“The Problem of Evil” and Ways of Resolving It

Our observations of our own existence — first and foremost — as well as of our surroundings, the outer world, and the physical realm, together with our readings at various levels, lead us to the existence of a Creative Power behind existence: a Power that creates being and is the source of the order and harmony within it. Throughout history, the arguments of theist philosophers[1], the shared call of the revealed religions, and finally the powerful voice within our own conscience are unanimous that the existence of such a Power is a necessity. Whatever name this Power may be given across various beliefs, it is likewise a rational inference that this Power must be “absolute,” “limitless,” and “infinite.” Yet in the face of the countless proofs — undeniable whether one considers revelation-centered religions, theistic philosophical schools, or the inner voice of conscience — the atheist outlook raises the “problem of evil” as its greatest counter-argument. In its simplest form, this approach — often expressed as: “If there is a Creator, and if He possesses absolute power and is absolutely good, then why does evil exist in the world? If He is unable to prevent these evils, He is a powerless Creator; if He is able to prevent them but does not, He cannot be a good God” — is, now as in the past, the argument most frequently resorted to by atheists.

Before turning to explanations of how this problem is resolved, it is necessary to point to the basic proof of the Creator’s existence and attributes. First among these is the universe — in other words, the realm of existence. The order, balance, and moderation observed throughout the entirety of the realm of existence, and the solidarity and mutual assistance among beings, demonstrate the existence and unity of the Creator. At the same time, the order and balance found within each individual being on its own, along with its extraordinary wisdom and artistry, likewise demonstrate the existence and unity of the Creator. Accordingly, the Creator must possess infinite knowledge and infinite power. Another source of proof, meanwhile, is the final Divine Book, the Wise Qur’an, defined as the Creator’s “verbal message.” In countless verses, the Qur’an likewise describes the Creator as All-Knowing (al-’Alim), All-Powerful (al-Qadir), the One who meets the needs of the needy (ar-Rahim, al-Latif, ar-Razzaq), and the One who places every being and event in its proper place and renders the most correct judgment through knowledge and justice (al-Hakim)… As it conveys these truths, the Qur’an, as a method, frequently builds its rational argumentation by referring to the creation and events within the universe. In the relevant verses, attention is drawn to matters such as the creation of the human being, the workings of nature, the harmony within the world of plants and animals, the way the needs of living things are met, the orderly course of mountains and seas on earth, and the regularity within the realm of the sun, moon, and stars[2]; the Creator’s attributes such as power, knowledge, will, and mercy are thereby brought into view. The Risale-i Nur, a spiritual exegesis of the Qur’an, takes such verses into consideration and sets forth the existence, unity, names, and attributes of the Creator through a fourfold framework. According to Bediüzzaman, there are four universal guides that make our Lord known to us. These are:

1. The Great Book of the Universe;
2. The Qur’an, which is the translation of the Book of the Universe — that is, the Creator’s verbal declaration;
3. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who was charged with conveying and explaining the Qur’an;
4. The “conscious nature” — that is, “conscience,” which possesses awareness.

Viewed in light of these four main guides of proof, it appears an undeniable reality — impossible for any mind not conditioned against it to reject — that the Creator possesses power, will, and knowledge, as well as wisdom and mercy, and that He is benevolent.

Having pointed out that the universe, revelation, prophethood, and our own humanity all testify that the Creator possesses power and mercy, we may now turn to the “problem of evil.” This problem, put forward with the aim of denying or casting doubt upon the Creator’s existence, has been answered from the earliest periods onward by both theist philosophers and the scholars of the revealed religions; these answers have generally become known under the name “theodicy” (the justice of God).

An examination of these answers shows that attention is first drawn to the varieties of the concept of “evil,” and that the responses are developed accordingly. It is generally stated that there are three kinds of evil in the world:

1. physical evil — that is, negative occurrences in nature such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, and droughts;
2. moral evil — that is, negative occurrences such as wars, theft, corruption, injury, and killing, arising from people’s misuse of their free will;
3. metaphysical evil — that is, negative conditions arising from the human being’s very createdness, such as mortality and susceptibility to illness.[3]

Although the answers offered in response to the evils mentioned above vary among those who address the subject, they can generally be listed as follows:

1. explanations pointing to the fact that the human being possesses free will, and that evils arise from that free will;
2. approaches holding that evils are necessary for the human being’s spiritual development;
3. explanations noting that the human being has limited capacity and may not be able to perceive the wisdom behind evils;
4. information and assessments drawing attention to belief in the afterlife, and to the conviction that some evils will be recompensed with good in the hereafter.

When the explanations and assessments put forward within the framework of these four approaches are carefully considered, it becomes evident that a rationally persuasive answer is indeed available. Here, however, rather than listing and elaborating these approaches item by item, we will choose to present them through the three main categories of evil.

1. Physical evils (natural disasters) and their resolution

The physical realm, or nature, appears — when examined — to operate with a very high degree of order. To point to some examples: although our world rotates on its own axis and revolves around the sun, no negative consequence is observed from this; although harmful ultraviolet rays come from the sun, they are filtered out by the ozone layer before reaching our world; the needs of living beings are met in the most fitting way — in short, life continues beautifully, sustained by countless precautions. Given that this undeniable order, this balance, this measure, and even this aesthetic composition cannot originate from nature itself — which is plainly without intellect or consciousness — it is clear that a Divine Power and Will lie behind them. Nature, therefore, as Bediüzzaman puts it, is not the artisan but the work of divine art.[4] The qualities observed within this work of art — mercy, wisdom, generosity, and so on — likewise indicate with certainty that this Power possesses these and similar attributes. That said, certain events referred to as evil or misfortune do occur in nature, albeit to a very limited degree. Yet when we look at the whole, these evils and misfortunes — let us repeat — are quite few. Bediüzzaman expresses this as follows: “It is certain, in the view of sound minds, that in creation good is the essential principle, while evil is incidental. Good is universal; evil is particular.”[5] Having defined the sciences as “consisting of universal principles,” Bediüzzaman states that every branch of science bears witness to this judgment. It follows that in the world, what is essential, dominant, and prevalent is “good,” while what is known as evil is incidental and particular — that is, quite limited.

Given that, taken as a whole, good clearly predominates in the world, it is nonetheless necessary to consider the reasons why evils such as earthquakes, floods, and droughts exist — as, to a limited degree, they do. What has been said on this matter can be summarized as follows:

1. Understanding that the Creator possesses will. There is an orderly functioning within the world, and this shows that He possesses will. Had there been no order or orderly creation in the world, human beings would not know what to do, and life would be filled with chaos. Yet there are also events in the world that are not bound to fixed rules. This, too, shows that His will is not confined by any constraint — in other words, that it is “absolute.” For instance, while the sunrise and sunset are regular, the timing and quantity of rainfall are not subject to any fixed rule. This has become a means by which human beings come to understand His will, to know Him, and to pray to Him.
2. Directing people toward a consciousness of “awareness.” Physical evils or misfortunes also give people a serious lesson in “awareness.” Earthquakes — aside from their other benefits — remind us that the earth, 71% of which is covered by water, revolves flawlessly and in balance around both its own axis and the sun, without harming anyone. Tsunamis and floods may be considered in the same category. In this way, people are brought face to face with the opportunity to come to know the Creator and are given the chance to assess physical events soundly and to perceive Divine Power and Wisdom.
3. Warning people about mistaken understandings and practices. Some events referred to as natural disasters — for instance epidemics, air pollution, and damage to vegetation in certain places due to industrial waste — are in fact the result of human error and carry the function of a warning that calls people to use “nature” correctly, restraining them from treating it carelessly.
4. Drawing attention to negligence. Some events referred to as “natural disasters” are, in reality, not destructive in themselves; the negative outcomes seen arise from errors originating with people themselves. For instance, in places known geologically prone to earthquakes, a lack of proper construction in buildings can lead to significant loss of life in earthquakes of a certain intensity. However, in areas with sturdy buildings that have been constructed, even stronger tremors may occur without any loss of life at all.

2. Evils arising from human beings (moral evils) and their resolution

The great majority of the negative occurrences seen as evil or misfortune in the world are evils of human origin. These evils, referred to as moral evils, are chiefly cited as wars, exiles, injuries, murders, injustices, seizures of property, and various forms of oppression. The most persuasive explanation offered in response to such evils is the explanation of “free will.” The Creator gave the human being free will; but He also made known — through the prophets He commissioned and the books He revealed — that this will must be used in the right direction. While showing the paths of goodness and righteousness, He warned humanity of the negative consequences, both in this world and in the hereafter, of choosing wrongly with that will.

At this point, Islamic law, through its hundreds of rulings, has aimed chiefly at: a) protecting religion, b) protecting the intellect, c) protecting property, d) protecting honor, and e) protecting posterity.[6] Accordingly, for example, it prohibited the drinking of alcohol in order to protect the intellect; it forbade theft in order to protect property; likewise, it prohibited adultery in order to protect chastity, and took a series of further precautions.

At the same time, even where a person is not directly addressed by revelation, the Creator has placed within every human being, through the conscience, a sensitivity capable of distinguishing right from wrong, truth from falsehood, and the benefit from the harmful. Human beings are thus charged with acting in accordance with these sensitivities encoded into their humanity. To put it more plainly, no matter where a person has lived, and no matter what belief or culture they were born into, they have been guided toward “what is right” in terms of human values. This is, therefore, one of the powerful proofs that the Creator is “good, compassionate, and merciful”! Yet some people, exercising this will given to them, choose what is “good” and “right,” while others act in the opposite direction. As a result, disagreements, conflicts, quarrels, injuries, and even murders have occurred, and continue to occur. Moreover, such evils may occur not only at the individual level but also at the social level — for instance, wars that exact an extremely heavy toll may break out. It is therefore not possible to attribute a negative characterization to the Creator on account of such evils, which arise from the misuse of will by certain individuals or societies.

On the other hand, to complain about human-caused evils and, proceeding from this, to question or criticize the Creator, amounts to disapproving of the fact that human beings were made possessors of will. In other words, this objection amounts to saying, “Why was the human being not created like a robot?” Yet the fact that the human being was made a possessor of will, given the capacity to choose, is one of the most important and fundamental values to which no one could object.

Another matter concerning the resolution of human-caused evils is that those who are wronged or suffer injustice will receive a special reward in the hereafter. According to this approach — referred to in the sources as the “mechanism of otherworldly compensation” (eschatological theodicy) — the property of a person whose goods are stolen, for instance, becomes, as stated in a hadith, equivalent to charity[7] and appears before him in his eternal life as a great reward. Likewise, as stated in the hadiths, a person who is unjustly killed while defending their life, property, or honor attains, after the rank of prophethood, the greatest rank — that of martyrdom.[8]

In conclusion, since human-caused evils arise as a result of human beings possessing free will and misusing it, it in no way appears correct to blame or pass judgment on the Creator.

3. Evil arising from human createdness (ontological evil) and ways of resolving it

According to this approach, referred to in the literature as “metaphysical evil” or “ontological evil,” certain evils arise from deficiencies inherent in the human being’s creation. Qualities such as the human being’s inability to know everything, mortality, susceptibility to illness, and being limited by space and time do not appear “positive.” Accordingly, certain negativities, pains, and sufferings arise from this. A great many counter-arguments have also been put forward in response to this type of evil. Some of these are outlined below:

1. The human being, through the deficiencies within, displays the Creator’s perfection. When any human being reflects deeply, they clearly understand that their own existence does not originate from themselves, but that they are the work and creation of a Creator. The Creator has created the human being as He willed. Just as the human being reflects, through certain qualities possessed, some of the Creator’s names and attributes, so too — through the very opposite of qualities that outwardly appear negative, such as boundless weakness, boundless helplessness, and boundless need — does the human being display certain of the Creator’s names and attributes (just as darkness makes light appear more brilliant). For example, while the human being displays the Creator’s infinite knowledge, will, and power through qualities such as knowledge, will, and power present within, or through senses such as sight and hearing, some of the human being’s qualities point, through their very opposite, to His attributes. For instance, the human being’s mortality bears witness to the Creator’s eternity; the human being’s ignorance, to the Creator’s infinite knowledge; the human being’s helplessness, to the Creator’s infinite power; and the human being’s insufficiency, to His infinite self-sufficiency.[9]
2. The human being is being tested. For the human being has been given very important dispositions — that is, potential capacities — such as reflection, purity, spiritual refinement, patience, a sense of gratitude, love, compassion, justice, generosity, and allegiance to truth. These potential capacities need to be brought out and developed, so that the human being may come, in this way, to know his Creator. This requires that life, alongside its many positive aspects, also be filled with a measure of hardship and difficulty. The human being must bring his faculties from potentiality into actuality by reading and reflecting upon the universe — which presents itself as a magnificent book — by being grateful in the face of blessings, by being patient in the face of difficulties, and by hastening to the aid of those in need of help. This is the very purpose of creation! A person who strives to do these things comes to know, through the faculties given to him, that the Creator is All-Wise (Hakim), the Healer (Shafi), the Pardoner (Muafi), the Merciful (Rahim), the Loving (Wadud), the Generous (Karim)… Yet the human being must pay close attention to his own development in this respect, and must recognize where he stands. It is here that the test essentially comes into play. Just as the examinations within one’s schooling may appear to the student as a hardship, while in truth being an unavoidable necessity for their own development and for recognizing their own shortcomings, so too is the fact that this world is a place of testing a necessity — and indeed an evident mercy — for the servant’s own development and for the emergence of his capacities. In this context, illnesses, for example, are a means of testing. The human being — or rather, the servant — at this point, by being patient, both trains himself in patience and comes to know his Lord, through the Name the Healer (Shafi), as the “source of healing.” Moreover, if he is patient during illness while remaining thankful, this both serves as expiation for his sins and becomes a means of his gaining reward. In other words, he thereby conducts a highly profitable transaction with respect to the hereafter.
3. Being disabled and being afflicted with illness serve as expiation for sins.

What is referred to as metaphysical evil — namely, the fact that some people are born with disabilities, and that the human body is susceptible to illness and is at times afflicted with various ailments — carries within it a great deal of wisdom. For instance, although the number is small, some people may, whether from birth or later in life, become blind, deaf, or unable to walk, and so on. While this shows the Creator’s will, it becomes, on the one hand, a means of testing for the parents and those concerned, and on the other hand, provided patience is shown, a cause for such individuals to be given, in the hereafter, rewards so great that other people will envy them.[10] At the same time, some such disabilities from birth arise from errors on the part of a parent — or one of the parents — such as the use of alcohol or prohibited substances. In such a case, while the parent concerned bears responsibility, the person who is compelled to live with a disability for reasons not of their own making will nonetheless be granted special rewards, providing more substantial means of compensation. Similar considerations may be mentioned regarding illnesses as well. Illnesses that do not arise from a person’s own will, when borne with patience, become a means of attaining a special and eternal reward; illnesses that arise from a person’s own negligence or fault will likewise, if borne with patience — alongside the responsibility that comes from their errors — serve as expiation for sins, or open the way to attaining higher ranks in the hereafter.

On this occasion, it is also necessary to point to the answer to a question that arises from time to time: Why was Satan created? Given that many people, deceived by him, end up condemned to Hell, is his creation not itself an “evil”? As Bediüzzaman, the great Islamic scholar of our age, expresses in a most persuasive manner, although there are limited evils in the creation of devils, there are, indirectly, great goods and instances of wisdom. For just as a tree passes through many stages before growing from a seed into a fruit-laden tree, so too does the human being possess, potentially, countless capacities, which need to be brought out and developed. This requires “striving” — that is, effort and struggle on multiple fronts. At this point, the existence of Satan and of harmful things becomes necessary. Otherwise, the human being could not develop his capacities, and his rank would remain like that of the angels. On the other hand, the fact that, because of this, many people follow Satan and corrupt their humanity should likewise not be regarded as an evil when the whole is considered. For, as Bediüzzaman likewise states, if a person has a thousand seeds and ten of them, the decay and ruin of the thousand seeds — set against the ten becoming trees — is certainly not a loss or an evil, but a gain and a good. For ten trees are preferable to hundreds of thousands of seeds. Indeed, it is through this very process that, throughout human history, thousands of prophets, hundreds of thousands of saints, and millions upon millions of believers have developed their humanity and attained perfection. In this context, Bediüzzaman draws attention to the important distinction between “evil” and “the creation of evil,” stating in a most illuminating way that “the creation of evil is not evil; rather, it is the acquisition (kasb) of evil that is evil.” This shows that what is evil — what is bad — is not the creation of evil, but its misuse. Indeed — to convey the example Bediüzzaman gives — the creation of fire is not an evil. If a person is harmed by fire as a result of carelessness or the misuse of their own will, they cannot regard the creation of fire itself as an evil. For it is evident that fire has many benefits.[11]

In conclusion, the following may be stated:

1. When creation is considered as a whole, the order, harmony, perfection, wisdom, and mercy observed within it — since these cannot originate from existence itself — show that the Creator possesses wisdom, justice, and mercy;
2. It is clear that, within creation, “good” is the essential and prevailing reality, encompassing the whole, whereas evil is limited and relative — every branch of science bears witness to this;
3. Evils in which human will plays no part, such as earthquakes, floods, and droughts, are neither continuous nor constant; they give the human being the opportunity to perceive the perfection in the workings of life; and where certain hardships do arise from them, these will be met, through the “path of otherworldly compensation” (eschatologically), with great and eternal rewards;
4. Evils arising from human error — such as war, theft, and murder — are satisfactorily accounted for through the approach of “human freedom”;
5. The metaphysical evils arising from the human being’s very createdness, on the one hand, provide the opportunity to come to know the Creator through certain of His attributes; on the other hand, they give rise to the human being’s testing of himself; and on yet another level, they serve as a means to great otherworldly gains in matters such as illness and affliction that lie beyond the reach of one’s own will;
6. As in the example of fire, the creation of the limited evil we observe in the world is not itself evil; rather, what is evil is its misuse. It is therefore necessary to be aware of this distinction.

In the final analysis, when all of these and similar solutions are taken into consideration, it becomes apparent that the “problem of evil” — far from lending support to denialist views — in fact rests upon a highly reasonable foundation that confirms theism, that is, faith, and that corroborates the messages of revelation.

 

Examples of Related Passages from the Risale-i Nur Collection

Second Question

Why are devils created? Allah the Most High created Satan and evil; what is the wisdom in it? Isn’t the creation of evil, evil, and the creation of bad, bad?

The Answer: Allah forbid, the creation of evil is not evil, the acquisition of (kesb) or desire for evil, is evil. For creation and bringing into existence look to all the consequences, whereas such a desire looks to a particular result, since it is a particular relation.

For example, there are thousands of consequences of rain falling, and all of them are good. If due to misuse of their wills some people receive harm from the rain, they cannot say that the creation of rain is not mercy or that it is evil. For it is evil for them due to their mischoice and inclinations. Also, there are numerous benefits in the creation of fire and all of them are good. But if some people are harmed by fire due to their misuse of it and their wills, they cannot say that the creation of fire is evil; because it was not only created to burn them. Rather, they made a wrong choice and thrust their hands into the fire while cooking the food, and made that servant inimical to themselves.

In Short: A lesser evil is acceptable for a greater good. If an evil which will lead to a greater good is abandoned so that a lesser evil should not occur, a greater evil will have been perpetrated. For example, there are certainly some minor material and physical harms and evils in sending soldiers to fight a jihad, but the jihad leads to a greater good whereby Islam is saved from being conquered by infidels. If the jihad is abandoned due to those lesser evils, the greater evil will come after the greater good has gone, and that is absolute wrong. Another example: to amputate a finger which is infected with gangrene and has to be amputated is good and right, although it is apparently an evil. For if it is not amputated, the hand will be amputated and that would be a greater evil.

Thus, the creation and bringing into existence of evils, harms, tribulations, satans, and harmful things, is not evil and bad, for they are created for the many important results they yield. For example, satans have not been set to pester the angels, and the angels cannot progress; their degrees are fixed and deficient. However, in the world of humanity the degrees of progress and decline are infinite. There is an extremely long distance through which to progress, from the Nimrod’s and Pharaoh’s as far as the veracious saints and the prophets.

Thus, because of the creation of satans and the mystery of man’s accountability and the sending of prophets, an arena of trial and examination and striving and competition has been opened so that coal‑like base spirits may be differentiated and separated out from diamond-like elevated spirits. If there had been no striving and competition, the potentialities in the mine of humanity, resembling diamonds and coal, would have remained equal. The spirit of Abu Bakr the Veracious at the highest of the high would have remained on a par with Abu Jahl at the lowest of the low.

This means that since the creation of satans and evils looks to vast, universal results, it is not evil or bad. The evils and instances of bad that arise from abuses and the particular causes known as man’s acquisition pertain to his voluntary actions not to divine creation.

If You Ask The majority of humanity become unbelievers due to the existence of Satan; they embrace unbelief and suffer harm, despite the sending of prophets. If, according to the rule “The majority has the say,” the majority suffers evil as a result, then the creation of evil is evil and it may even be said that the sending of prophets is not a mercy. Isn’t that so?

 

The Answer: Quantity has no importance in relation to quality. The true majority looks to quality.

For example, if a date‑palm has a hundred seeds and they are not planted in the earth and watered and so do not undergo a chemical reaction and manifest the struggle for life, they remain a hundred seeds worth virtually nothing. But if they are watered and are subject to the struggle for life, and then eighty out of the hundred rot due to their faulty make-up, but twenty become fruit-bearing trees, can you say that watering them was evil because most of them rotted? Of course you cannot say that, for the twenty have become twenty thousand. A person who loses eighty and gains twenty thousand suffers no loss, so it cannot be evil.

Another example: a peahen lays one hundred eggs and they are worth five hundred kurush. If the hen sits on the hundred eggs and eighty go bad and twenty hatch into peacocks, can it be said that the loss was high and the affair, evil; that it was bad to put the broody hen on the eggs and an evil occurred? No, it was not thus, it was good. For the peacock species and egg family lost eighty eggs worth four hundred kurush, but gained twenty peacocks worth eighty liras.

Thus, through the sending of prophets and the mystery of man’s accountability, and through striving and fighting with satans, in return for the hundreds of thousands of prophets and millions of saints and thousands of millions of purified scholars they have gained, who are like the suns, moons, and stars of the world of humanity, mankind has lost the unbelievers and dissemblers, who are numerous in regard to quantity, insignificant in regard to quality, and like pernicious beasts.[12]

 

 

Seventh Indication

Question: The Mu‘tazilite authorities considered the creation of evil to be evil, and therefore did not attribute the creation of unbelief and misguidance to Allah the Most High, as if by so doing they were exonerating Him. They misguidedly said: “Man creates his own actions.”

They also said: “A believer who commits a grievous sin loses his belief, for believing in Allah the Most High and affirming Hell is incompatible with such acts. Out of fear at a minor prison sentence in this world, a man restrains himself from acting contrarily to the law, so if he commits serious sins, which infers disregard of divine wrath, it certainly points to his lack of belief.”

 

The Answer to the first part of the question: as is elucidated in the treatise on divine determining, the creation of evil is not evil; it is the inclination to do evil that is evil. For creation and bringing into being look to all the results. Since the existence of one evil is preliminary to numerous good results, by virtue of those results, the creation of the evil becomes good, and is as though good.

For example, fire has a hundred good results, but if because they misuse their wills people make the fire evil for themselves, they cannot say that the creation of fire is evil.

In the same way, the creation of devils has numerous wise results such as human progress; so if a person is defeated by Satan due to his misuse of his will and misguided inclinations, he cannot say that the creation of Satan is evil. For he did evil to himself because he was himself disposed to it. Yes, since the tendency is a particular relation, it has a particular evil result and becomes evil. But since creation looks to all the results, the creation of evil is not evil; it is good.

The Mu‘tazilites did not understand this mystery, so they said: “The creation of evil is evil, and the creation of bad, bad.” And to exonerate Allah the Most High of all fault, they did not ascribe the creation of evil to Him; they fell into misguidance, wrongly interpreting the pillar of belief belief in divine determining, both the good of it and the evil of it are from Allah. ”[13]

Fifth Question: Why does the All‑Just and All-Compassionate, the All-Powerful and All-Wise not give particular punishments for particular wrongs, but inflicts a mighty element? How is this in keeping with the beauty of His mercy and His all-encompassing power?

The Answer: The All‑Powerful One of Glory assigns numerous duties to each element and by means of each duty causes them to produce numerous different results. If one result of one of an element’s duties is ugly, evil, or calamitous, the other good results render this result good too. If the element, which is angry at man, is prevented from the duty to avert the single ugly result, then instances of good to the number of the good results will be abandoned. Hence, since not to perform a necessary good is evil, instances of evil will be perpetrated to the number of the instances of good. A single evil being averted would be extremely ugly, opposed to wisdom, contrary to reality, and a fault. And power, wisdom and reality are free of fault.

Since some errors constitute rebellion comprehensive enough to bring the earth and elements to anger, and are insulting aggression against the rights of numerous creatures, for sure, in order to demonstrate the extraordinary ugliness of such a crime, it is perfect wisdom and justice that a mighty element be commanded to reprimand them among its other general duties, and for the oppressed, it is perfect mercy[14]

If it is said: The calamities, ugliness, and evils in this world are contrary to that all‑embracing mercy, and spoil it.

The Answer: This question has been answered completely satisfactorily in various parts of the Risale‑i Nur such as the Treatise on Divine Determining. Referring you to them, here we make only a brief allusion, as follows:

All the elements, all the realms of beings, and all creatures, have numerous duties, particular and universal, and each of those duties yields numerous results and fruits. For the most part these are beneficial, beautiful, good, and are mercy. Only a few of them encounter those lacking ability, those who act wrongly, or those who deserve punishment and disciplining, or those who will be the means of producing many shoots of good. An apparent, minor evil is ugliness; it is apparently unkind.

But if for that minor evil not to occur, the element and universal being is prevented by mercy from performing its duty, then all its other good and beautiful results would not come into existence. Since the non‑existence of a good is evil and the spoiling of beauty is ugly, evils, ugliness, and pitilessness would occur to the number of those results. Thus, hundreds of evil and instances of unkindness would be perpetrated just so that one evil would not occur, which would be entirely contrary to wisdom, benefit, and the mercy of dominicality.

Third Phrase:

The Merciful, the Compassionate

An extremely brief allusion to the proof in this phrase:

Yes, the existence and reality of a boundless mercy is as clearly apparent in the universe as the light of the sun. As certainly as light testifies to the sun, so this extensive mercy testifies to One Most Merciful and Compassionate behind the veil of the Unseen. An important part of mercy being sustenance, mercy is signified by the name of Provider. As for sustenance, it points to an All‑Compassionate Provider so clearly that anyone with an iota of intelligence is compelled to affirm Him.

For example, He sends food to all living beings, particularly to the helpless and young, throughout the earth and the atmosphere, in truly wondrous fashion beyond their wills and power, from seeds, droplets of fluid, and grains of earth which all resemble each other.

He makes the hen‑birds search out the food and bring it their wingless, frail chicks in the nests at the tops of trees.

He subjugates the hungry lioness to her cubs, so she does not eat the meat she finds but gives it them.

He sends the pleasant, nutritious, pure, white milk, like the water of Kawthar, from the springs of breasts to the infants of humans and young of other animals, without it being polluted by red blood and filthy excrement, sending also their mothers’ tenderness to assist them.

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Then just as in truly wondrous fashion He causes the appropriate sustenance to hasten to all the trees, which need a sort of food, so He bestows an extensive table of foods on the human senses, which require sustenance physical and non‑physical, and on the mind, heart, and spirit.

It is as though the universe consists of hundreds of thousands of laden tables of every different kind and sort, all enfolded one within the other like the petals of the rose and shirts of the maize cob. With a multitude of various tongues, particular and universal, to the number of tables and the foods they bear and their bounties, these point out to everyone who is not completely blind a Most Merciful Provider, an All‑Compassionate and Munificent One.

If It Is Said: The calamities, ugliness, and evils in this world are contrary to that all‑embracing mercy, and spoil it.

The Answer: This question has been answered completely satisfactorily in various parts of the Risale‑i Nur such as the Treatise on Divine Determining. Referring you to them, here we make only a brief allusion, as follows:

All the elements, all the realms of beings, and all creatures, have numerous duties, particular and universal, and each of those duties yields numerous results and fruits. For the most part these are beneficial, beautiful, good, and are mercy. Only a few of them encounter those lacking ability, those who act wrongly, or those who deserve punishment and disciplining, or those who will be the means of producing many shoots of good. An apparent, minor evil is ugliness; it is apparently unkind.

But if for that minor evil not to occur, the element and universal being is prevented by mercy from performing its duty, then all its other good and beautiful results would not come into existence. Since the non‑existence of a good is evil and the spoiling of beauty is ugly, evils, ugliness, and pitilessness would occur to the number of those results. Thus, hundreds of evil and instances of unkindness would be perpetrated just so that one evil would not occur, which would be entirely contrary to wisdom, benefit, and the mercy of dominicality.

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For example, things like snow, cold, fire, and rain have hundreds of benefits and purposes. If through their own choice careless or imprudent people harm themselves, for instance if they put their hands in the fire and say there is no mercy in its creation, the innumerable good, beneficial, merciful uses of fire will give them the lie and hit them in the mouth.

Moreover, man’s selfish desires and lowly emotions, which are blind to consequences, cannot be the criteria, measure, or balance of the laws of mercy, sovereignty, and dominicality which are in force in the universe. He sees things according to the colour of his own mirror. A black‑hearted, cruel person sees the universe as weeping, ugly, dark, and tyrannical.

But if he looks through the eye of belief, he sees a macroanthropos clothed in seventy thousand beautiful garments one over the other, sewn of instances of mercy, good, and wisdom. It is always laughing, smiling with mercy like a houri of Paradise dressed in seventy fine garments. He will observe that humankind within it is a miniature universe, and each individual human a microcosm. He will exclaim with all his heart and spirit: “All praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of All the Worlds ❋ The Merciful, the Compassionate. ❋ Owner of the Day of Judgement!”[15]

If you say: “In the First Topic you proved that everything about divine determining is good and beautiful. Even the evil that comes from it is good, and the ugliness, beautiful. But the disasters and tribulations in this world refute that statement.”

The Answer: O my soul and my friend who feel severe pain out of intense compassion! The facts that all virtues and perfections return to existence and that the basis of all rebellion, calamities, and defects is non‑existence are proof that existence is pure good and non-existence, pure evil. Since non-existence is pure evil, circumstances that either result in non-existence or give an inkling of it, also comprise evil. Therefore, life, the most brilliant light of existence, proceeds through different circumstances and finds strength; it encounters varying situations and is purified; it takes on numerous qualities and produces the desired results, and enters many stages and displays comprehensively the impresses of the Bestower of Life’s names.

It is due to this fact that certain things happen to living creatures in the form of griefs, calamities, difficulties, and tribulations whereby the lights of existence are renewed in their lives, and the darkness of non‑existence draws distant and their lives are purified. For arrest, repose, silence, idleness, rest, and monotony are all, both in quality and as conditions, non-existence. Even the greatest pleasure is reduced to nothing by monotony.

In short: Since life displays the impresses of the most beautiful names, everything that happens to it is good.

For example, an extremely rich and infinitely skilful person who is proficient in many crafts, for an hour and in return for a wage, clothes a miserable wretch in a bejewelled, artistically fashioned garment. This garment he made in order to make the miserable man act as a model and to display the works of his art and his extensive wealth. He works the garment on the man, gives it various forms, and alters it. In order to display every variety of his art, he cuts it, changes it, and lengthens and shortens it. Can the poor man receiving the wage be justified if he says to the person: “You are giving me trouble. You are making me bow down and stand up. By cutting and shortening this garment which makes me more beautiful, you are spoiling my beauty”? Does he have the right to tell him: “You are acting unkindly and unfairly”?

Thus, like him, in order to display the impresses of His most beautiful names, the All‑Glorious Maker, the Peerless Creator, alters within numerous circumstances the garment of existence He clothes on living creatures, bejewelled with such senses and subtle faculties as eyes, ears, the reason, and the heart. He changes it within very many situations. Among these are circumstances in the form of suffering and calamity which show the meanings of some of His names, and the rays of mercy within flashes of wisdom, and the subtle instances of beauty within those rays of mercy.[16]

But because man is both enamoured of the apparent and is self‑centred, he considers only the externals and pronounces them ugly. Since he is self-centred, he reasons according to the result which looks to himself and judges it to be ugly. Whereas, if one of their aims looks to man, thousands look to their Maker’s names.

For example, one reckons to be harmful and meaningless thorned plants and trees, which are among the great miracles of the Creator’s power. Whereas they are the well‑equipped heroes of the grasses and trees. And for example, hawks harrying sparrows is apparently incompatible with mercy, but due to it, the sparrow’s abilities unfold. And for example, one considers the snow to be cold and uninviting, but under its chilly, unpleasing veil are aims so warm and results so sweet they defy description.

Also, since man is self‑centred and worships the apparent and therefore judges everything according to the face that looks to him, he supposes to contrary to good manners many things that are perfectly polite and correct. For example, in his view, discussion of his sexual organ is shameful. But this veil of shame pertains to the face which looks to human beings, whereas the faces that look to creation, and art, and to its aims and purposes are veils which if considered with the eye of wisdom, are perfectly correct. Shame does not touch them at all.

Thus, certain expressions of the All‑Wise Qur’an, the source of politeness and right conduct, are in accordance with these faces and veils. Beneath the apparent faces of creatures and events which seem ugly to us, are extremely fine, wise art and beautiful faces looking to their creation, which look to their Maker. Similarly, there are numerous beautiful veils which conceal their wisdom, and moreover, great numbers of apparent instances of disorder and confusion which in fact are regular, sacred writing.[17]

While every element, and events such as physical and spiritual winter and earthquake, have hundreds of beneficial results and purposes, to halt that element from its function on account of a single harmful and detrimental result — thereby forsaking those hundreds of beneficial results and committing a hundredfold evil, merely so that a single evil should not occur — would be contrary to wisdom, to truth, and to Divine Lordship. Yet for individuals who cry out under the pressure of universal laws, the All-Merciful and All-Compassionate can come to the aid of every helpless one through special favors, particular assistance, and specific bestowals, and can bring remedy to their afflictions. Yet He gives His help not according to that individual’s passing desire, but according to their true benefit. Sometimes, in place of a piece of glass that a person desired in this world, He gives, in the hereafter, a diamond.[18]

[1] A theist is a person who believes in the existence of a God who created and governs the universe and who intervenes by sending revelations to humankind.

[2] For examples of verses on this subject, see Ra’d 2, Nahl 10, Hajj 5, Ya-Sin 36, Fussilat 37, Jathiyah 3, Al-Ghashiyah 17.

[3] As an independent source, see Cafer Sadık Yaran, Kötülük ve Teodise [Evil and Theodicy] (Vadi Yayınları), Istanbul 2000.

[4] Said Nursi, Lem’alar [The Flashes] (Istanbul 2020, YAN), p. 203.

[5] Said Nursi, Muhakemat [The Reasonings] (Istanbul 2020, YAN), p. 30.

[6] See Ertuğrul Boynukalın, “Makâsıdü’ş-şerîa,” DİA, XXVII, 423–427.

[7] Muslim, “Musaqat,” 7.

[8] Bukhari, “Mazalim,” 33; Muslim, “Iman,” 226.

[9] See Said Nursi, Sözler [The Words] (Istanbul 2020, YAN), p. 644.

[10] See Bukhari, “Marda,” 1.

[11] See Said Nursi, Lem’alar, p. 82ff.; 87ff.

[12] Said Nursi, Letters,  p72 Sozler Publication

[13] Said Nursi, Flashes Sozler Publication, p. 142.

[14] Said Nursi, Words ,Sozler Publication p. 243.

[15] Said Nursi, The Rays, Sozler Publication p. 750.

[16] Said Nursi, Words, Sozler Publicatin, p. 636.

[17] Said Nursi, Words, Sozler Publication, p. 314

[18] Said Nursi, Kastamonu Lahikası [The Kastamonu Addendum] (Istanbul 2020, YAN), p. 228.