Islam why does god allow suffering

However, some people say that in practice history and religious education were used to promote war rather than peace. They argue that because religion is, and has been, the cause of so much violence and wars, religious education should be banned from schools and colleges in Islamic society. My contention is that, taught sensitively and in the right way, religious education can in fact be a force for good, peace, understanding and reconciliation.

The vast majority of Muslims and Islamic scholars believe that nothing in Muhammad's life or in the Qur'an or Islamic law justify terrorism. There are many principles in Islamic teachings that provide a foundation for creative peacemaking. In Arabic salaam is translated as peace and is considered as one of the holy names of God. Nasr, : Islam is a religion of universalism, tolerance, peace, and reconciliation.

Islam teaches that life is sacred and that the believer has a duty to uphold truth and justice. Social justice is the core principle of Islam. Pursuing justice in the face of oppression and suffering is the personal and collective duty of every Muslim. But Islam is often misunderstood as a religion of the sword that justifies the use of violence to spread the faith; while the principles of nonviolence are not well developed within Islam. Concepts of peace are at the core of the Islamic teachings.

The term salaam envisions a peaceful, harmonious social order of justice towards all without violence or conflict. The primary principle in Islam is peace. Islam emphasizes on peace in communication with all Muslim and non- Muslim people in a society, and encourages its adherents to avoid war and violence.

There are many principles of peace in Islam, which are significant for creating the culture of peace that I shall point to some of them here:. The first and cardinal principle of culture of peace is the acceptance of religious faith is optional. According to Islamic teachings, people are free to accept religious belief.

And God hears and knows all things. These passages counsel tolerance and patience toward other faiths. Therefore, religious faith is a voluntary matter that individuals must choose freely and consciously and not compulsively.

The message of such verses of the Qur'an is to respect dissenting beliefs and to recognize the freedom of others. This principle can in many cases prevent cultural violence and contribute to the realization of a culture of peace. The second principle in creating a culture of peace and a non-violent society is Islam's emphasis on peace as the primary law and non-violence.

The Qur'an invites people to peace and life, and regards war and violence as the evil way. That means: But if they incline towards peace, then incline towards it, and put your trust in Allah. He is the Hearer, the Knower. Moreover, except in limited cases, it does not permit the use of force. Although the Qur'an recognizes the right to retribution its adherents, it is also a reward for forgiveness.

So in ash-Shura it says: The retribution of a bad action is one equivalent to it. However, whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward lies with Allah. He does not love the unjust.

This principie is so important in Islam that even if the enemy becomes cowardly, it does not endorse the deviation from human values. So after the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet of Islam said instead of revenge and bloodshed today is a day of mercy. Therefore, the distinction between aggression and defense must be distinguished; aggression is unlawful but defense is permissible under certain circumstances.

The Qur'an has even forbidden Muslims from re- proaching. We made attractive to every com- munity their deeds. In his defensive battles, the Prophet of Islam best practiced human and moral principles, even treating his most vicious enemies with humane behavior. During the Hunayn war, he granted the majority of captives mercy and returned their property to them. In the conquest of Mecca that some Muslims used to chant that today is the day of vengeance, but the Prophet said to them today is a day of mercy, then told the people of Mecca and the leaders of their war, you are all free and there is no worry for you.

The Prophet of Islam during the wars never deprived the enemy of drinking water. In the Kheybar battle he was strongly opposed when he was offered the opportunity to close the waterway or poison the drinking water in the fortress, and forbade the spread of poison in the city of enemies and in general everywhere. During the war, the Prophet said: Do not kill women, children and the elders and do not burn palm trees and crops.

Imam Ali PBUH also commands his soldiers: Never start a war with the enemy unless they start, do not kill the fugitives, do not attack the wounded, don't go into their homes, don't attack women, and don't scold anyone. Ibn al-Jouzi, : The teachings of Islam invite people to live a peaceful life based on theism, justice and purity. Therefore, peace in Islam is an eternal constitution.

Even the nature of war in Islam is a defensive one, not an offensive one, because the principle of Islam is peace and coexistence, not conflict, violence and war.

In many verses of the Qur'an, God has allowed Muslims to fight only for defense. Therefore, war in Islam is a secondary principle, not a primary one. The third principle in creating a culture of peace and a non-violent society is to pay attention to the spiritual self-awareness inherent in our human nature that can move people away from violence.

Human nature has a tendency for peace and friendship. Enjoying compassion, and love for others is part of our human nature. Violence is not our nature. Basically, non-violent relationships can bring us closer to our nature and help us connect and return to what is truly a pleasing way of life, one that con tributes to one another's well-being and comfort.

Human nature tends to peace, and not violence; violence comes from how we learn, not from our human nature. The Islamic teachings attempt to invite people to global peace and a peaceful life on the basis of theism, justice and piety. So, in Islam peace is an immortal and primary law. Allah loveth not aggressors. This interpretation of peace which is based on Qur'anic teachings can develop a widespread peace around the world and terminate conflicts in many places. In spite of these principles of peace in Islamic cultural heritage, we question the reason behind the violence in some Islamic societies; violence in various dimensions of direct or structural violence or cultural violence.

To respond to this question, I would say that since there are many types of interpretation of Islamic doctrines from different points of view, and within different Islamic communities, hence, we are faced with the conflicting voices in some fields.

However, we should not forget that there are conflicting voices within other religions as well. It must be stressed at this point that the problem is not with religion per se.

It is not the philosophy or the doctrines, it is not the practices or the rituals, which are the issue. Rather, it is our interpretation of religion which constitutes the problem.

It is the meaning we attach to certain doctrines and rituals which creates difficulties. Over the centuries, most adherents of most of the faiths have developed an exclusive view of their particular religious tradition. God is seen as the God of their particular group. Truth and justice, love and compassion, are perceived as values which are exclusive to their religion. The unity that they seek is invariably the unity of their own kind. Their religion -they are passionately convinced- is superior to other religions.

This Islamic theory of peace culture is misused in some Islamic societies because of poor knowledge of Islamic teachings or due to wrong education. And there are different interpretations of religion and its foundations among Muslims and there are also misunderstandings of Islamic teachings.

There is no question that the problem is not with the essence of Islam but with the problem of understanding and interpreting Islam. As a result, people are drawn into violence, war and strife because of some misunderstandings and misinterpretations of Islam's teachings.

One of the main causes of misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the Islamic teachings, is Fundamentalism, and the avoidance of rationality. The use of reason in understanding, and interpreting religion, has always been the subject of serious disputes among scholars throughout the history of religion. As a result of Fundamentalism, and the avoidance of rationality in the religious teachings, the individual has adopted a religious exclusivist approach and considers himself just and salvable, and that all other religions are void and misleading.

One prominent example is the idea of Salafist religious exclusivist. Otherwise, how can our enactment of good be commendable or evil be reprehensible if we are like feathers in the wind, with no agency whatsoever?

Resigning oneself to the fact that one can only see pixels while God sees the entire picture is a huge test of intellectual humility. Accepting that you are like the ant on the carpet who sees the masterpiece it walks on as a chaotic jungle calls for the greatest dose of humility.

Ibn al-Jawzi d. This recognition obligates it to forgo [objecting to] whatever of this [wisdom] is hidden from it. Whenever a specific matter is unclear to it, it would hence be incorrect to then determine that the principle itself is invalid. What possible wisdom could there be in a young innocent child being killed? In the story of Prophet Moses and al-Khidr [], those apparently pointless evils were unveiled to show us the subtle strands of hidden detail in the Divine tapestry.

This story demonstrates that we quite often cannot comprehend the ultimate wisdom behind apparent evils. Little did Moses peace be upon him realize that damaging that boat prevented it from being forcefully taken by a pirate-king and that killing that sinless child was out of ultimate mercy for both him and his parents, sparing them all a greater evil had he grown to maturity among them. In reality, though, these laws set this world as it was meant to be, and are there in order for life to serve as a stage for the test of life.

Events have to exist that call for confidently appealing to God in supplication, courageously rescuing those in danger, and selflessly serving those in need. It is true that the laws God created to make life possible, stable, and enjoyable, are the same laws that sometimes make life painful and uncomfortable.

The melting of glaciers does irrigate the land and quench the thirst of people and animals but may also result in destructive floods. Lightning provides plants with nitric oxide but may sometimes fatally strike down a human being. However, in all these cases, God created a natural law that offers a far greater good for the world than the occasional evil it causes.

That greater good includes, but is not limited to, the ability to engage a comprehendible reality natural laws and the evaluation of how our will is used in light of that reality. When sizing up our transient lives in this world, measuring them against the life of the hereafter, the problem of evil and suffering disintegrates. What are 70 years of supposed misery measured against, not 70 trillion, but endless years of unimaginable bliss? Once they die, they awaken.

It is common to find atheists aggregating the incidents of evil in the world, piling them together to evoke the emotions of their audience, attempting to persuade people to anger against God. By appealing to emotion, they seek to highlight these pains and sufferings as if they were not exceptions but the rule. Did you experience any distress? I did not experience any distress; I did not see a single hardship. The ugliest atrocities like those committed by Hitler and Stalin, or those perpetrated against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the saddest crises like those of starving children collectively amount to near nothing when compared to everlasting life.

In reality, it is atheism that has to grapple with the problem of evil, not those who see this life with all its hardships as a shadow-world next to the enjoyment of the next life. The believer whose mind is illuminated by revelation understands that just as the dead earth is brought to life each spring, and just as we were unliving and came to life before birth, our death will not be our end but rather just the beginning—transitioning to a new life where every annoyance and pain will be forgotten.

It is interesting how some people mock the pursuit of Paradise, but at the same time embrace painstaking years of study in order to earn a degree, to put some food on the table and a roof over their heads. To secure a home with limited walls no matter how spacious , and some food for energy no matter how delicious , we all consider it fair to invest and toil for years, yet some find it unfair to work for an unending unimaginable bliss.

Therefore, although a mindful Muslim sees the problem of evil as making this life more meaningful, and hence remains immune to nihilism and apathy, he or she simultaneously sees the problems of life as seeds to cultivate their true life in the hereafter.

Indeed, they see it [as] distant. Far from being distant or indifferent, Allah God as described by authentic revelation loves to give and forgive, even those who continue to get and forget.

Simply put, that is His unique Sublime Nature. But for this forgiveness to take place, there must exist sins and sinners. If Allah wished for humanity to be sinless angels, that would not have been difficult for Him, but who then would these beautiful Divine traits envelop? Who would God redeem, and who would be mended after breakage by the Most Merciful?

Some may argue that a doctor would readily remove the painful element of treatment if he could, so why does God not purify souls without pain? What Ibn al-Qayyim suggests here is that it is the pain itself that serves to purify the wicked soul. Without repentance, indulgence in sin continues to desensitize its doer and blind them from seeing anything but their next moment of prohibited pleasure.

Just before they finish spiritually strangling themselves with these sins, and just before their faith bleeds its last drops, God rescues them from accelerating any further down that slippery slope to their doom. This rescue comes in the form of a Divine reprimand and sometimes arrives just before their lives expire in heedlessness, by afflicting them or those near them. On the individual level, consider a person dying a slow and painful death from a terminal illness; most would judge this at face value as utterly tragic.

The medicines failing his body, and the loved ones streaming tears at his bedside, finally might bring forth a humility and brokenness in his spirit that qualifies him for salvation.

Lastly, sacrificing a part to preserve the whole—when necessary—is something all prudent people find to be reasonable. Good and evil are two sides of the same coin, an inseparable cosmic pair that need each other to exist. Valor cannot exist without peril, forgiveness cannot exist without offense, and perseverance cannot exist without obstacle. The delight of satiety is only known to those bitten by hunger, and feeling quenched is only savored by those who experience thirst.

There must be some manifestations of evil in order to attain the virtue of conquering them. As Hubert S. God deemed that there must be sickness, so that we would pursue and enjoy health, and that there must be failure, so that we would be interested in accomplishment. We will savor nothing of our lives on this earth unless we also taste its bitterness on our tongues, and feel its regrets streaming down our cheeks.

Explaining how pain is the container in which pleasure is delivered, Ibn al-Qayyim says,. A world without evil is like a world without good; neither possesses any meaning which a person would strive to actualize. Hence, when atheists demand a world without evil, they are simultaneously asking for a sterile world void of all good.

God preferring some over others has many profound benefits, and evoking feelings of gratitude is certainly at the forefront of those benefits. The worth of this feeling is many times underestimated, while in reality, it serves as the only escape from the endless frustrating chase of materialism that negatively impacts both our physical and mental health. In reality, true riches involve being content at heart. Since God showers us with an endless downpour of favors, devoting every wakeful moment to thanking Him is only fair, and that is why living an attempt at thanks Islam is the dearest thing to Him which He rewards eternally.

However, noticing the value of gratitude and embodying it are two very different missions. As for the latter, few things can ever be as effective as experiencing hurt or deprivation in your own life, or the lives of those around you.

Life being a simulated but unreal drama will not actualize its objective, because although a picture may be worth a thousand words, an authentic experience is worth a thousand images. Therefore, the very real disparities between those ultra-rich and those dirt-poor, those with large families and dejected orphans, those fully mobile and those perpetually bedridden, are but avenues through which the gift of gratitude is thrown right into our laps.

Towards the end of high school I fell in love with my best friend, who was also very devoutly Mormon. I felt a sense of doom, feeling that there was no possible way my life would work out in any sort of positive way. I kept my sexual orientation under wraps and left to serve as a Mormon missionary at age After I came home two years later and started to think seriously about the rest of my life, I finally began to acknowledge the truth.

I went through much of the coming out process while I was studying at the church-owned Brigham Young University. Eventually I started dating guys—something that would have gotten me expelled if discovered—and I realized that I needed to make a decision between the church and the other life that was available to me. I agonized over this decision for months. One night, I was in the church building and found myself alone in the chapel.

Being with him made me feel love and peace, not guilt and shame. I knelt down in the chapel to pray and asked God one last time if he was there and if the church was where I was supposed to be. I sat quietly for a long time, yet felt nothing. I realized then and there that I no longer believed. I stood up in tears and ran my hand along the pews, touching hymn books, as I walked to the door.

I turned around and looked back at the empty chapel, seeing everything I had grown up knowing and loving, and grieved. That grief lasted for a long time. I knew what I was doing was right, but I still grieved for the part of my life that I was leaving behind. It was like that part of me died. But a different part of me flourished for the first time. My relationship at the time ended, but shortly after, I started dating the man who is now my husband.

He also came from a very Mormon family. Together we started to build a life. I dropped out of BYU and we got an apartment together, and last year we got married. I now consider myself agnostic. I still identify with Mormonism as my heritage—it will always be where I come from—but I am no longer a member of that or any church. My gayness definitely shaped my decision to no longer be a part of the Mormon church.

For years I beat myself over my own identity. I struggled with reconciling the idea of being married to a woman but being attracted to men. How could that kind of partnership possibly be fulfilling? As I approached 25, I slowly became less and less attached to the church and its teachings.

Then a remarkable thing happened: I began to be at peace with myself. I stopped attending church some time in my 26th year. The gift of gayness is realizing that, as RuPaul has put it, we are God in drag. But what does matter is finding our true selves and sharing ourselves with those that love us. I am 31 years old. I was always really devout, but I harbored doubts about the teachings since I was a child. I finally came clean to my family about it at the end of my first year of college when I was 19 years old and told them that I no longer wanted to be a JW.

After heart to hearts with each family member, all five of my siblings and my parents stopped talking to me. I was followed around town by members of the church. My family withdrew financial support. Though I had plenty exposure to shunning and excommunication, I was naive enough to believe that my family would never do that. I thought if I was honest they would respect my decision and embrace me.

Recovery has been a long process. I ended up transferring schools a year after the shunning. I left my hometown in South Carolina and finished my degree at Temple University. I am doing an MA in journalism next fall. I also co-facilitated a workshop last fall for people who have been shunned or have endured other forms of spiritual abuse.

Thanks for posing this question about religious choice. To join the dialogue, drop us an email. I am a Witness, been one for over 30 years. Also, if this daughter was baptized and then chose not to continue, she is not ostracized.

But I would prefer to socialize more with those who serve God. Now if she were practicing wicked and immoral behaviors condemned as willful sin and was disfellowship, then this is from scripture: 1st Corinth It is a loving provision from God for the person to recapacitate as well, as to keep the congregation clean.

They asked why not? My reply may help: I could never be a part of something that does not allow their members to investigate for themselves what other churches believe. If what you believe can not survive the scrutiny in the public market place, then frankly it is a false religion.

To have such restrictions against exposure to any other belief structure demonstrates a fear of not being capable of carrying the day with you argument. There have been repeated alterations and changes in the writings of the JW teaching, and they have done their best to remove any of the older publications from the marketplace.

I was once invited to Passover by a young JW who was neatly attired with his little sister. He came to my home the parsonage and invited me to Passover. I asked him why he would invite me to something I could not participate in only the , can partake of Passover. If at any point they think that position has changed, they will trade off with other teachers, or cancel the studies all together. For now I want to highlight one especially good reader comment on the piece Frances Johnson wrote for us about LGBT Mormons who have to decide whether to stay in the Church and stay celibate; try being openly gay and hope for the best; or resign from the membership rolls and effectively quit their religion.

A number of other religious groups are struggling with divisions over homosexuality; last May, for example, I wrote about LGBT-related conflicts among Mennonites. Either way I lose. I have very personal experiences that have caused me to believe many of the teachings of the church.

Many things that I believe are so deep and personal they are at the core of my being, things that I cannot deny. And then I have the very deep and personal feelings of being attracted to men … something that is a core to my being and that I cannot, nor want to, deny. Which is why I enjoy hearing different perspectives on the subject.

I hope to broaden my thought and understanding, in hopes of something helping me decide. Tell us about it: hello theatlantic. It was hard enough dealing with the slurs, etc. I had to choose between my faith Catholic and my desire to live a full life with a person I could love.

It was an easy choice for me because quite a few LGBT friends of mine had to give up close relationships with their entire family as a result of their sexuality. Losing chunks of your life like that were common for us then. It was even illegal for me to continue in my job, so I quit that too. So there is probably no middle ground for you. On the other hand, there are a number of Christian faiths that you might not appreciate as much as LDS but that could still give you a path to God without having to sacrifice having a life partner.

My life partner is a former Mormon—no temple wedding for us. You and your life partner can be full and welcome members in another church. What wartime and human kindness can tell us about what happens next. There are, he says, a lot of bad answers to that question. When he preaches, Oord explains that there are two types of evils: moral evils, such as murder, and natural evils, such as hurricanes, tornadoes or in this case, the coronavirus.

People often respond in one of three ways. Letting something horrible happen goes against God's nature. Oord does believe God is omnipotent but not in what he calls "the classical view. The Rev. Adam Ericksen , who had Oord speak, has been thinking a lot about people on the margins, too. In Judaism, Passover commemorates the liberation of Israelites, who were led out of Egypt by Moses after God sent 10 plagues to the Egyptians. In Christianity, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.

The joyous holidays acknowledge the deep suffering that preceded them.