Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 457
12 May 1908 457 absence of existence. Why wouldn’t the God who created such vast provision for this lone little tiny earth, have created any provision for all the other inhabitations? He is equally the Lord of all and aware of the needs of all. The remaining statement that human toil and trouble is the consequence of Eve’s eating an apple is not a tenet of Islam. Indeed, we are given the teaching: 1 ىٰرْخُا اَل ُرِزَت ٌةَرِزاَو َرْزِّو اَل ُرِزَت ٌةَرِزاَو َرْزِّو ىٰرْخُا Person X cannot receive the punishment in exchange for Person Y, nor is any benefit even conceivable from this. Eve’s devouring an apple is not the cause of these difficulties, toils, and pun- ishment. On the contrary, the Quran has asserted reasons for these that are totally different. Question: There are two topics that I wish to inquire about. First, what is sin? A person from one country believes some- thing to be a sin, whereas someone from another country does not consider that very act to be a sin. Man gradually evolved from an insect until he became man and then he learned to distinguish between right and wrong, differentiated between truth and falsehood, understood good and evil, developed the knowledge of sin and reward, and in this way he subsequently gave way to disagreement. One person views an act as a sin while another does not deem it a sin and indulges in it. The second is what is Satan? Even with God Almighty being the Possessor of such knowledge and power, how did 1. No bearer shall carry the burden of another ( S u rah al-An‘ a m, 6:165). [Publisher]