The Purpose of Evil
1.Cultivation of Human Potentials
Due to the peculiar nature of the world and the human being, it is impossible to realize many of the spiritual and psychic potentials without enduring trials and tribulations. Just as an athlete strengthens his muscles by embarking on rigorous and excruciating exercises, human beings spiritual capabilities also require diligent and painstaking spiritual exercises in order to reach fruition. It is interesting to note how most of the scientific breakthroughs and discoveries were made in response to individual and public hardships that compelled scientists to look for a solution.
2.Divine Trials
One of the unchanging norms of God is that He tests human beings by afflicting them with trials and tribulations. God subjects people to various conditions in order that they may show their real character. God’s tests may consist in comfort, wealth, and leisure or it may take the form of hardships and adversities. Passing these tests successfully enables the human being to realize many of his inherent potentials, especially with respect to his spiritual aspect.
Affluent individuals bear a greater degree of responsibility in comparison to less privileged individuals on account of the greater amount of wealth they enjoy, and so the former must aid the latter. Those who enjoy the blessing of health and youth must show gratitude toward God by helping the feeble, the elderly, and the young Helping others, of course, should not be understood merely in material terms but in spiritual and emotional terms as well. An orphan, for instance, may be financially well-off but he is nevertheless in need of emotional care. Helping fellow human beings is one of the responsibilities that come with the blessings God bestows. In fact, one of the major tests that God subjects people to is how well they help the weak and those in need.
3.God’s Warnings
Enjoying the pleasures and bounties of the world, the human being is wont to turn complacent and become neglectful of his higher obligations. Trials and tribulations serve as God’s alarms to awaken people from their habitual slumber and to remind them of their religious duties. The hardships and difficulties of life are advantageous in that they humble people and repress their arrogance and hubris, thereby preparing the appropriate circumstances for their return to the path of God.
4. Infusing a Sense of Gratitude toward God for His Blessings and Bounties
Another advantage of undergoing trials and tribulations is that one is reminded of the multifarious blessings of God that one usually takes for granted. It is only when we are deprived of a blessing that we truly appreciate it.
The following Persian proverb succinctly states this truth: “Only he who is affected by an adversity can appreciate the value of well-being.”
5.Consequence of Sins and Misdeeds
Some of the afflictions that befall us are a consequence of our sins and misdeeds. These afflictions constitute a divine chastisement. There are two general types of divine chastisement: worldly and otherworldly. Some sins and misdeeds may incur both types of chastisement, some just one. There are sins whose punishment God reserves entirely for the Hereafter. The Qur’an asserts that God helps in increasing the sins of those who oppose and resist Islam despite acknowledging its truth by giving them longevity and worldly prosperity. In this way their sins mount in this world and so God inflicts upon them an exponentially more severe punishment in the Hereafter. The minor sins, however, are more liable to incur worldly punishment as opposed to otherworldly punishment. Thus God afflicts the faithful with hardships so that they may realize the wrong they have done and in this way they may make up for their sins and thus be absolved of otherworldly punishments. For, the severity and intensity of otherworldly sufferings is incomparably greater than worldly punishments. The natural conclusion of this point is that the hardships that the believers endure may seem to be bad but they are in truth a form of Divine Mercy Whereby God absolves the believers from having to undergo punishment in Hell. This alleviation in punishment is granted only to sinful believers. The pains and afflictions that disbelievers experience in this world in no way mitigates their otherworldly chastisement: a much more severe and painful chastisement awaits them in the Hereafter.