As the US recovers from the devastation brought about by the unexpected
Tornado, the religious and the secular factions will be out arguing the
usual causes behind it. As for the political section, there is silence;
this time there is no Al-Qaeda, no terrorists or the extreme far right
to blame. Such events do bring about our philosophical thoughts to the
surface; it gets us to think about the nature and the meaning of life
and the universe. An event beyond our control causing so much
devastation, killing indiscriminately, why does this happen? Some say it
is a random event, the work of Mother Nature, and others say it is God
sending down collective punishment. Depending on how you interpret the
event, it can either bring a person to conviction in the existence of a
Creator, or reaffirm his denial of a Creator, as is the current fad.
If it is the former, the trail of thought is on the basis of observing
the frailty and weakness of the human species. There must be something
more powerful that has ensured the survival of the human race; otherwise
we could have become extinct through major calamities in the past, and
there has been plenty starting from the ice age. As for those who
move towards the other direction, increasing their conviction in the
absence of a benevolent Creator argue: how can God permit such evil,
calamitous events kills saints and sinners indiscriminately; this is the
age-old question from the atheist corner. And calamitous events add
credence to the argument that there is no such thing as a loving God,
maybe a killer God, but is that not an oxymoron? In fact that makes the
case for Devil worshipping.
However, who says calamities and hardship can be equated to evil, and
that God cannot inflict hardship on his creation? Isn’t that an
assumption? If we build on this premise then one can argue by inference
that hardship of any kind is evil on a smaller scale, hence the pain
experienced through child birth or the toil in earning a living is also
evil. This creates more questions than answers; clearly this is not a
consistent viewpoint.
According to Islamic theology evil is disobedience to God, it relates
entirely to the way we exercise our free will and is no relation to the
natural events around us. If we kill others without a just cause, then
we have taken a life without a divine permit and there is retribution
for this evil deed. But can the same logic be applied to God, who is the
Creator and the legal owner of life. Even in the realm of the human
sphere, if I build a house, it is my prerogative to burn it down as I am
its legal owner. What stops me from smashing my car in the garage?
Thus what law stops God from taking the life that he created in the
first place?
Consequentially, the question should be why God is permitting calamites
as opposed to evil. Yes, at times evil can manifest in calamities like
creating a famine but at times evil can be something almost benign, like
missing prayers or fasting which has no impact on others. According to
the Islamic teachings, evil and calamities are two unrelated entities
and should be distinct in our minds.
The atheist question also implies that since it’s wrong for God to
permit calamities, he should allow us to live our lives in comfort, as
God should be a loving God; in other words it should be like heaven on
earth. But if we as humans do not follow this principle as we tend to
oppress, torture, and kill those whom we have power over, then why do we
expect God to comply? Of course because he is God, and should lead by
Godly examples and rise above frail human species, fair enough, a more
credible argument here.
But there is another pertinent argument here. If we accept God permits
calamities, we are assuming his existence, then we also have to accept
that God has full rights over his subjects; in that case what law
prevents him from testing our conviction and obedience in him through
such calamities? Why should he give us a comfortable life without
earning it? Do we not work on earth to make a living? Another related
point is, if we assume God exists by posing the question “why does God
permit calamities?” then we also accept that God is not just a word but a
concept, he has created everything including the human race; therefore,
he can recreate them again and place them in a better place, like
Heaven. Whilst our limited vision extends to no further than earthly
life, why do we then assume the ones who perished are worse off than
ourselves? Maybe we will be suffering at some point in the future on
earth.
Next time you ask why God permits calamities; ask first, if he is God, then is he not entitled to?
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