Discourses of Rumi

322 V DISCOURSES OF RUMIwhatever.” That is impossible. How could He willa thing and not will the need for that thing?Amongst the needs that God has created is thisheadstrong nature in humanity that longs tobelieve such foolishness as what our opponentssay, thus leading people away from truth. Thelessons needed by such people are all the evils thatexist in this material world. Did God not willthose evils? However, if God had approved thoseevils, He would not have issued commandmentsand prohibitions against them. This proves thatevil is willed for the sake of something greater.But they still say, “God wills only good, andamongst such good things is abstaining from evil.Therefore, God desires only the averting of evil.”But evil cannot be averted unless evil exists. Orthey say, “God wills only faith,” but faith cannotexist except after disbelief, so disbelief is a prerequisiteto faith. Therefore, willing evil is onlybad when it is willed for its own sake. When evilis willed for the sake of some good, then it isgood.In the Koran it says, “In retaliation there is lifefor you.” Now, obviously retaliation is evil, being