Any indication as to why Allah created a world with evil?

[Enlightenment]

Hi,

We all are aware that Allah is the omnipotent. So there can be no doubt that Allah could, if he so willed, have created a universe where only Good exists.

Many explanations are often given, that Light cannot exist without Darkness; that Allah never creates things that are entirely evil - even in something like alcohol, there is some good. But the fact remains, that if Allah so willed, he could have created a world where Light could exist and its beauty could be perceived even without darkness.

There is no doubt a lot of knowledge kept from us as to the reasons for Allah's wills, the purposes of which are no doubt at the pinnacle of wisdom and justice. But I do wonder if anyone has come across any reading, where perhaps some indication is given as to his purpose of choosing to not create a world where absolutely no evil exists.

 

[Salahudeen]

How would we define evil? Would we define it as, any action or word that is disobedient to the creator?

 

[Galaxy]

This life is a test and it isn't meant to be perfect. There are people who are failing the test, such as the ones take their desires as their god, while others take Shaytaan as their lord. There is the good (the ones who submit to Allaah) and the evil (the ones who reject Islaam) so the world has some good and evil because of what people do. If you pass (submitted to Allaah azza wa jal, followed His Prophet :saws:, done righteous deeds) then you get to go the world in which there is no evil, Jannah!

 

[Who Am I?]

I may be wrong on this, but I am not sure that Allah CREATED evil as much as He allowed it to happen. He could have struck Shaytan down as soon as he disobeyed, but for whatever reason, He didn't. My guess (and this is only a guess, mind you) is that Allah wants to test His creations, to see if they are worthy of His blessing, to see if we (his creations) will turn back to Him or reject Him and go our own way.

That's just my theory. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[Karl]

If Allah got rid of evil all life would be benevolent like a fruit tree. People and other predatory animals would cease to be. Even herbivores that attack plants would have to go. But even plants have a dark side too, fighting to reach the light leaving little plants in the dark to die. Roots fighting each other to get nutrients. Whole forests of pines not letting anything else grow seeking more dominion. Lets face it life is self serving and evil. Even the sunshine can give you cancer. Hope I don't get yu'all too depressed.
Life can be good too it's all from a certain point of view. Good and evil in balance seems to work best.

 

[Futuwwa]

There is no doubt a lot of knowledge kept from us as to the reasons for Allah's wills, the purposes of which are no doubt at the pinnacle of wisdom and justice. But I do wonder if anyone has come across any reading, where perhaps some indication is given as to his purpose of choosing to not create a world where absolutely no evil exists.

He did create such a world. It's called Jannah.

Our purpose is not to live in a world of absolute goodness. Our purpose is to worship Allah. Jannah is the reward for that, not our purpose.

 

[Hamza Asadullah]

Hi,

We all are aware that Allah is the omnipotent. So there can be no doubt that Allah could, if he so willed, have created a universe where only Good exists.

Many explanations are often given, that Light cannot exist without Darkness; that Allah never creates things that are entirely evil - even in something like alcohol, there is some good. But the fact remains, that if Allah so willed, he could have created a world where Light could exist and its beauty could be perceived even without darkness.

There is no doubt a lot of knowledge kept from us as to the reasons for Allah's wills, the purposes of which are no doubt at the pinnacle of wisdom and justice. But I do wonder if anyone has come across any reading, where perhaps some indication is given as to his purpose of choosing to not create a world where absolutely no evil exists.

Asalaamu Alaikum, jazakallahu khayr for your question. The answer is simple - This life is a test for us so that Allah the exalted can differentiate between those of his creations who are the true believersand who follow the commands of Allah and worship him and those who just follow their own desires and go against the commands of Allah or even reject him altogether.

Evil and falsehood are there as part of the test. Any evil or falsehood comes from ourselves. Goodness comes from Allah. In order for us to pass the test we need to reject evil influences from ourselves and others as well as from shaythan and turn towards goodness.

So clearly there is a positive and negative pull. The positive pull is trying to pull us towards goodness and truth. The negative pull is trying to pull us towards evil and falsehood in the form of our desires (nafs) and the whispers of shaythan.

So in order for us to be tested then there needs to be good and evil and because we are created with free will we can choose whether to go towards good or evil, It is completely our own choice.

If we choose to go towards good then we will get goodness in return in a measure that we can NEVER even begin to comprehend (Jannah). But if we go towards evil and falsehood then we will have to pay the consequances in the form of a terrible punishment (Hell).

Or another analogy is that we are on a test ground or if you like an exam. Allah is the examiner. Unlike exams at school where it is known when the exam will finish in this exam we do not know when it will finish and so it can end at ANY second. Therefore we need to do as well as we can in this exam until it is over.

We have been given sufficient material and resources in order to pass this test (Qur'an and Sunnah) but it is upto us to make best use of it.

The day of judgement is results day when we will recieve our results for sitting this test of life. If we done well then we will recieve rewards we cannot imagine but if we fail then the punishment is a very harsh one.

So how well will we do on results day? That is upto us. Then let us act now for the cut off point for us is death and death can arrive at ANY second.

So let us do as well as possible so that we can all meet on results dayhappy that we passed with good results.

And Allah knows best in all matters

 

[siam]

I may be wrong on this, but I am not sure that Allah CREATED evil as much as He allowed it to happen. He could have struck Shaytan down as soon as he disobeyed, but for whatever reason, He didn't. My guess (and this is only a guess, mind you) is that Allah wants to test His creations, to see if they are worthy of His blessing, to see if we (his creations) will turn back to Him or reject Him and go our own way.

That's just my theory. Take it for what it's worth.

I agree

The assumption behind the question is flawed. God allowed humans to have free will---it is US humans that choose good or evil. When we choose evil, our intentions and actions create evil consequences. It is incorrect to blame God for human choices. As for Satan....God is compassionate and merciful, when Satan asked for respite until the Judgement day, God granted his request. Satan then proposed that he would tempt mankind---however, Satan does not have any power except that which we humans give it by choosing evil....So again, the responsibility is OURS.

This also means that, if we so choose, it is within our power to create a world where goodness far outshines evil...that is the gift of free-will----the choice is OURS......

 

[DippedinJannah]

I think it's important to realize that

• As Brother Futuwwa wisely point out, such a perfect world does exist and it is called Jannah.
• We can never completely know why Allah (swt) does some things. Our small finite minds cannot begin to understand the infinite. Some things are explained, much is not.
• Humans have free will. Our free will accounts for much of the evil in the world.
• Allah (swt) provides infinite justice and mercy. You cannot evaluate things based on this world alone. It may seem unjust to us for someone to suffer or for bad to come upon them, but if one puts the next life in the balance...

The "Problem of Evil" is one of the oldest questions in philosophy (it goes back to the Greeks). I think fundamentally the answer is that we do not understand everything.

 

[Ramadhan]

We all are aware that Allah is the omnipotent. So there can be no doubt that Allah could, if he so willed, have created a universe where only Good exists. Many explanations are often given, that Light cannot exist without Darkness; that Allah never creates things that are entirely evil - even in something like alcohol, there is some good. But the fact remains, that if Allah so willed, he could have created a world where Light could exist and its beauty could be perceived even without darkness. There is no doubt a lot of knowledge kept from us as to the reasons for Allah's wills, the purposes of which are no doubt at the pinnacle of wisdom and justice. But I do wonder if anyone has come across any reading, where perhaps some indication is given as to his purpose of choosing to not create a world where absolutely no evil exists.

Allah SWT already created a world without evil. It is called Jannah (paradise)