it, nor did it make that its concern, and its messenger was too great in its eyes for it to ask him about that. " End quote. "Sharh al-Tahawiyya" (1/341).
Second:
Allah, glorified and exalted be He, created life in this manner to test His servants and to examine the sincerity of their faith and the goodness of their deeds.
Allah the Exalted said:تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ * الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُAl-Mulk/1 – 2.
Among the forms of trial is the trial through doubts. Allah, the Exalted, has placed in His command and His creation what is ambiguous in itself and unclear to the one who is accountable, when the servant does not deal with it in the manner that the Sharia guided to, which is to understand the ambiguous in the light of the clear and established foundations.
So whoever opposes that, clings to the ambiguous, and casts doubt on the clear foundations with it, has deviated and gone astray.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this verse: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are clear (muhkamat), they are the foundation of the Book, and others that are allegorical (mutashabihat). As for those in whose hearts there is deviation, they follow what is allegorical of it, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation..." .
She said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:"When you see those who follow what is allegorical of it, those are the ones whom Allah has named, so beware of them."Narrated by al-Bukhari (4547) and Muslim (2665).
When a person reflects on the universe and contemplates it, he sees that every secret he is able to understand that has been placed within it contains nothing but wisdom and great benefits, and this is clear to everyone who is fair, especially in this age called the age of scientific discoveries.
And the sensible person measures what he does not know of Allah's wisdom in His creation against what he has known and understood.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whatever He does, we know that there is wisdom in it; this suffices us in general, even if we do not know the details.
Our not knowing the details of His wisdom is like our not knowing the modality of His essence. Just as the affirmation of His perfect attributes is known to us, while the reality of His essence is not known to us, we do not deny what we know because we do not know the rest; likewise, we know that He is "Wise" in what He does and commands. Our not knowing the wisdom in some particulars does not detract from what we know of the principle of His wisdom; so we do not deny what we know of His wisdom because we do not know its details." End quote. "Majmu' al-Fatawa" (6/128).
And Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Wisdom does not entail any individual person being informed of the complete wisdom in His giving and withholding; rather, when Allah unveils the insight of His servant so that he perceives a small portion of His wisdom in His creation, His command, His reward and His punishment, and contemplates the circumstances of these matters, and infers from what he knows about what he does not know, and is certain that the source of what he knows and what he does not know is a wisdom far-reaching that cannot be weighed by the minds of creatures, then he has been granted success in what is right." End quote. "Mukhtasar al-Sawa'iq al-Mursalah" (p. 233).
See: "Sharh al-Tahawiyya" by Ibn Abi al-Izz (2/650).
Third:
Whoever reflects on the world of animals sees that Allah, exalted is He, has surrounded them with His blessings and mercy. He has not created any creature without surrounding it with an environment suited to its nature and its provision. Whoever is harmed by extreme heat or cold, or whose food is affected by it, Allah guides to migration, so it migrates from the north of the earth to its south, and from its south to its north, without losing the way, in confirmation of the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "الَّذِي أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىTa-Ha /50.
Indeed, you even see the world of wild predatory animals, in which Allah, in His kindness, has placed mercy among its members, by which they show compassion to one another despite their wildness.
Amid these successive blessings, pains may occur incidentally, and many of these pains are found to benefit the one who suffers them.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"He, glorified and exalted is He, has perfected everything He created, and has made excellent all that He has done. This is something those who know Allah know in general, and they differ in knowledge of its details.
When this is known, then pains and hardships are either kindness and mercy, or justice and wisdom, or reform and preparation for a good that comes after them, or to repel a pain harder than them, or because they arise from pleasures and blessings which necessarily produce them as a concomitant of those pleasures, or they are among the requirements of justice, or the requirements of grace and kindness. So they are among the requirements of good which, if they were nullified, their necessary consequences would be nullified too, and by nullifying them a greater good would be lost than the evil of those pains. The Sharia and the decree are the two most just witnesses to this.
How much pain there is for the traveller and the resident in the rising of the sun, and how much harm there is in the descent of rain and snow...
Pains are often causes of health, which would have been lost were it not for those pains, and this is the case with most diseases of the body...
As for what unburdened animals suffer of it, it is vastly overwhelmed by their interests and benefits, as they suffer from the heat of summer and the cold of winter, the withholding of rain and snow, the pain of pregnancy and birth, the striving to seek their sustenance, and other things. But their pleasures are many times over their pains, and what they gain of benefits and goods is many times what they suffer of evils and pains.
The sunnah of Allah in His creation and His command is that which His perfect knowledge, wisdom and might necessitated. If the intellects of all the wise were combined to propose something better than it, they would be unable to do so. It would be said to each of them: Return the gaze of your intellect; do you see any flaw? Then return the gaze twice; the gaze will return to you humbled while it is fatigued... " End quote. "Shifa al-Alil" (2/283-285).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says, after relating the disagreement of people on the topic of "wisdom and causation":
" And according to the first view, the view of the Salaf, the imams and the majority, when He creates what He creates for a wisdom He loves and is pleased with, and creates what He has created of evil, then for Him in that is wisdom= it is not impossible that among what He created there is some harm to some creatures, since that is among the necessary requirements of the intended wisdom, and the existence of the intended wisdom without that is impossible. And if it is not ugly for the servant to inflict pain on animals for a prevailing wisdom, then the Creator is more deserving that it not be ugly for Him to do so.
And if it is said: It was possible for the wisdom to exist without that.
It is said: This is a statement without knowledge. From where do you have that? He, glory be to Him, is over all things capable, and the impossible is not a thing by the consensus of the rational.
From where did you know that this is possible and not impossible, such that it falls under His power?
The absence of knowledge of impossibility is other than knowledge of non-impossibility, and likewise the absence of knowledge of possibility is other than knowledge of non-possibility, and the absence of knowledge of necessity is other than knowledge of non-necessity. Examples of this are many.
But many people become confused about this, so when one of them does not know that a thing exists, or is necessary, or possible, or impossible, he thinks that it does not exist, or is not necessary, possible, or not impossible; so they make the absence of knowledge into knowledge of absence! And this is among what Allah has forbidden by His saying, may He be exalted:وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ [Al-Isra: 36].
Hence the one who negates bears the burden of proof, whereas the one who withholds and is asked for proof has no proof to give, because the negator has negated and reported the negation, so he may not negate without knowledge, just as he may not affirm without knowledge. Unlike the withholding party, who has neither negated nor affirmed, but rather asks the affirmer for proof of affirmation. A person may not speak without knowledge, neither in negation nor in affirmation; and if the one who does not know remained silent, the disagreement would be minimal. So this is that, and Allah knows best." End of quotation from "Jami al-Masail" (7/390-391).
Summary:
It is the nature of the servant to encounter in his worldly life what puzzles him of matters concerning divine decree and creation. Allah, exalted be He, has not given the intellect the ability to encompass everything in knowledge. The path of the successful believer in such matters is to hold fast to his faith that Allah is perfect in knowledge, wisdom, mercy and justice, and to measure what he does not know of the rulings against what he knows and is certain of, namely that in everything there is far-reaching wisdom.
As Shaykh Abd al-Razzaq Afifi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
" Inflicting pain on beasts is ugly if it proceeds from a created being without offense or purpose, [and it is] sound. But if it comes from Allah, then it must have a wisdom, even if we do not perceive it, since the evidence for His justice and wisdom is established." End of quotation from his commentary on "Al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam" (1/86).
And Allah knows best.
الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، وبعد:
أولا:
أمثال هذه المسائل إذا تناولها العبد بمحض عقله، تاه وضل، وطاشت أفكاره عن الصواب، ولم يخرج منها إلا بما يزري من الآراء.
قال الشيخ مرعي الكرمي، رحمه الله تعالى:
" وأما تعليل أفعال الله كلها الجارية في المكلّفين وغيرهم فهذا ممّا لا سبيل إلى معرفته والوقوف على سر حقيقته، وفي مثل هذا المقام تخبطت الأفهام:
فقالت طائفة: إِن البهائم والأطفال لا تتألم ولا تحس بالألم وهذا جحد للضّرورة ومكابرة في المحسوس ...
وقالت طائفة من غلاة الرافضة: بالتزام التناسخ، وقالوا إنّما حسن ذلك لاستحقاقهم ذلك بجرائم سابقة اقترفوها في غير هذه القوالب، فنقلت أرواحهم إلى هذه القوالب، عقوبة لهم.
وموجب هذا التّخليط تعلق أمل هؤلاء بمعرفة حقيقة أسرار أفعال الله تعالى في المكلّفين وغيرهم، وهذا ممّا لا سبيل إلى معرفته.
ويكفي معرفة الحكمة والتّعليل في ثواب وعقاب المكلّفين؛ وهو المراد … " انتهى. "رفع الشبهة والغرر عمن يحتج على فعل المعاصي بالقدر" (ص57).
فأمثال هذه المسائل مما يجب على المؤمن أن يتناولها بما يقتضيه صدق إيمانه، فمادام مصدقا بأن الله عليم حكيم، كامل العلم والحكمة والعدل والرحمة والكرم، فلا ينبغي أن يسأل لماذا فعل الله تعالى هذا ولَمْ يفعلْ هذا.
قال الله تعالى: لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ الأنبياء/23.
قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله تعالى:
" وهو سبحانه خالق كل شيء وربه ومليكه، وله فيما خلقه حكمة بالغة، ونعمة سابغة، ورحمة عامة وخاصة.
وهو لا يُسأل عما يفعل وهم يسألون، لا لمجرد قدرته وقهره، بل لكمال علمه وقدرته ورحمته وحكمته " انتهى. "مجموع الفتاوى" (8 / 79).
وقال ابن القيم رحمه الله تعالى:
" إنّ له تعالى في كلّ ما خلقه وشرعه حكمةً بالغةً، ونعمةً سابغةً، لأجلها خلق وأمر، ويستحقّ أن يُثنى عليه ويُحمد لأجلها، كما يُثنى عليه ويحمد لأسمائه الحسنى ولصفاته العلى.
فهو المحمود على ذلك كله أتمّ حمدٍ، وأكمله، لما اشتملت عليه صفاته من الكمال، وأسماؤه من الحسن، وأفعاله من الحِكَم والغايات المقتضية لحمده، المطابقة لحكمته، الموافقة لمحابّه.
فإنّه سبحانه كامل الذات، كامل الأسماء والصفات، لا يصدر عنه إلا كلُّ فعلٍ كريم مطابق للحكمة، مُوجِبٍ للحمد ... " انتهى. "طريق الهجرتين" (1/322).
وأما من لم يرض، ولم يطمئن قلبه إلا بأن يشارك الله سبحانه وتعالى في كمال علمه، فمثل هذا لم يتيقن قلبه بكمال صفات الله تعالى الحسنى، ولم يحقق الإيمان بالغيب.
قال ابن الجوزي رحمه الله تعالى:
وإن التكليف هو الذي عجزت عنه الجبال، ومن جملته:
أنني إذا رأيت القدر يجري بما لا يفهمه العقل، ألزمت العقل الإذعان للمقدر، فكان من أصعب التكليف، وخصوصا فيما لا يعلم العقل معناه، كإيلام الأطفال، وذبح الحيوان، مع الاعتقاد بأن المقدر لذلك، والآمر به: أرحم الراحمين.
فهذا مما يتحير العقل فيه، فيكون تكليفه التسليم، وترك الاعتراض، فكم بين تكليف البدن وتكليف العقل؟! " "صيد الخاطر" (ص 81 -82).
وقال ابن أبي العز الحنفي رحمه الله تعالى:
" اعلم أن مبنى العبودية والإيمان بالله وكتبه ورسله، على التسليم وعدم الأسئلة عن تفاصيل الحكمة في الأوامر والنواهي والشرائع.
ولهذا لم يحك الله سبحانه عن أمة نبي، صدقت بنبيها وآمنت بما جاء به: أنها سألته عن تفاصيل الحكمة فيما أمرها به، ونهاها عنه، وبلغها عن ربها، ولو فعلت ذلك لما كانت مؤمنة بنبيها، بل انقادت وسلمت وأذعنت.
وما عرفت من الحكمة: عرفته.
وما خفي عنها: لم تتوقف في انقيادها وتسليمها على معرفته، ولا جعلت ذلك من شأنها، وكان رسولها أعظم عندها من أن تسأله عن ذلك " انتهى. "شرح الطحاوية" (1/341).
ثانيا:
الله سبحانه وتعالى خلق الحياة على هذا الوجه، لابتلاء العباد واختبار صدق إيمانهم، وحسن عملهم.
قال الله تعالى: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ * الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ الملك/1 – 2.
ومن أبواب الابتلاء، الابتلاء بالشبهات، فالله تعالى قد جعل في أمره وخلقه، ما هو مشتبه في نفسه، متشابه على المكلف؛ إذا لم يتعامل معه العبد بالوجه الذي أرشد إليه الشرع، وهو أن يفهم المتشابه على ضوء الأصول الواضحة الثابتة.
فمن خالف ذلك، وتمسك بالمتشابه، وشكك به في الأصول الواضحة: فقد زاغ وضل.
فعَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا، قَالَتْ: تَلاَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هَذِهِ الآيَةَ: هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ ... .
قَالَتْ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: فَإِذَا رَأَيْتِ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ فَأُولَئِكِ الَّذِينَ سَمَّى اللَّهُ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ رواه البخاري (4547)، ومسلم (2665).
والإنسان إذا تدبر في الكون وتفكر فيه، رأى أن كل ما استطاع فهمه من الأسرار التي بثت فيه، ليس فيها إلا الحكم والفوائد العظيمة، وهذا واضح لكل منصف؛ خاصة في هذا العصر المسمى بعصر الاكتشافات العلمية.
والعاقل: يقيس ما جهله من حكم الله تعالى في خلقه، على ما قد علمه وعقله.
قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله تعالى:
" فكل ما فعله، علمنا أن له فيه حكمة؛ وهذا يكفينا من حيث الجملة، وإن لم نعرف التفصيل.
وعدم علمنا بتفصيل حكمته، بمنزلة عدم علمنا بكيفية ذاته؛ وكما أن ثبوت صفات الكمال له معلوم لنا، وأما كنه ذاته فغير معلومة لنا، فلا نكذب بما علمناه ما لم نعلمه = فكذلك نحن نعلم أنه " حكيم " فيما يفعله ويأمر به. وعدم علمنا بالحكمة في بعض الجزئيات، لا يقدح فيما علمناه من أصل حكمته؛ فلا نكذب بما علمناه من حكمته، ما لم نعلمه من تفصيلها " انتهى. "مجموع الفتاوى" (6 / 128).
وقال ابن القيم رحمه الله تعالى:
" وليس في الحكمة إطلاع فرد من أفراد الناس على كمال حكمته في عطائه ومنعه، بل إذا كشف الله عن بصيرة العبد، حتى أبصر طرفا يسيرا من حكمته في خلقه وأمره وثوابه وعقابه، وتأمل أحوال محال ذلك، واستدل بما علمه على ما لم يعلمه، وتيقن أن مصدر ما علم وما لم يعلمه لحكمة بالغة لا توزن بعقول المخلوقين= فقد وُفِّق للصواب " انتهى. "مختصر الصواعق المرسلة" (ص 233).
وينظر: "شرح الطحاوية" لابن أبي العز (2/650).
ثالثا:
إن المتفكر في عالم الحيوانات، يرى أن الله تعالى قد أحاطها بنعمه ورحمته، فلم يخلق منها مخلوقا إلا وقد أحاطه ببيئة تلائم طبعه ورزقه، ومن كانت شدة الحرارة أو البرودة تضره، أو تؤثر في مطعمه، هداه إلى الهجرة، فيهاجر من شمال الأرض إلى جنوبها، ومن جنوبها إلى شمالها، لا يضل الطريق؛ مصداقا لقول الله عز وجل: الَّذِي أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى طه /50.
وحتى إنك ترى عالم الحيوانات الوحشية المفترسة، قد بث الله تعالى بلطفه رحمةُ بين أفرادها يتراحمون بها رغم توحشهم.
وفي وسط هذه النعم المتتابعة، قد تقع الآلام عارضة، وكثير من هذه الآلام تجدها مما يعود على المتألم بالنفع.
قال ابن القيم رحمه الله تعالى:
" وهو سبحانه وتعالى قد أحسن كل شيء خلقه، وقد أتقن كل ما صنع، وهذا أمر يعلمه العالمون بالله جملة، ويتفاوتون في العلم بتفاصيله.
وإذا عُرِف ذلك؛ فالآلام والمشاق: إما إحسان ورحمة، وإما عدل وحكمة، وإما إصلاح وتهيئة لخير يحصل بعدها، وإما لدفع ألم هو أصعب منها، وإما لتولّدها عن لذّات ونِعَم، يولّدها عنها أمر لازم لتلك اللذات، وإما أن يكون من لوازم العدل، أو لوازم الفضل والإحسان، فيكون من لوازم الخير التي إن عُطِّلت عُطِّلت ملزوماتها، وفات بتعطيلها خير أعظم من مفسدة تلك الآلام، والشرع والقدر أعدل شاهدين بذلك.
فكم في طلوع الشمس من ألم لمسافر وحاضر، وكم في نزول الغيث والثلوج من أذى...
وكثيرا ما تكون الآلام أسبابا لصحة، لولا تلك الآلام لفاتت، وهذا شأن أكثر أمراض الأبدان...
وما ينال الحيوانات غير المكلفة منها، فمغمور جدّا بالنسبة إلى مصالحها ومنافعها، كما ينالها من حرّ الصيف وبرد الشتاء، وحبس المطر والثلج، وألم الحمل والولادة، والسعي في طلب أقواتها، وغير ذلك، ولكن لَذَّاتُها أضعافُ أضعافِ آلامها، وما ينالها من المنافع والخيرات أضعاف ما ينالها من الشرور والآلام.
فسنّة الله في خلقه وأمره، هي التي أوجبها كمال علمه وحكمته وعزّته، ولو اجتمعت عقول العقلاء كلهم على أن يقترحوا أحسن منها، لعجزوا عن ذلك، وقيل لكل منهم: ارجع بصر العقل؛ هل ترى من خلل؟ ثم ارجع البصر كَرّتين، ينقلب إليك البصر خاسئا وهو حسير ... " انتهى. "شفاء العليل" (2/ 283 - 285).
ويقول شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية، رحمه الله، بعد حكاية اختلاف الناس في باب "الحكمة والتعليل":
" وعلى القول الأول ــ قول السلف والأئمة والجمهور ــ فإذا خَلَق ما خلق لحكمةٍ يحبّها ويرضاها، وخلقَ ما خلقه من الشرّ فلِما له في ذلك من الحكمة= لم يمتنع أن يكون فيما خلقه ضررٌ ما على بعض المخلوقات، إذ كان ذلك من لوازم الحكمة المرادة، وامتنع وجود الحكمة المرادة بدون ذلك. وإذا كان العبد لا يقبح منه إيلام الحيوان لحكمةٍ راجحة، فالخالق أولى أن لا يقبُح منه ذلك.
وإذا قيل: فقد كان يمكن وجود الحكمة بدون ذلك.
قيل: هذا قولٌ بلا علم، فمن أين لكم ذلك؟ وهو سبحانه وتعالى على كلِّ شيء قدير، والممتنع ليس بشيء باتفاق العقلاء.
فمن أين علمتم أن ذلك ممكن غير ممتنع، حتى تناوله القدرة؟
وعدمُ العلم بالامتناع، غيرُ العلم بعدم الامتناع، وكذلك عدم العلم بالإمكان، غير العلم بعدم الإمكان، وعدم العلم بالوجوب غير العلم بعدم الوجوب. ونظائر هذا متعددة.
ولكن كثير من الناس يشتبه عليهم هذا، فإذا لم يعلم أحدهم أنَّ الشيء موجود، أو واجبٌ، أو ممكنٌ، أو ممتنعٌ = ظنَّ أنه غير موجود، أو غير واجب ممكن، أو غير ممتنع؛ فيجعلون عدم العلم علمًا بالعدم! وهذا مما نهى الله عنه بقوله تعالى: وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ [الإسراء:36].
ولهذا كان النافي عليه الدليل، وأما المانع المطالب بالدليل؛ فليس عليه دليل، لأن النافي نفى وأخبر بالنفي، فليس له أن ينفي بلا علم، كما ليس له أن يُثبت بلا علم، بخلاف المانع المطالب، فإنه لم ينف ولم يثبت، بل طالب المثبت بدليل الإثبات والإنسان ليس له أن يتكلم بلا علمٍ، لا في النفي ولا في الإثبات، ولو سكت من لا يدري قلَّ الخلاف. فهذا هذا، والله أعلم". انتهى، من "جامع المسائل" (7/390-391).
الخلاصة:
من شأن العبد أن يلاقي في دنياه ما يستشكله من أمور في القدر والخلق، فلم يعط الله تعالى للعقل قدرة أن يحيط بكل شي علما، وسبيل المؤمن الموفق في مثل هذه المسائل أن يعتصم بإيمانه بأن الله كامل العلم والحكمة والرحمة والعدل، وأن يقيس ما يجهله من الحكم على ما علمه وتيقنه من أن في كل شيء حكمة بالغة.
كما قال الشيخ عبد الرزاق عفيفي رحمه الله تعالى:
" إيلام البهائم قبيح إن صدر من المخلوق من غير جرم أو غرض، سليم، فإن كان من الله، فلا بد له من حكمة، وإن لم نطلع عليها لقيام الدليل على عدله وحكمته " " انتهى. من تعليقه على "الإحكام في أصول الأحكام" (1 / 86).
والله أعلم.
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