INTRODUCTION

The evil and suffering argument is a very weak one because it is based on two major false assumptions. The first concerns the nature of God. It implies that God is only The-Merciful and All-Powerful, thereby isolating two attributes and ignoring others that the Qur’an has revealed about God. The second assumption is that God has provided us with no reasons for why He has allowed evil and suffering to exist.] This is not true. Islamic revelation provides us with many reasons for why God has allowed evil and suffering to exist. Both assumptions will be addressed below.

Is God only The-Merciful and All-Powerful?

According to the Qur’an, God is Al-Qadeer, meaning the All-Powerful, and Ar-Rahmaan, meaning The-Merciful, which also implies compassion. Islam requires that mankind know and believe in a God of power, mercy and goodness. However, the atheist grossly misrepresents the comprehensive Islamic conception of God. God is not only The-Merciful and All-Powerful; rather, He has many names and attributes. These are understood holistically via God’s oneness. For instance, one of His names is Al-Hakeem, meaning the The-Wise. Since the very nature of God is wisdom, it follows that whatever He wills is in line with Divine wisdom. When something is explained by an underlying wisdom, it implies a reason for its occurrence. In this light, the atheist reduces God to two attributes and by doing so builds a straw man, thereby engaging in an irrelevant monologue.

Just because atheists deny the existence of a Divine wisdom does not mean it does not exist. This reasoning is typical of toddlers. Many children are scolded by their parents for something they want to do, such as eating too many sweets. The toddlers usually cry or have a tantrum because they think how bad mummy and daddy are, but the child does not realise that the wisdom underlying their objection (in this case, too many sweets are bad for their teeth). Furthermore, this contention misunderstands the definition and nature of God. Since God is transcendent, knowing and wise, then it logically follows that limited human beings cannot fully comprehend the Divine will. To even suggest that we can appreciate the totality of God’s wisdom would mean that we are like God, which denies the fact of His transcendence, or implies that God is limited like a human. This argument has no traction with any believer, because no Muslim believes in a created, limited God. It is not an intellectual cop-out to refer to Divine wisdom, because it is not referring to some mysterious unknown. Rather, it truly understands the nature of God and makes the necessary logical conclusions.

At this point the atheist might respond by describing the above as an intelligent way of evading the problem. If the theist can refer to God’s wisdom—and that His wisdom is so great that it cannot be understood—then we can explain anything ‘mysterious’ in reference to a Divine wisdom. I somewhat empathise with this reply, however, in the context of the problem of evil and suffering, it is a false argument. It is the atheist that refers to God’s attributes to begin with; His power and mercy. All that is being said is that they should refer to God as who He is, not as an agent with only two attributes. If they were to include other attributes such as wisdom, their argument would not be valid. If they were to include the attribute of wisdom they would have to show how Divine wisdom is incompatible with a world full of suffering or evil. This would be impossible to prove because there are so many examples in our intellectual and practical lives where we admit our intellectual inferiority—in other words, there are cases where we submit to a wisdom we cannot understand. We rationally submit to realities that we cannot understand on a regular basis. For example, when we visit the doctor we assume that the doctor is an authority. We trust the doctor’s diagnosis on this basis. We even take the medicine the doctor prescribes without any second thought. This and many other similar examples clearly show that referring to God’s wisdom is not evading the problem. Rather, it is accurately presenting who God is and not making out that God has only two attributes. Since He is The-Wise, and His names and attributes are maximally perfect, it follows that there is wisdom behind everything that He does—even if we do not know or understand that wisdom. Many of us do not understand how diseases work, but just because we do not understanding something does not negate its existence.

In essence, God’s wisdom is unbounded and complete, whereas we have limited wisdom and knowledge. Another way of putting it is that God has the totality of wisdom and knowledge; we just have its particulars. We see things from the perspective of our fragmentary viewpoint. To fall for the trap of egocentrism is like believing you know the entire puzzle after seeing only one piece.

Good that you refer me to this thread. Now let me point out the flaws.

Riduane:
INTRODUCTION

The evil and suffering argument is a very weak one because it is based on two major false assumptions.

Ok. Let's see.

The first concerns the nature of God. It implies that God is only The-Merciful and All-Powerful, thereby isolating two attributes and ignoring others that the Qur’an has revealed about God. The second assumption is that God has provided us with no reasons for why He has allowed evil and suffering to exist.] This is not true. Islamic revelation provides us with many reasons for why God has allowed evil and suffering to exist. Both assumptions will be addressed below.

The three major attributes of God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent.

Now the problem is not about God having or not having other attributes, the problem is saying God is "Omni", Omni means of all things, which is absolutism.

Now the main problem is how it leads to paradox (self-contradictions).

Now does the Qur'an ever call Allah all-evil or evil? I guess no and no muslim believe Allah is evil.

Now here is it,

1. God is all-good

2. Evil exist

3. An all-good God cannot exist

Or let's me use Epicurus argument

1. Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

2. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

3. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

4. Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Is God only The-Merciful and All-Powerful?

According to the Qur’an, God is Al-Qadeer, meaning the All-Powerful, and Ar-Rahmaan, meaning The-Merciful, which also implies compassion. Islam requires that mankind know and believe in a God of power, mercy and goodness. However, the atheist grossly misrepresents the comprehensive Islamic conception of God. God is not only The-Merciful and All-Powerful; rather, He has many names and attributes. These are understood holistically via God’s oneness. For instance, one of His names is Al-Hakeem, meaning the The-Wise. Since the very nature of God is wisdom, it follows that whatever He wills is in line with Divine wisdom. When something is explained by an underlying wisdom, it implies a reason for its occurrence. In this light, the atheist reduces God to two attributes and by doing so builds a straw man, thereby engaging in an irrelevant monologue.

I haven't seen any reason here why a perfect all-merciful all-knowing God allow evil or create evil to exist?

Rather you're giving a special pleading fallacy God is wise, you didn't answer the problem of Evil rather give a special pleading we can't know the reasons God allow evil to exist because the knowledge is with God. Is this rational? hell no.

So God can explain why he will burn people in hell for their evil deeds but he can't explain why evil exist in the first place. Sounds crappy.

You've to agree between this trilemma, it's either God is malevolent, God cannot stop evil or he doesn't exist.

All this contradict your essence of Allah existence.

Just because atheists deny the existence of a Divine wisdom does not mean it does not exist. This reasoning is typical of toddlers. Many children are scolded by their parents for something they want to do, such as eating too many sweets. The toddlers usually cry or have a tantrum because they think how bad mummy and daddy are, but the child does not realise that the wisdom underlying their objection (in this case, too many sweets are bad for their teeth). Furthermore, this contention misunderstands the definition and nature of God. Since God is transcendent, knowing and wise, then it logically follows that limited human beings cannot fully comprehend the Divine will. To even suggest that we can appreciate the totality of God’s wisdom would mean that we are like God, which denies the fact of His transcendence, or implies that God is limited like a human. This argument has no traction with any believer, because no Muslim believes in a created, limited God. It is not an intellectual cop-out to refer to Divine wisdom, because it is not referring to some mysterious unknown. Rather, it truly understands the nature of God and makes the necessary logical conclusions.

Are you even making sense?

How do you believe in a God is good and deserve worship that you have no reasons for whatever he do but you won't praise Hitler for whatever he does?

Imagine Hitler is God and do evil for whatever reason he didn't give, will you still praise him and sees him a good person?

If God is all-good, can see the future then evil should never exist. God established that he hates evil with passion that he's ready to punish anyone but then evil exist anyway not that he didn't know evil will exist, he knew, he created evil and made it exist, can you explain how this made sense?

Riduane:
At this point the atheist might respond by describing the above as an intelligent way of evading the problem. [b]If the theist can refer to God’s wisdom—and that His wisdom is so great that it cannot be understood—then we can explain anything ‘mysterious’ in reference to a Divine wisdom. I somewhat empathise with this reply, however, in the context of the problem of evil and suffering, it is a false argument. It is the atheist that refers to God’s attributes to begin with; His power and mercy. All that is being said is that they should refer to God as who He is, not as an agent with only two attributes. If they were to include other attributes such as wisdom, their argument would not be valid. If they were to include the attribute of wisdom they would have to show how Divine wisdom is incompatible with a world full of suffering or evil. This would be impossible to prove because there are so many examples in our intellectual and practical lives where we admit our intellectual inferiority—in other words, there are cases where we submit to a wisdom we cannot understand. We rationally submit to realities that we cannot understand on a regular basis. For example, when we visit the doctor we assume that the doctor is an authority. We trust the doctor’s diagnosis on this basis. We even take the medicine the doctor prescribes without any second thought. This and many other similar examples clearly show that referring to God’s wisdom is not evading the problem. Rather, it is accurately presenting who God is and not making out that God has only two attributes. Since He is The-Wise, and His names and attributes are maximally perfect, it follows that there is wisdom behind everything that He does—even if we do not know or understand that wisdom. Many of us do not understand how diseases work, but just because we do not understanding something does not negate its existence.

That doctor analogy is nonsensical.

God is all-knowing, doctors are not. God is all-powerful, doctors are not, God is the creator, doctors are not.

If a doctor possess such power why will a doctor create people that will sick when his job is to treat sick people? He would have save the stress from creating sick people except he's a psycho that like seeing sick people.

Secondly, we trust doctors because we see their effect in the society, not that we just trust them because of some authority, no, it's because of their consistent relevance. The trust isn't base on belief it's base on what we objectively experience.

In essence, God’s wisdom is unbounded and complete, whereas we have limited wisdom and knowledge. Another way of putting it is that God has the totality of wisdom and knowledge; we just have its particulars. We see things from the perspective of our fragmentary viewpoint. To fall for the trap of egocentrism is like believing you know the entire puzzle after seeing only one piece.

So far I'm just seeing mental gymnastic and cognitive dissonance in this post, the mysterious wisdom of God answers the problem of Evil is special pleading and not valid in a philosophical argument.

In a philosophical argument there's inductive and deductive reasoning, please it's either you use this or keep that delusion away from logic.

Cc. Rilwayne001

tintingz:
That doctor analogy is nonsensical.

God is all-knowing, doctors are not. God is all-powerful, doctors are not, God is the creator, doctors are not.

If a doctor possess such power why will a doctor create people that will sick when his job is to treat sick people? He would have save the stress from creating sick people except he's a psycho that like seeing sick people.

Secondly, we trust doctors because we see their effect in the society, not that we just trust them because of some authority, no, it's because of their consistent relevance. The trust isn't base on belief it's base on what we objectively experience.

So far I'm just seeing mental gymnastic and cognitive dissonance in this post, the mysterious wisdom of God answers the problem of Evil is special pleading and not valid in a philosophical argument.

In a philosophical argument there's inductive and deductive reasoning, please it's either you use this or keep that delusion away from logic.

Cc. Rilwayne001

Read the thread and read your reply to it. Isn't it obvious that you just deliberately don't even want the truth at all by feigning ignorance from the obvious while making empty rhetorics just so to win argument and pamper your delusional overbloated ego?

Rilwayne001:


Read the thread and read your reply to it. Isn't it obvious that you just deliberately don't even want the truth at all by feigning ignorance from the obvious while making empty rhetorics just so to win argument and pamper your delusional overbloated ego?

Stop this red herring.

Your argument is base on dissonance not logic.

How does mysterious wisdom of God solve the problem of Evil? The problem of Evil isn't a question raised by Atheists alone, it's a philosophical argument among both theist and non theists that hasn't been answered and you think your thread answered it logically?

God can tell why he's going to punish for evil deeds but the reason he allowed or created evil isn't something we should or can know, does this sound fair and logical? You've established that God is "absolutely" good, if that's so, evil should never exist.

You can't praise Hitler for whatever he did but you worship God for whatever he did, how y'all hold to this belief is something I don't understand.

Kindly go and read about the problem of Evil and understand the argument before you come with another ridiculous answer.