The problem of evil in the Qur'an, traditions and intellect

Abstract

The problem of evil as one of the strongest arguments against the existence of God is discussed a lot by theologians of different religions. The purpose of this article is to study the philosophies and wisdom behind the presence of evils in man's life by appealing to the Qur'an, the traditions of the Prophet Mohammad and his household as well as to intellectual arguments, as three main sources of Shia Islam. By extending the realm of life from the material world to the life after death, this study puts man in a more extensive paradigm and intends to show that for a believer, the existence of evils does not contradict having faith in a just, kind, omnipotent and omniscient God. One of the important points which are given attention in this article is a differentiation between the responsibility of man and that of God. This point clarifies how in many cases the roles of the claimant and of the defendant are confused.

Keywords

• problem of evil
• philosophy of evils
• Qur'an
• traditions
• intellect
• existence of God