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706 A common question Atheist's ask is that as you believe that God can carry out anything He wishes, can He create a rock that God himself cannot lift due to it being too heavy. Also can He do bad things, e.g. tell lies.

Some Muslims believe that these CAN be done by Allah (S.W.T), their reason being that as we the creation can tell lies, then of course God can, as he can do anything He wishes. However He will never perform bad things because this is a decision God has made to not do as this would otherwise not accord with the attributes of perfection.

Apparently the Maturidi and Ash'ari Scholars have said that yes, it is contingently possible for Allah to act against His previous word. But, Allah is true to His word and we can say with surety that it won't happen. This is the meaning of the verses in the Qur'an that state: "If it were not for a word already issued by Allah," [al-Qur'an 10:19]" How do we respond to these claims?
The answer to this question is simple. Allah is ‘Hakim’ (all-wise) and therefore His commands and own actions are governed by wisdom. A wise being does not perform abhorred actions. Lying is abhorred and therefore we cannot expect Allah to lie. We ask these people who ask such futile questions; have they ever seen a small matter in the entire universe which looks incomplete, useless or functionless? Every single creation of Allah, from the ant to the planets, has a function and purpose. Then what purpose and function could there possibly be from proving that Allah can lie?

Moreover, if one can show that it is possible for Allah (S.W.T) to lie, then what does this say about our religion, divine book, our Prophet and our Shariah? Are all of these now based on the premises of doubt too?

(Answered by: Alims at Islamic Centre, Leicester, UK.)
Category (Allah (SWT) / Prophets of Allah)
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