Meanwhile...

Meanwhile, since pure evil means pure non-existence and sheer nullity and that the assumption of existence in this case is to assume two contradictory things, the equality of its evil with its goodness or its evil as more dominant than its goodness is in conflict with the Divine providence which necessitates the best order.

This is incompatible with a being whose goodness is more dominant than its evil, for the non-existence of more dominant goodness due to some evil is in itself a manifestation of more dominant evil, and this is incompatible with the Divine providence and wisdom.[^1] The Non-discernment of Evil in the Realm of Nature Apart from the Necessary Being by essence ( wājib al-wujūd bi ’dh-dhāt ) what possess reality or existence are the two realms; one is the realm of non-material ( mufāriq ) and incorporeal ( mujarrad ) beings, and the other is the realm of nature and material beings.

Manifestations of evil ( shurūr ) surface in the realm of nature and material beings only because the nature of evil is absence or non-existence ( ‘adam ) – the absence or non-existence of what is desirable and contingent for a thing – and it is either the absence of the primary perfection (the archetype) or that of the secondary perfection.

In any case, non-existence is a characteristic of a material thing and it pertains to matter and possibility (dispositional possibility or imkān-e isti‘dādī ). Therefore, such non-existence which is the origin and source of evil has no place except in the physical realm.

In this regard, ‘Allāmah al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī has said: “Evil, corruption and their likes are all undesirable and unwanted things which can be found in the physical realm; likewise, the concept of “bad” or “undesirable” is a concept which arises in contrast to the “good” or “desirable”.

Had there been no wellbeing or good health which our physical beings desire, we would have never regarded illness as bad, and had there been no comfort and security and any of the carnal or sensual pleasures, losing any of them would have never been painful for us or be considered a misfortune, just as we never regard the evenness of the number “four” or the oddness of the number “three” as good or bad, good luck or bad luck because there is no point of comparison.

It thus becomes clear that “evil” is an analogical matter and a non-existential concept in contrast to an attainable existential matter.