The ‘problem of evil’

Despite being discussed to death, the so-called ‘problem of evil’ has defied solution in many religious traditions. No wonder the atheists employ it as their premiere argument to demonstrate the naivety of believers. However, what over the centuries has challenged the best intellects of generations of theists has never been much of an insoluble problem for Muslims. They have generally wondered what all the fuss was about – at any rate Muslims who give serious thought to their religion.

For the considerate Muslim, there is nothing irreconcilable about evil in the world and belief in God. When the atheist tries to tie such a Muslim up in knots by asking why an Omniscient and Omnipotent God allows evil in the world, the Muslim readily spots the fault in the argument. That is, unlike All-powerful and All-knowing, the attribute ‘All-good’ or ‘Perfectly-good’ means nothing when it is applied to God. This is so because good and bad are relative terms. It is like calling boiling water hot. It certainly is hot to your skin, but not very hot as compared to the surface of the sun. Similar is the case with good and evil. When you kill a mosquito using some chemical, that is good for you but bad for the mosquito. When, on the other hand, it manages to sting you despite your repellents and insect-killers, that is good for it but bad for you. Good and bad are themes of the universe (or of creatures), not those of God. The project of reconciling ‘All-goodness’ with Omniscience and Omnipotence of God is therefore a non-starter because it means nothing. No intelligent theist would even attempt it.

According to the Quran, God gives man free-will inside a certain domain to test him. Man is given potential and permission to do good as well as bad inside that domain. Without the freedom to think independently he would merely be an algorithm; without the permission to act it out, there would be no free-will. Without these then, there would be no test to speak of. We would then merely be automatons going through the motions. God thus creates human beings who can do good as well as bad. Hence the verse in the Quran that explicitly instructs men to take refuge in God from the evil of things that He has created.

The presence of evil is certainly no fault in the design of the universe. Evil is an integral part of the world, and there is a very good reason for its existence. Things are known by their opposites. Good is known precisely because there is evil.

It may be tempting to demand why God does not eliminate evil altogether when it should not be difficult for Him – if he is Omnipotent, that is. Indeed, there is nothing that is too difficult for God, but there are things that – though no big deal for Him – would go against the scheme on which He created man. He makes it clear in the Quran that this life is a test for man. Without the potential to do well or otherwise, there would be no test.

That is the logical inconsistency ingrained in the frame of mind that implicitly or explicitly demands the elimination of all evil before it would come round to believing in an ‘All-good’ God. The Muslim not only recognizes this inconsistency but looks at the abundance of evil in the world in a completely different way. Instead of demanding what God is doing (or not doing) about all the evil in the world, He fears God questioning him why he did not do whatever was in his power to confront and resist that evil. As the Quran says, while God is entitled to demand explanations from every soul, He Himself is not answerable to anybody. And this makes complete sense to the Muslim because he appreciates that God is All-powerful and All-Wise, which man is certainly not. Humility, not arrogance, is called for here. To overestimate one’s abilities and qualities is not only arrogant but foolish as well.

It sure looks like there is way too much evil in the world. A Quranic verse mentions that one may be dazzled by the abundance of evil in the world. But the verse also reminds man not to be misled by that; and instructs him to be mindful of his duty to God so that he may succeed. For evil can never equal good by its frequency alone. In another place, it explains that God heaps evil things one on top of another and disposes them all collectively.

There may be a lot of evil in the world but there is a lot of good as well, even if it takes the form of outrage or horror in one’s heart when one encounters evil. If anything, far from disproving God, the fact that the presence of evil disturbs us is a problem for the atheist.

The presence of evil is certainly no fault in the design of the universe. Evil is an integral part of the world, and there is a very good reason for its existence. Things are known by their opposites. Good is known precisely because there is evil. If there is no evil there can be no good either. Nobody would be brave or heroic if there were no such thing as cowardice under the sun.

There is certainly no reason why man should get bogged down in confusion and/or inaction because of the so-called ‘problem of evil’.