In answer to the video "No Compulsion in Religion"
What we view, from our limited understanding of the intricacies involved in sustaining life on this earth, let alone the maintaining of the universe, as "natural disasters" are not due to God's wrath, sent as punishments.
Only when these events come as prophecied by certain individuals, can they be considered as such. According to the Quran, God’s chastisement befell only nations who rejected the prophets and messengers sent to them and further it befell only the opponents of the prophet without harming the believers
17:15"nor do We chastise until We raise a messenger"
11:94"And when Our decree came to pass We delivered Shu'aib, and those who believed with him by mercy from Us, and the rumbling overtook those who were unjust so they became motionless bodies in their abodes".
As regards people that die in natural disasters unrelated to divine prophecies, one should remember that life does not end with death in this world. It goes on eternally in the hereafter where each person is requited for the time alloted to him in this world. Only those devoid of a higher outlook on life remained shackled by what they refer to as the problem of evil and death. There are thus different kinds of sufferings. Some are analogous to the process of forging metal, raising the person to a higher state of consciousness
"The Prophet said, "No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that".
To further illustrate, the prophet stated
"The example of a believer is that of a fresh tender plant; from whatever direction the wind comes, it bends it, but when the wind becomes quiet, it becomes straight again. Similarly, a believer is afflicted with calamities (but he remains patient till Allah removes his difficulties.) And an impious wicked person is like a pine tree which keeps hard and straight till Allah cuts (breaks) it down when He wishes".
Other types of worldly sufferings are non-redemptive to the individual involved, not allowing the opportunity to rise, like a starving or sick child, or a person that is murdered or that dies in a natural disaster. These types of suffering tear appart human consciousness. A feeling of injustice ensues and remains. The only solace is in the thought that the world is passing, that it has a higher purpose, leading to a place infinitely greater in comparison, and where every single matter is evened out. That is why the Quran appeals to that inner mechanism of human consciousness as evidence of a Creator. One has the inexplicable urge to make sense of a matter that can never be empirically tested 75:1-15,91:8. That is why even atheists feel unease at the sight of evil and injustice. Yet ironically, atheists have no grounds to claim there is evil and injustice in the absolute sense, given that these things are subjective from a naturalistic viewpoint. The staunchest atheist however cannot ignore the screams of his fitra, one of the most fundamental evidences per the Quran for Allah and the Hereafter. The fitra is triggered by evil and injustice just as the physical nervous system is triggered by pain. Physical pain signals the need to take action so as to resolve a condition. One does so through refraining from a behavior, or finding the appropriate cure that either reduces or takes away the pain. Sure, not all bodily afflictions can be resolved. But the nervous system exists so as to signal the necessity to end the pain. In the same way, spiritual pain caused by evil and injustice indicates that one should take certain steps so as to ease or solve the condition. These are outlined in the religion, and include; helping oneanother and enjoining justice as much as is individually possible, as well as of course, belief in God's wisdom which shall reveal itself in the hereafter where all matters are evened out. A believer has faith that all of God's attributes manifest to perfection, and if that manifestation isnt obvious in this world, it certainly will be in the hereafter. There thus cannot be a "problem of evil" to be postulated against a believer, only one who rejects the notion of ultimate justice lives in perpetual confusion, trying to make sense of life's events
34:8"they who do not believe in the Hereafter are in torment and extreme error".
The suffering of a child is a means by which another is tested. It can be the parents or anyone with the power to ease that suffering. Its also clear that the weak (starving child) is not being tested. This then results in a worldly injustice from the child's viewpoint. Because if suffering is a means of spiritual betterment, and that a 2 year old child is not spiritually accountable, then he does not benefit from suffering. Whether he dies in a state of ease or hardship, he still receives paradise. God, as stated earlier, sometimes allows this type of injustice, which can be directly (mistreatment, war etc) or indirectly (illness) brought on the child. This injustice in itself becomes one of the most compelling evidence for God, per the Quran where Allah swears by this very inner mechanism that causes us to question injustice when we see it, and to desire justice
"I swear by the Day of Resurrection, And I swear by the reproaching soul [to the certainty of resurrection]".
The only thing that solves injustice, is its opposite, justice. And if the balance can never be achieved in this world, as is obvious from countless cases besides a suffering child, and that our very nature needs justice to be appeased just like our lungs need oxygen, then it means there must be a world where that natural need is satisfied. No other system answers that need than the afterlife where judgement is perfect.
The notion of evil coming from the creatures is subtely alluded to with the jinn's astonishment at the drastic changes in the unseen realities of the heaven and earth, when the revelation of the Quran began. They did not know what would the consequences be
72:10"we know not whether evil is intended for the inhabitants of the earth or whether their Lord wills to Guide them".Guidance is herein ascribed to God, but evil, used in passive voice, is not attributed to Him. Corruption comes from people themselves when they misuse their potential. God's will, of establishing a system of causality resulting in good or evil, does not mean He approves of the latter or that it is beyond His power to prevent or allow it. He may interrupt the process at anytime, or force the process in a way or another. God may either allow or prevent the evil consequences of human freewill, according to his wisdom
4:78"and if a benefit comes to them, they say: This is from Allah; and if evil befalls them, they say: This is from you. Say: All is from Allah".There is wisdom in allowing apparent evil, because not everything that man regards as "evil fortune" is really evil
2:216"it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know".What is often regarded as evil or misfortune, as in the case in 4:78, is a situation resulting from one's own life choices
42:30"And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought".God has allowed this situation to occur in order to make it a trial, which is in Quranic terminology nothing but a means of spiritual betterment. It is therefore not really an "evil" from a higher perspective
11:9-10"And if We make man taste mercy from Us, then take it off from him, most surely he is despairing, ungrateful. And if We make him taste a favor after distress has afflicted him, he will certainly say: The evils are gone away from me. Most surely he is exulting, boasting".Among the places where that notion, that evil is many times only a matter of perspective, is in 22:11. In that verse, the opposite to the "good" things of life are called "trials", not evil.
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