1-The Limited Scope of Human Knowledge

Considering the narrow boundaries of human knowledge and the unfathomable vastness of all that we do not know about the world, it would seem rash and unwise to categorically label certain phenomena as evil and harmful to our well-being. It is possible that the real advantages and benefits of these so-called evils are so great that the perceived evil in them would appear as minuscule in comparison with their real but unbeknownst good. Thai human knowledge has so far been unable to shed light on these advantages and benefits does not mean that they are nonexistent. Therefore, we must be more careful in how we speak about the phenomena that arc generally seen as evil. The advancement of science may someday prove empirically their prevailing good.

We usually view death as an evil thing. But imagine if human life was unlimited and we lived forever. The earth would be incapable of hosting the incalculable human population, and we would have been unable to pursue a normal course of life on such an over populated planet. Or consider the example of volcanoes, what would the earth be like if volcanoes did not exist? In spite of the death toll and destruction they wreak on human society, the benefits that volcanoes provide to human society often outweigh their evils. There are great energy sources, which are created by volcanoes: many natural ecosystems and islands - such as Hawaii-originated from volcanic eruptions. This is one example of the benefits and advantages, which we normally term as natural disasters, but in reality, form an integral part of the intricate order in nature designed by God. The same truth also holds for calamines caused by man. The incidents and events that we often perceive as distasteful carry numerous benefits that we tend to overlook. Of course, there are numerous other factors involved in the wisdom that necessitates the evil in the world.

2-The Final End of Human Creation 

The second point that deserves to be mentioned in connection with the concept of evil concerns the final purpose in the creation of the human being, which can play a determining role in how we perceive the phenomena of ‘evil’. In light of a religious worldview, the purpose of human being’s existence is to attain true felicity as opposed to indulging in sensual pleasures and enjoying the material
comforts of the world. True happiness is achieved by drawing nearer to God, which is achieved by exclusive worship and devotion to Him, As such, it is wrong to label certain phenomena as evil only because they cause pain and diminish the degree and extent of material pleasure. Il is very likely that enduring pain and suffering adversities arc actually conducive to achieving true human felicity. So our conception of the purpose of human life is of paramount importance in assessing what is evil and what is good.

Another important point to consider in regards to our perception of evil is to understand that evil is contrary to Divine Wisdom and Justice if the harm that it causes remains uncompensated, which is not the case because what we lose as a result of encountering evils in this world is recompensed equally, if not many times over in the afterlife. In fact, one of the main lines of reasoning for the necessity of there being an afterlife is that people who experience trials and tribulations, and remain steadfast in their faith despite the hardships they endure must be recompensed by God.

“Oh you who have faith, have recourse to patience and prayer, for indeed God is with the patient.” (Qur'an2:153)

“And We shall test you with fear and hunger and loss of property and life and dearth of harvest, and give good tidings to those who have patience, those who when an affliction befalls them say, ‘Indeed we are for God and indeed we return to Him.” (Qur'an 2:155-156)  “Say, ‘O My slaves who have faith, beware of your Lord: for those who do good in this world there is good, and God’s earth is wide. Verily those who practice patience shall be given their recompense beyond any measure.” (Qur’an 39:10)

Imam Sadiq says, “How wonderful is the state of the believer, as God decrees for him only that which is to his advantage: should he be cut into pieces, it is to his advantage and should he rule over the East and the West, it is to his advantage.” (al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 62) 

3-The Human Factor in the Occurrence of Evil

When speaking of the problem of evil, we should be careful not to neglect the human factor in the occurrence of many an evil. Exercising his free will, the human being often produces circumstances harmful to himself and his fellow human beings. But as he may be unaware of the connection between his actions and the adverse circumstances, he assumes that the consequent evils are part and parcel of the order of existence and as such construes them as evidence for the absence of Divine Wisdom and Justice.

The use of chemical weapons for instance, can have dire consequences for the people of the region where they are used for many generations to come in addition to the indirect harms that it might cause for the people of other regions. The disposal of harmful chemical refuse into the rivers and seas is another instance of harmful human behavior whose evil implications can affect the people of the entire world. Such evils are perpetrated by the human being in his unscrupulous exercise of free will.

4-The Relative Nature of Evil

    What evil exists in the world is relative, and there is no instance of evil that may be characterized as absolute evil. Evil belongs to the class of relative descriptions (as opposed to absolute descriptions). That is, certain phenomena (and in fact most phenomena in the material world) engender negative as well as positive effects. In so far as they cause positive effects, they are good, and in respect of their negative effects, they are viewed as evil. As such, evil is a relative characterization that describes the detrimental effects of a phenomenon on other phenomena.

The negative and undesirable effects that come of such creatures as snakes and scorpions, the harmful and occasionally mortal consequence of diseases, and even the devastations wrought by such natural calamities as earthquakes and floods constitute relative evils. They play a positive role in the larger and cosmic scheme of things, but when we focus on their negative aspect, we naturally view them as evil phenomena. The problem is that we tend to neglect their positive aspect on account of the more conspicuous pain they cause.They are not evil in an absolute sense; they are evil in certain respects and good in others.The venom of snakes is evil only in view of the harm that it brings upon human
beings, but it is good in many other respects: the destruction wrought by storms and earthquakes is bad in view of the death and pain they involve, but they are good in many other respects (one of which is that they are an indispensable feature of the material world, and so their flip side, so to speak, is all the good that takes place in the world). 

5-Good Outweighs Evil

    The world is replete with goodness, mercy, and blessings. The evil that occurs in this world is only a necessary consequence of the nature of this world. As the
material world is limited and material entities tend toward conflict and strife-and this is a necessary property of materiality without which the existence of the material world is impossible-it is only natural that a limited and relative presence of evil should ensue. But it must be borne in mind that the amount of good is infinitely greater than the amount of evil-which is a necessary feature of the material world.it is only natural that a limited and relative presence of evil should ensue. But it must be borne in mind that the amount of good is infinitely greater than the amount of evil-which is a necessary feature of the material world. If evil prevailed over good, the world would have perished long ago. So the very fact of its persistence points to the predominance of good. And since good is predominant, Divine Wisdom requires that the material world should exist. To withhold existence from the material world would be to preclude a great amount of good for the sake of a smaller amount of evil, and this would be contrary to Divine Wisdom. Thus, on comparing the extent of good and evil, human reason undoubtedly arrives at the conclusion that the existence of this world is good and hence necessary.