Fathwa - Saying that evil is a lack of good

Question
Some people say that evilis not an entity by itself, but rather, it is
a lack of good. Is this notion correct?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that
MuhammadisHis slave and Messenger.
There are evil souls like the devils and the rebellious jinn, and acts
and incidents of evil, like disbelief, dissoluteness, disease and
epidemic and so on. Indeed, Allaah created good and evil, and He tests
His slaves with them, as Allaah says )what means(: }And We test you
with evil and with good as trial.{]Quran 21:35[ For more benefit,
please refer to Fatwa 2855.
There is good and wisdom in all what Allaahdoes, but evil takes place
in the acts of the creatures, and this is due to the lack of good in
their acts.
Ibn Abi Al-'Izz Al-Hanafidealt with this subject when he interpreted
Al-'Aqeedah At-Tahaawiyyah as he said: "Know that all evil is due to
nonexistence, i.e. the nonexistence of good and the causes that lead
to it; in this sense it becomes evil, but as regards its very
existence, there is no evil in it. Example: evil souls: their presence
is good in itself, but evil happened to them because of depriving them
from good matter, as in principle they were created dynamic, so if
they were helped with knowledge and the inspiration of good, they will
move towards good, but if they were left )without help(, they will
move by their nature to what is contrary to this."
Allaah Knows best.