[Faith-talk] Theodicy, what does Islam say?

[Mostafa]

Dear all, peace be with you.

Today I would like to inshallah  discuss one of the most controversial  subjects in modern Philosophy.

I am fascinated by the subject for two reasons.

1; It has a mutual interest regardless of either faith or race.

2; It is the core of our life today.

Everybody is somehow concerned of good and evil.

So what is Theodicy?

In generic terminology, Theodicy is the field of Theology that defends the divine justice against the Philosophy of good and evil.

There are constantly heated debates about that topic  between secular Atheists and fundamentlist Evangelicals in the west today.

Primarily, it is the Philosophy of good and evil which they always dispute over.

The debate uninterruptedly thrives, and I thought to just share the Islamic perspective on that regard.

But before that, I would like to summarize the essence on which they vastly quarrel.

Christian believes that God can and only does good things.

His rival on the other hand may ask him about where evil comes from?

Why evil exists?

What justifys the presence of misery and agony? 

Christians assert that good and evil are two contentious forces.

There are two separate beings confronting with each other in this world.

There is the force of evil which is led by the devil, the explicit adversary  to God.

And then it comes the party of good which is heavenly governed by God. 

That is the Christian perspective in brief.

Agnosticism accuses God of not being good enough.

If God is so good, then why He did not do a better job in tackling the force of evil and its power?

Cannot He do that?

I thought that God is Omnipotent.

Islam is not troubled with the concept of  good and evil.

  They in fact are  part of this temporal  world we inhabit.

Islam recognizes good and evil as the creation of Allah glory be to Him.

The problem is, that Christianity always portrays its doctrinal tennets on mostly emotional basis.

Islam deals with emotions and facts at the same time.

Christianity always advocates that God is love etc etc, then why there is evil, pain, and suffering?  

Well um, oh yeah, the devil made it.

The devil made evil?

So there are two gods then.

Well apparently, there is god that is good versus the evil god.

As you can see, it is quite complicated.

Islam teaches that Allah glory be to Him has willingly created both good and evil in that world and within ourselves.

He glory be to Him created both of them, and He ordained us to enjoin that is good, and to forbid that is evil.

Theoretically and for just a moment, you may think of how the world was going to be if there was mere good or mere evil.

So, it is  either pure good, or pure evil.

The law of the nature will then be distorted.

This temporal world is essentially based on something and its opposite.

Beginning and end.

Joy and sorrow.

Dark and light.

Day and night.

Big and small.

Hot and cold.

Even life and death.

So rationally and within the common sense, it is good, and evil.

That is how this universe is appositely poised.

Well, that what Allah has willed me to utter for the time being.

Thank you for reading, and peace be with you.