By saying there is no evil in existence is meant that what
has come from the Origin of existence and being is good and useful. It is good
in its time and place and not evil. For example, I can say that there is no
darkness in the sun because darkness is the absence of light and has no
existence in itself. Oppression is the absence of justice and ignorance is the
lack of knowledge. Hence, the imperfections and defects of the world of
creation, the contingent world, are merely the absence of virtues and the lack
of perfections. These defects have not come from the Source; rather, the
essential properties of the world of matter which are change and transformation
cause the training of all things and the manifestation of perfections of
realities and spirits.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, November 14, New
York, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
