Question: Is Evil from Satan, Ourselves, or Allah?
4:78 Say: "All things are from Allah."
4:79 Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thyself.
4:82 Do they not ponder on the Qur'an? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.
Evil things are without doubt a subset of "all things", and if "all things are from Allah" then the evil things are from Allah as well, and the author of the Qur'an can't pass the guilt on and blame others as done in verse 79.
It is interesting that Muhammad would contradict himself within two consecutive verses and then write three verses later that discrepancy is a sign that it is not from God.
But this topic isn't over with just yet.
38:41 Commemorate Our Servant Job, behold he cried out to his Lord: "Satan has afflicted me with distress and suffering!"
Now we have a third party joining the contest for responsibility. Is evil from ourselves? Is it from Satan? Or is it from Allah?
Any two of them contradict each other, but in particular do the first two (4:79, 38:41) contradict the third (4:78) as Allah claimed all things as from himself.
Answer: The answer is simple: we make our decisions in the world and we do both the good and evil. We do the micro-management. Every one of us does his actions in a little circle around him. God does the macro-management. He knows every one movement in details and let us to lead our micro-managements in different directions that end to be his macro-management. I give you a little example if you threw a stone all you can say it will go up and it will fall down. God knows more than that he knows how high it goes, when it starts to go down, if it will hit a bird that is flying and then fall on a person who is walking. So God may cause us to get the good from even an evil that done to us. Even Satan does the micro-management to each of us but God only knows the macro-management or the big picture. That is why God and not Satan make the prophecies meanwhile we still have the will to do what we want. Thus all things are from God as verse 4:78:
4:78 "Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!" If some good befalls them, they say, "This is from Allah.; but if evil, they say, "This is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from Allah." But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact? أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُواْ يُدْرِككُّمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُّشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُواْ هَـذِهِ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُواْ هَـذِهِ مِنْ عِندِكَ قُلْ كُلًّ مِّنْ عِندِ اللّهِ فَمَا لِهَـؤُلاء الْقَوْمِ لاَ يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثًا
Verse 4:79 asks the prophet and all of us as slaves of God to claim the evil to our sins and our inadequacies but the good to him. Ultimately you are getting very good deal to be good in earth for your good and you inherit the heaven as well.
4:79 Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah. but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul. and We have sent thee as an apostle to (instruct) mankind. And enough is Allah for a witness.
مَّا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِن سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِن نَّفْسِكَ وَأَرْسَلْنَاكَ لِلنَّاسِ رَسُولاً وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ شَهِيدًا
God let Satan do the evil in the earth. Mostly due to our disobedience. Thus Satan power only comes by God's will.
38:41 Commemorate Our Servant Job. Behold he cried to his Lord: "The Evil One has afflicted me with distress and suffering!"
وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا أَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الشَّيْطَانُ بِنُصْبٍ وَعَذَابٍ
In Isaiah 53 where God talked about a righteous servant. He did not mention he is sinless (even prophets have minor sins). But the things God bruised him for were to feel him with grief against all injustices.
