Advice for a boy
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās was a boy when he rode behind the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) on the same mount one day. The Prophet turned to him and said: young man, I will teach you some words.
Be mindful of God, and He will protect you. Be mindful of God, and you will find Him in front of you. When you ask, ask God. When you seek help, seek God's help.
Know that if the whole of creation gathered together to benefit you with something, they could not benefit you except with what God has already written for you. And if they gathered together to harm you with something, they could not harm you except with what God has already written against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages are dry. (Tirmidhi 2516, graded ṣaḥīḥ)
Muslims often teach these words to children. They are not meant to make people careless; elsewhere the Prophet told a man to tie his camel. They are meant to free a young person from fear of other people. No bully, no rumour, no powerful person holds harm or benefit in their own hands. Both pass only by God's leave, and with God's knowledge. That is the meaning of aḍ-Ḍārr and an-Nāfiʿ, said together.
What each faith says
Judaism
“I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things.”
Isaiah 45:7 · JPS 1917
Isaiah puts both light and darkness in God's hands: “I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things.” Its Hebrew word ra, translated 'evil' in 1917, means calamity or misfortune here, not moral wickedness. Jewish prayer softens the verse in its morning blessing to “makes peace and creates all things”.
The words of Joseph to his brothers express the same trust: “Ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
The Mishnah asks Jews to bless God for the bad as well as the good (Mishnah Berakhot 9:5). It does not pretend the bad is good; it refuses to let any part of life fall outside God's hands.
Christianity
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 · WEB
Paul wrote to Christians in Rome who were suffering: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.” Christians do not say suffering is good. They say God can bring good out of it.
Christians also believe God shares human suffering in the cross of Jesus. Many Christian thinkers have written honestly about pain and faith. C. S. Lewis, an Anglican, wrote The Problem of Pain in 1940, and twenty years later, after his wife Joy died, the far rawer A Grief Observed.
Islam
“Those of the wandering Arabs who were left behind will tell thee: Our possessions and our households occupied us, so ask forgiveness for us! They speak with their tongues that which is not in their hearts. Say: Who can avail you aught against Allah, if He intend you hurt or intend you profit? Nay, but Allah is ever Aware of what ye do.”
Qur'an 48:11 · Pickthall (1930)
Aḍ-Ḍārr is not in the Qur'an as a Name; it is in the traditional list, always with an-Nāfiʿ. The Qur'an teaches the meaning: harm touches only by God's leave (10:107), and no one can avail anything against God if He wills harm or benefit (48:11).
Scholars stress that God never wrongs anyone. The Name speaks of His total control and wisdom, not of cruelty, and is not to be used to frighten. The site's page on suffering explores the hard questions honestly.
Same and different
Isaiah 45, Romans 8 and the Qur'an all hold that nothing, including hardship, lies outside God's knowledge, and that God can bring good from harm. All three take suffering seriously and reject the idea that God is cruel. Christians add the belief that God suffered in Christ; Jews and Muslims do not. Judaism blesses God even for bad news, and Islam teaches that even the prick of a thorn can wipe away a believer's sins (Sahih al-Bukhari 5640).
A moment to reflect
- Has something painful ever turned out to protect you or teach you?
- What would you want a young person you love to know about hard times?
- What helps you when a harm makes no sense at all?
Watch
University of Wyoming Extension explains serotinous pine cones that open only with fire.
A time-lapse of a serotinous cone opening in heat.
Do it together
Look at a pine cone closed and then after warming it on a radiator (not a flame). Watch it open. Talk about harm and benefit coming together in nature.
Use the site's page on suffering as a starting point. Ask a rabbi, minister and imam how their tradition helps people who are suffering, and listen without trying to win.
Go deeper
- University of Bristol: captopril, Molecule of the Month · article
- USDA Forest Service: lodgepole pine fire ecology · article
- Why is there suffering? (this site) · article
- Qur'an 6:17 · scripture
- Isaiah 45 (JPS 1917) on Sefaria · scripture
- Romans 8 (WEB) on Bible Gateway · scripture
Sources (4)
- Congenital insensitivity to pain: never feel pain when injured: MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine)
- Lodgepole serotinous cones and fire: USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System
- Captopril from Bothrops jararaca venom; FDA approval April 1981: University of Bristol, Molecule of the Month
- 'If they gathered to harm you...': Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2516 (ṣaḥīḥ)