Assalamu Alaikum,

I've been very concerned with what is known in theology as the problem of evil; specifically the Islamic solution to it. Muhamad Asad's Tafsir on Ayah 34 of Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 41 of Surah Al-Hijr have been most useful in this regard. According to him, Humanity is distinguished from the Angels by it's ability to think conceptually, this ability leading organically to the capability of moral choice. But this capabality of choice is meaningless if it is not exercised and put to the test in lives of every human being. So there needs to be evil in the world in order that there may be this choice and this test. Physical evil is not sufficient; we are all born Muslims and would stay such without an some other force to lead us astray, whether that be influence of family and society, the whisperings of Shaytan or our own passions. This holds even if we were subjected to the most extreme forces of physical evil- hurricanes, earthquakes, disease. The element of choice becomes a factor only after temptation is present, in this case the temptation to despair, to panic, to anger, or to debauchery ('eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die'). These options would not occur to us unless they tempted us in some way; this temptation would not exist without something, an aethereal whisperer or the weakness of our own heart, to induce it. And moral evil is not sufficient; for the capability of choice to be meaningful, it must be tested in physical adversity as well as spiritual and social adversity. Our reactions to being diagnosed with a disease, to the onslaught of a vicious tempest, or to the death of a loved one are just as much an index of our character as our behaviours towards our fellow creatures. So there are three categories in which we are tested: in our choices concerning Allah (SWT) and our Din, in our choices regarding our fellow creatures, and in our reactions to those aspects of nature utterly beyond human control. Ultimately, the latter two are reducable to the first, but for analytical reasons it is useful to treat them seperately. With these considerations fully taken into account, I can see now that the existence of evil, both moral and physical, is necesarily bound to the existence of humanity, in so far as our humanity consists of our ability to think conceptually and thereby make meaningful moral choices. So even the evil which befalls us is a gift from Allah(SWT), as it presents a most precious opportunity to become trully human; our humanity reaching its apex in the din of Islam.

Salaam.