According To The Qur’an, Are Calamities Always A Result Of Human Actions, Or Can
No, there is no contradiction between Qur’an 42:30 and 64:11. They are speaking about two different levels of the same reality, and when read together, they actually complete each other. Qur’an 42:30 says that calamities occur because of what people “earn.” This verse is addressing moral causation. It highlights human responsibility: our choices, actions, negligence, injustice, or misuse of free will can lead to harmful consequences—personally or collectively. It corrects the mindset of seeing oneself as a pure victim and reminds humans that actions matter in the moral order Allah has set. Qur’an 64:11, on the other hand, says that no calamity occurs except by Allah’s permission. This verse is addressing ontological control. It clarifies that nothing—good or bad—escapes Allah’s knowledge, will, and governance. Even when harm results from human action, it does not occur independently of Allah’s overarching system, laws, and allowance. Put simply:42:30 answers “Why?” → because of human actions and responsibility.64:11 answers “How and under whose control?” → only by Allah’s permission. An analogy helps: if someone drives recklessly and crashes, the crash happened because of their behavior (responsibility), but it also happened within the laws of physics and reality that Allah created and allows to operate (permission). Both statements are true at the same time. These verses also leave room for another Qur’anic reality: not every hardship is punishment. Some hardships are tests, some are consequences, some are reminders, and some are means of growth. The Qur’an does not reduce all suffering to guilt, nor does it remove human accountability by blaming fate. So the Qur’an is teaching balance:Humans are responsible agents, not helpless victims.Allah is sovereign, not absent or overruled by human action.Together, the verses protect us from two extremes: blaming Allah for our wrongs, and believing we operate outside His will.