Why did Allah
Create evil?
Why did Allah create evil? Or in other words: How does a Muslim respond to the dilemma of evil?
The paradox of evil is roughly the major cause for atheism throughout history.
{There are some people who worship Allah on the edge [of faith]: if something good comes to them, they are content; but if they are afflicted with a trial, they turn back, thus losing both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss.} [Surat al-Hajj: 11]
There are those who disbelieve in Allah due to a trial, affliction or a calamity that befalls them.
Here, an atheist may ask: Why does evil exist in the first place? Simply, the answer is: Because we are under religious assignment. Because we are in a world of tests. Our Lord, the Exalted, said: {We test you with bad and good as a trial} [Surat al-Anbiyā: 35] Good and evil exist because you are bound to religious assignment, which is the purpose of your existence.
Allah Almighty said: {He Who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Forgiving.} [Surat al-Mulk: 2]. The existence of evil, trials and calamities, is in itself the greatest evidence of the validity of the issue of religion and the error of atheism.
If we were the children of the material world, we would not comprehend neither good nor evil.
If the entire universe were meaningless, we would not perceive at all that it is meaningless.31 Because according to the atheistic view, we follow strict material imperatives, and the laws of nature apply to us, and in this context we will not comprehend the essence of evil nor the meaning of the word ‘evil’.
Evil, some pain, and the ability to commit disobedience is the natural requirement and self-evidence outcome of free will and divine assignment. The existence of evil, affliction, calamities, and desires disclose the best of a good person and the worst of a corrupt person.
It is astonishing that atheists deny the existence of the Creator because there is evil; they use the following analysis:
1- If the father is benevolent and likes good for his son, then why did he allow him to be given a painful injection against microbes?
2- Does the son suffer pain as a result of the injection?
3- Then, the father does not exist.
So, is this a logical analysis?
Moreover, it is natural that we do not understand all the subtleties of divine wisdom in good and evil.
Allah has disclosed the wisdom of Al-Khadir’s actions with Moses (peace be upon him), even though they are actions that are apparently disapproved and rejected, but they involve abundant good.
Also, the story of Moses and Al-Khadir was not mentioned in the Quran as a form of narrative or storytelling, but as a matter of reflection and acknowledgment of the deficiency of the human soul and its hasty judgment.
What is even more astonishing about the issue of evil is that: If there were no evil in the world, you would not have left the place where you were born!
No civilization would have existed, nor cities, factories, or homes would be built, nor would people need work, nor would people think of resisting a disease, solving a problem, or inventing an idea to bring about convenience! Nor would a person need to move from his place of birth in the first place.
For there is no evil, no trouble, no affliction, no fatigue, and no problems for which we should look for solutions!
So why toil, stay up late, think, and work?
Evil is an imperative necessity in this world! Reflect on this!
And be conscience of Allah, for you have been given an assignment.
Many people go through affliction and evil, then they return to Allah and become righteous.
Glory be to Allah, the Greatest, and praise be to Him.
There is a wisdom and good in all Allah’s predestinations.
A Muslim must believe in all Allah’s predestinations.
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If you had as much gold as equivalent to Mount Uhud which you spent in the cause of Allah, that would not be accepted from you until you believe in the Divine Decree and you know that whatever has befallen you, could not have missed you; and whatever didn’t happen to you, could not have befallen you; and that if you were to die believing anything other than this, you would enter Hell.”
A Muslim is required to accept the predestination of Allah, with its good and evil aspects.
In fact, all of Allah’s predestination is good, even if some of it seems outwardly to be evil, distressful, or harmful, but in the end they include great good and extensive divine wisdom.
Humanity has lived with the laws of monotheism for thousands of years, and with the three great Abrahamic laws for four thousand years, and religion did not represent a direct threat to the human race. Rather, it presented to humanity supreme moral values that both the believer and atheist agree upon and further established genuine civilizations. We may argue that all good that exists on earth is one of the effects of those prophethoods! Religion has relieved the courts of thousands of cases, and above all, religion laid the foundation of knowledge, behavior, and values for the purpose of human existence on earth.
The countries that embraced monotheistic laws still have cultural diversity that retained the opponents and provided them with a roof of protection under the monotheistic laws themselves. On the other hand, as soon as some countries approached atheism, all humanity was on the verge of destruction within just one century! Now come the atheists who talk to us about the danger of religion to humanity!
Human history has not yet known a more dangerous methodology than atheism. The Gulag Massacres in the former Soviet Union by the atheist Lenin, the extermination of ethnic minorities in Nazi Germany, the emptying of a quarter of the Cambodian population by the atheist Pol Pot, the murder of 52 million Chinese in the Great Cultural Revolution at the hands of the atheist Mao Zedong, and the emergence of the League of Militant Atheists in Europe—which officially closed 42,000 religious institutions, including churches and mosques, and killed tens of thousands of religious people—are all natural consequences and results of the emergence of atheism.
Rather, the first and second world wars were atheistic wars governed by atheistic perceptions of human races and ideas of striving for racial purity. The result was the extermination of about 5% of the world’s population. World wars caused the deterioration of both the victorious and the defeated a third of a century back, and philosophers put a urinal in the middle of Paris as a metaphor for the end of civilization.
Atheistic battles have left arsenals of nuclear weapons sufficient to exterminate the entire human race multiple times over. Actually, a simple reading of the wars of the twentieth century shows how miserable atheism is. Atheism has left behind a concept that the extinction of the human race in any future battle is a valid idea, and such is the expected atheistic output.
This is a question of civilization! The prophets have suffered greatly in addressing this question, and it has caused many followers to abandon them. The question of civilization is the root cause of the nations’ disbelief throughout the ages. Allah Almighty said: {When Our verses are recited to them in all their clarity, the disbelievers say to the believers, ‘Which of the two parties is better in terms of dwellings and superior in social gatherings?} [Surat Maryam: 73].
When verses containing proofs and evidence of the correctness of religion were recited, the disbelievers used the advancement of the disbelieving nations as an argument to oppose such verses: “Which of the two parties is better in terms of dwellings and superior in social gatherings?”
Researcher Ibrāhim as-Sakrān (may Allah preserve him) states: “This is historically true and a norm. It does not cease to amaze how it continues throughout the eras. The majority of those who were informed of Allah since the dawn of prophethood up until today face material forces that surpass them and tempt people away from the revelation they came with.”
Look at the experiences of the prophets; almost all of them tell a story of the conflict between the call to divine revelation and the temptation of material forces. The people of the first prophet, Noah (peace be upon him), told him with material frankness: {We do not see those who follow you except the lowest among us} [Surat Hud: 27]. Similarly, when the Prophet Moses appeared, tyranny and arrogance from the civil power rose against the revelation: {Moses said, ‘Our Lord, You have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of this world. Our Lord, they may lead people astray from Your way} [Surat Yunus: 88].
The situation was no different for our Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Those who rejected his prophethood tried to justify his material weakness as a pretext to turn away from him: {And they said, ‘Why was this Qur’an not sent down to a great man from one of the two towns?’} [Surat az-Zukhruf: 31].
Throughout history, humanity has not been afflicted with a greater trial than fascination with the material power of disbelievers. However, there is no inherent relationship between progress and truth. Material progress or backwardness does not determine who is right or wrong. A person can be virtuous and righteous while being materially poor, and vice versa.
Many nations that were advanced in civilization were far from Allah’s law, religion, and revelation: {Have they not traveled through the land to see how was the end of those who came before them? They were more powerful than them, and they tilled the land and built it more than these people have ever built} [Surat Ar-Rum: 9]. Material progress is not a criterion for truth: {When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they exulted in whatever knowledge they had, and they were overwhelmed by what they used to ridicule} [Surat Ghāfir: 83].
Material progress is neither inherently praised nor condemned; rather, it is praised to the extent that it aligns with divine revelation and serves the purposes of religion, benefiting humanity for the sake of Allah. This is the progress that is required—serving as a means, not an end, and leading to the betterment of human conditions in alignment with servitude to Allah. True excellence lies not in material progress but in piety and righteous deeds: {It is those who, if We give them power in the land, they establish prayer and give Zakah, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. And to Allah belongs the outcome of all matters} [Surat al-Hajj: 41].
When Muslims uphold their religion, Allah facilitates for them all forms of good, happiness, and progress. Allah has promised: {Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will make them successors in the land, as He made those before them, and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and He will surely change their state of fear into security, that they worship Me, not associating anything with Me} [Surat an-Nur: 55].
When Muslims adhered to their religion, they led the world in both religious and worldly affairs. By their hands, Islam established a civilization that spanned 1,200 years—the longest uninterrupted civilization in history. Unlike other religions, which were embraced by preexisting civilizations (e.g., Christianity in Western civilization or Hinduism in Indian civilization), Islam itself founded a unique civilization.
When Muslims understood their religious responsibilities, they excelled materially and spiritually. For instance, when Islam entered Constantinople in 1453 AD, it marked the end of Europe’s Dark Ages. In the Library of Congress, seven circles engraved on the ceiling represent the sources of Western civilization’s progress, with Islam being the only religion mentioned. While other circles highlight literary, artistic, or linguistic achievements, Islam is credited with natural sciences, particularly physics. For 700 years, Arabic was the international language of science.
If Muslims rectify their religious practice, their worldly affairs will also prosper. Islam’s contributions to civilization underscore its unique role as a faith that not only guides spirituality but also fosters enduring advancements in knowledge and society.