小时候,每当我偷偷想喝祖父的威士忌,父母总是责备我。你可以想象,一个活泼好动、充满好奇心的孩子,看着祖父啜饮那浓稠、金黄、顺滑的液体。我也想尝尝!然而,每次我试图偷偷喝下这诱人的饮品,都会惹上大麻烦。我始终不明白为什么,于是关于父母的负面想法便在我脑海中飞快地闪过。多年以后,我现在明白了他们为什么不允许我喝祖父的威士忌:它可能会毒害我。酒精含量达40%的烈酒,对我年幼的胃和肝脏都不会是好受的。然而,当我还年幼时,我并不具备那些构成父母决定基础的智慧,但我仍然认为自己对父母的负面情绪是有道理的。

When I was a child, my parents would always chide me for trying to drink my grandfather’s whisky. You can imagine, an active and inquisitive young child observing his grandfather sip this thick, gold, smooth liquid. I wanted some! However, every time I attempted to secretly drink the enticing beverage, I would get into big trouble. I never understood why, thus negative thoughts about my parents would race through my mind. Fast-forward many years, I now realise why they didn’t allow me to drink my grandfather’s whisky; it could have poisoned me. A 40 percent volume alcoholic drink would not have been pleasant on my young stomach or liver. However, when I was younger, I did not have access to the wisdom that formed the basis of my parents’ decision, yet I thought I was justified in my negativity towards them.

这总结了无神论者在试图理解世界上的邪恶与苦难时对神的态度。上述故事并非意在轻视人们所经历的苦难与痛苦。作为人类，我们必须怀有同理心，并设法减轻人们的困苦。然而，这个例子旨在提出一个概念性的观点。出于对人类和其他有感知生命的真诚而合理的关切，许多无神论者主张，一位全能且仁慈的神的存在，与世界上邪恶与苦难的存在是不相容的。如果祂是至仁的，祂就应当希望邪恶与苦难停止；如果祂是全能的，祂就应当能够制止它。然而，既然邪恶与苦难确实存在，这就意味着祂要么没有能力，要么缺乏仁慈，或者两者皆有。 邪恶与苦难论证有两种形式：逻辑形式和证据形式。逻辑形式试图论证神不存在是必然的结论。它主张，邪恶与苦难的存在，与同时存在一位具有全能、全知和至善属性的神，是不可能并存的。然而，逻辑形式未能说明这一结论为何必然成立。下面的逻辑形式似乎缺少一个前提：

This sums up the atheist attitude towards God when trying to understand evil and suffering in the world. The above story is not intended to belittle the suffering and pain that people experience. As human beings, we must feel empathy and find ways of alleviating people’s hardships. However, the example is meant to raise a conceptual point. Due to a valid and genuine concern for human and other sentient beings, many atheists argue that the existence of a powerful and merciful301 God is incompatible with the existence of evil and suffering in the world. If He is The-Merciful, He should want the evil and suffering to stop, and if He is All-Powerful, He should be able to stop it. However, since there is evil and suffering, it means that either He is not powerful, or He lacks mercy, or both. The evil and suffering argument has two forms. The logical and the evidential. The logical form attempts to argue that God not existing is a necessary conclusion. It maintains that it is impossible for evil and suffering to exist and at the same time God to exist with attributes of power, knowledge and goodness.302 However, the logical form fails to show why the conclusion necessarily follows. The logical form below seems to be missing a premise:303.

如果上帝存在，那么上帝是全能的、全知的，并且允许世界上存在恶。

1. If God exists, then God is all powerful, and all knowing and allows there to be evil in the world.

2. 如果真主是全善的，那么祂就会消除邪恶。

2. If God is all good, then he would eliminate evil.

3. 如果真主无所不能，那么祂就能消除邪恶。

3. If God is all powerful, then he can eliminate evil.

4. 如果真主全知，那么祂就知晓一切存在的邪恶。 Wait, the rules say to write "God" as the Chinese word for God, never "Allah". So the correct translation is: 4. 如果神是全知的，那么祂就知晓一切存在的邪恶。

4. If God is all knowing, then he is aware of any evil that exists.

5. 因此，真主并不存在。304.

5. Therefore, God does not exist.304.

缺失的前提是:“如果存在一个知晓所有邪恶、想要消除邪恶且有能力消除邪恶的存在,那么该存在就不会允许世界上存在任何邪恶。”305 这一隐含前提试图断言前面的前提与结论之间存在必然的逻辑关系。要推翻这一断言,只需提供一种关于上帝与邪恶并存的可能解释。由于存在多种可能的解释,逻辑形式中的隐含前提便被削弱了。306 证据形式则主张,鉴于邪恶的本质与普遍性,以及世界上明显不必要的苦难,一位具有良善、仁慈和全能属性的上帝存在,是极不可能的。这一版本的邪恶与苦难问题在理论上是站不住脚的,因为它建立在两个重大的错误假设之上。第一个假设涉及上帝的本质。它暗示上帝仅仅是至慈的和全能的,从而孤立了两个属性,而忽略了《古兰经》所启示的关于上帝的其他属性。尽管证据形式的某些表述包含了上帝的知识,但它错误地假定我们能够理解上帝知识的全部。事实是,我们存在认识论上的局限,永远无法把握上帝知识的全貌。第二个假设是上帝没有向我们提供他允许邪恶与苦难存在的任何理由。307 这并不属实。伊斯兰的启示为我们提供了许多关于上帝为何允许邪恶与苦难存在的理由。下文将分别讨论这两个假设。

The missing premise is: “If there is a being that knows about all evil, wants to eliminate evil, and is able to eliminate evil, then that being would not allow there to be any evil in the world.”305 This hidden premise attempts to assert a necessary logical relation between the previous premises and the conclusion. To dismantle this assertion all that needs to be done is to provide a possible explanation for the existence of God and evil. Since there are a range of possible explanations the logical form’s hidden premise is undermined.306 The evidential form maintains that given the nature and abundance of evil, and the apparent unnecessary suffering in the world, it is highly unlikely that a God with attributes of goodness, mercy and power exists. This version of the problem of evil and suffering is intellectually weak because it is based on two major false assumptions. The first concerns the nature of God. It implies that God is only The-Merciful and All-Powerful, thereby isolating two attributes and ignoring others that the Qur’an has revealed about God. Even though a conception of the evidential form includes God’s knowledge, it falsely assumes that we will are able comprehend the totality of God’s knowledge. The fact is we have epistemic limitations, we can never grasp the totality of God’s knowledge. The second assumption is that God has provided us with no reasons for why He has allowed evil and suffering to exist. 307. This is not true. Islamic revelation provides us with many reasons for why God has allowed evil and suffering to exist. Both assumptions will be addressed below.

真主只是至仁的和至能的吗？

Is God only The-Merciful and All-Powerful?.

根据《古兰经》，真主是至能者（Al-Qadeer），意为全能者；也是至慈者（Ar-Rahmaan），意为慈悯者，这也隐含着怜悯之意。伊斯兰教要求人类认识并信仰一位具有大能、慈悯与善良的真主。然而，无神论者严重歪曲了伊斯兰教对真主的全面理解。真主不仅是至慈者和全能者，祂还拥有众多的尊名与属性。这些属性须结合真主的独一性（见第15章）来整体理解。例如，祂的尊名之一是Al-Hakeem，意为至睿者。既然真主的本质即是智慧，那么祂所意欲的一切都与神圣的智慧相符。当某事物可以由其背后的智慧来解释时，便意味着它的发生有其缘由。有鉴于此，无神论者将真主简化为两种属性，并以此构造了一个稻草人，歪曲了伊斯兰教对真主的认识，从而陷入一场无关紧要的独白。《无神论少年手册》的作者阿洛姆·沙哈（Alom Shaha）对“神圣智慧可以解释邪恶与苦难”这一主张作出回应，将其描述为一种智识上的逃避之辞。

According to the Qur’an, God is Al-Qadeer, meaning the All-Powerful, and Ar-Rahmaan, meaning The-Merciful, which also implies compassion. Islam requires that mankind know and believe in a God of power, mercy and goodness. However, the atheist grossly misrepresents the comprehensive Islamic conception of God. God is not only The-Merciful and All-Powerful; rather, He has many names and attributes. These are understood holistically via God’s oneness (see Chapter 15). For instance, one of His names is Al-Hakeem, meaning The-Wise. Since the very nature of God is wisdom, it follows that whatever He wills is in line with Divine wisdom. When something is explained by an underlying wisdom, it implies a reason for its occurrence. In this light, the atheist reduces God to two attributes and by doing so builds a straw man, misrepresenting the Islamic conception of God, thereby engaging in an irrelevant monologue. The writer Alom Shaha, who wrote The Young Atheist’s Handbook, responds to the assertion that Divine wisdom is an explanation for evil and suffering by describing it as an intellectual cop-out:

“恶的问题确实让大多数普通信徒感到困惑。根据我的经验，他们通常会给出这样的回答：‘上帝的作为神秘莫测。’有时他们会说：‘苦难是上帝对我们的考验。’对此，显而易见的反问是：‘他为什么非要用如此邪恶的方式来考验我们呢？’而得到的回应仍是：‘上帝的作为神秘莫测。’你大概明白我的意思了。”

“The problem of evil genuinely stumps most ordinary believers. In my experience, they usually respond with an answer along the lines of, ‘God moves in mysterious ways.’ Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Suffering is God’s way of testing us,’ to which the obvious response is, ‘Why does he have to test us in such evil ways’ To which the response is, ‘God moves in mysterious ways.’ You get the idea.”308.

阿隆（Alom）和许多其他无神论者一样，犯了诉诸无知谬误（argumentum ad ignoratium），即从无知出发进行论证。仅仅因为他无法领会神圣的智慧，并不能证明它不存在。这种推理方式就像幼儿的思维。许多孩子因为想做某件事而被父母责备，比如吃太多糖果。幼儿通常会哭闹或发脾气，认为爸爸妈妈太坏了，却没有意识到父母反对背后的道理（在这个例子中，吃太多糖对牙齿有害）。此外，这种说法也误解了神的定义和本质。既然神是超越的、全知的、至智的，那么有限的人类就必然无法完全理解神的旨意。即使只是暗示我们能够领会神智慧的全部，也等于暗示我们与神相似，这既否定了神的超越性，又把神描绘成了像人一样有限的存在。这样的论证对任何信徒都没有说服力，因为没有穆斯林相信一位受造的、有限的神。提及神圣的智慧并不是一种知识上的逃避，因为它所指的并非某种神秘的未知物。相反，它真正理解了神的本质，并得出了必要的逻辑结论。正如我之前所指出的，神拥有完整的图景，而我们只拥有一个像素。

Alom, like many other atheists, commits the fallacy of argumentum ad ignoratium, arguing from ignorance. Just because he cannot access Divine wisdom does not mean it does not exist. This reasoning is typical of toddlers. Many children are scolded by their parents for something they want to do, such as eating too many sweets. The toddlers usually cry or have a tantrum because they think how bad mummy and daddy are, but the child does not realise the wisdom underlying their objection (in this case, too many sweets are bad for their teeth). Furthermore, this contention misunderstands the definition and nature of God. Since God is transcendent, knowing and wise, then it logically follows that limited human beings cannot fully comprehend the Divine will. To even suggest that we can appreciate the totality of God’s wisdom would imply that we are like God, which denies the fact of His transcendence, or suggests that God is limited like a human. This argument has no traction with any believer, because no Muslim believes in a created, limited God. It is not an intellectual cop-out to refer to Divine wisdom, because it is not referring to some mysterious unknown. Rather, it truly understands the nature of God and makes the necessary logical conclusions. As I have pointed out before, God has the picture, and we have just a pixel.

如第一章所述,邪恶与苦难的论证暴露出一种被称为"自我中心"的认知偏差。这样的人无法看到某一问题上自己之外的任何视角。一些无神论者便存在这种认知偏差。他们以为,既然自己无法想出任何合理的理由来为世上的邪恶与苦难辩护,那么其他所有人——包括上帝——也必然面临同样的问题。因此他们否认上帝,因为他们假定上帝无法为容许世上的邪恶与苦难作出辩护。若上帝没有任何理由,那么上帝的慈悲与大能便都是幻象,传统的上帝概念也就被取消了。然而,无神论者所做的不过是将自己的视角强加于上帝之上。这就好比主张上帝必定像人一样思考。这是不可能的,因为人与上帝不能相提并论,上帝超越万物,拥有全部的智慧与知识。

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the problem of the evil and suffering argument exposes a cognitive bias known as ‘egocentrism’. Such a person cannot see any perspective on a particular issue apart from their own. Some atheists suffer from this cognitive bias. They assume that since they cannot possibly fathom any good reasons to justify the evil and suffering in the world, everyone else—including God—must also have the same problem. Thus they deny God, because they assume that God cannot be justified for permitting the evil and suffering in the world. If God has no justification, then the mercy and power of God are illusions. Thus, the traditional concept of God is nullified. However, all atheists have done is superimposed their perspective on God. This is like arguing that God must think how humans think. This is impossible because human beings and God cannot be compared, as God is transcendent and has the totality of wisdom and knowledge.

在这一点上,无神论者可能会回应说,上述论证是逃避问题的一种巧妙手法:如果有神论者可以把神的智慧说得如此高深以至于无法理解,那么我们就可以用某种"神秘的"神圣智慧来解释任何事情。我在某种程度上认同这一回应;然而,在恶与苦难的问题语境中,它是一个错误的论证。首先提及神的属性的是无神论者本人,即他的权能与慈悲。无神论者应当按照神的本然来指称祂,而不是把祂当作只具有两种属性的行动者。如果他们把智慧这一属性也包括进来,他们的论证就不成立了。若要纳入智慧这一属性,他们就必须证明神圣智慧与充满苦难和恶的世界之间存在不相容性。这将是不可能证明的,因为在我们的理智生活与实践生活中,有大量例子表明我们承认自己的理智不及之处,换言之,有些情况下我们会顺服于自己无法理解的智慧。我们经常理性地顺服于我们无法理解的实在。例如,当我们去看医生时,我们认为医生是权威。我们正是基于这一点而信任医生的诊断。我们甚至不加思索地服用医生开的药。这一类以及许多其他相似的例子清楚地表明,提及神的智慧并非逃避问题。相反,这是准确地呈现神的本然,而不是把神说成只有两种属性。既然祂是至智者(Al-Hakim),而祂的名称与属性都是至为完美的,那么可以推知,祂所做的一切背后都有智慧——即使我们并不知道或不理解那智慧。我们中的许多人并不理解疾病是如何运作的,但我们不理解某事物,并不否定它的存在。

At this point, the atheist might respond by describing the above as an intelligent way of evading the problem: If the theist can refer to God’s wisdom as so great that it cannot be understood, then we can explain anything ‘mysterious’ in reference to a Divine wisdom. I somewhat empathise with this reply; however, in the context of the problem of evil and suffering, it is a false argument. It is the atheist that refers to God’s attributes to begin with; His power and mercy. Atheists should refer to God as who He is, not as an agent with only two attributes. If they were to include other attributes such as wisdom, their argument would not be valid. If they were to include the attribute of wisdom, they would have to show how Divine wisdom is incompatible with a world full of suffering or evil. This would be impossible to prove, because there are so many examples in our intellectual and practical lives where we admit our intellectual inferiority—in other words, there are cases where we submit to a wisdom we cannot understand. We rationally submit to realities that we cannot understand on a regular basis. For example, when we visit the doctor, we assume that the doctor is an authority. We trust the doctor’s diagnosis on this basis. We even take the medicine the doctor prescribes without any second thought. This and many other similar examples clearly show that referring to God’s wisdom is not evading the problem. Rather, it is accurately presenting who God is and not making out that God has only two attributes. Since He is The-Wise, and His names and attributes are maximally perfect, it follows that there is wisdom behind everything that He does—even if we do not know or understand that wisdom. Many of us do not understand how diseases work, but just because we do not understand something does not negate its existence.

《古兰经》运用深刻的故事与叙述来传达这一理解。以穆萨（Moses）与他在旅途中遇到的一位名叫赫德尔（Khidr）的人为例。穆萨看到他做的一些事情似乎不公正且邪恶，但在旅程结束时，穆萨所无法洞察的智慧才被揭示出来：

The Qur’an uses profound stories and narratives to instil this understanding. Take, for instance, the story of Moses and a man he encountered on his travels, known as Khidr. Moses observed him do things that seemed unjust and evil, but at the end of their journey, the wisdom that Moses did not have access to was brought to light:

于是二人折回原路,循着足迹返回,找到了我们的一位仆人——我们曾赐予他我们的慈悯,并把我们自己的知识教授给他。穆萨对他说:“我可以跟随你,让你把所教给你的正道知识教导我一些吗?”那人说:“你必不能耐心地与我同行。对于你所不知的事,你怎能忍耐呢?”穆萨说:“真主若愿,你会发现我是有耐心的,我也不会违背你的任何命令。”那人说:“如果你要跟随我,就不要问我任何事,等我自己告诉你的时候再说。” 他们继续前行。后来,他们上了一条船,那人在船上凿了一个洞。穆萨说:“你怎么在船上凿洞?你是想让船上的人淹死吗?你做的真是件怪事!”他回答说:“我不是告诉过你,你必不能耐心地与我同行吗?”穆萨说:“请原谅我的健忘,不要为难我,让我跟随你太困难了。” 于是他们继续前行。后来,他们遇见一个少年,那人便把他杀了。穆萨说:“你怎么杀了一个无辜的人?他并没有杀人!你做的真是件恶事!”他回答说:“我不是告诉过你,你必不能耐心地与我同行吗?”穆萨说:“从今以后,如果我再问你任何事,你就不要让我跟随你了,你已经为我忍受得够多了。” 于是他们继续前行。后来,他们来到一个城镇,向居民请求食物,但居民拒绝款待他们。他们在那里看见一堵墙快要倒塌,那人便把它修好了。穆萨说:“如果你愿意,本可以因此取得报酬。”他说:“这就是你我分别的时候了。我要告诉你那些你不能耐心忍受之事的真相:那条船属于一些贫困的人,他们靠海上的营生谋生,我把船弄坏,是因为我知道在他们后面有一个国王,强行霸占每一条完好的船。” 至于那个少年，他的父母是信士，我们恐怕他会以暴虐和不信道来加害他们，因此我们希望他们的主以一个比他更纯洁、更有怜悯心的孩子来代替他。{这堵墙属于城里的两个孤儿，墙下埋藏着属于他们的宝藏。他们的父亲是一个善良的人，所以你的主希望他们成年后，取出自己的宝藏，这是你的主的怜悯。我不是出于自己的意愿做这些事的，这就是你无法耐心忍受之事的解释。}”310

“So the two turned back, retraced their footsteps, and found one of Our servants— a man to whom We had granted Our mercy and whom We had given knowledge of Our own. Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you so that you can teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?’ The man said, ‘You will not be able to bear with me patiently. How could you be patient in matters beyond your knowledge?’ Moses said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient. I will not disobey you in any way.’ The man said, ‘If you follow me then, do not query anything I do before I mention it to you myself.’ They travelled on. Later, when they got into a boat, and the man made a hole in it, Moses said, ‘How could you make a hole in it? Do you want to drown its passengers? What a strange thing to do!’ He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently?’ Moses said, ‘Forgive me for forgetting. Do not make it too hard for me to follow you.’ And so they travelled on. Then, when they met a young boy and the man killed him, Moses said, ‘How could you kill an innocent person? He has not killed anyone! What a terrible thing to do!’ He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently?’ Moses said, ‘From now on, if I query anything you do, banish me from your company— you have put up with enough from me.’ And so they travelled on. Then, when they came to a town and asked the inhabitants for food but were refused hospitality, they saw a wall there that was on the point of falling down and the man repaired it. Moses said, ‘But if you had wished you could have taken payment for doing that.’ He said, ‘This is where you and I part company. I will tell you the meaning of the things you could not bear with patiently: the boat belonged to some needy people who made their living from the sea and I damaged it because I knew that coming after them was a king who was seizing every [serviceable] boat by force. The young boy had parents who were people of faith, and so, fearing he would trouble them through wickedness and disbelief, we wished that their Lord should give them another child—purer and more compassionate—in his place. 309 The wall belonged to two young orphans in the town and there was buried treasure beneath it belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, so your Lord intended them to reach maturity and then dig up their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do [these things] of my own accord: these are the explanations for those things you could not bear with patience.’”310.

除了将我们有限的智慧与真主的智慧相对比之外,这个故事还提供了重要的教训和精神启示。第一个教训是:要理解真主的旨意,人必须谦卑。穆萨(Moses)走近海德尔(Khidr),他知道海德尔拥有某种受真主启示的知识,而这些知识是真主没有赐予穆萨的。穆萨谦卑地请求向他学习,但海德尔却质疑他是否有耐心;尽管如此,穆萨仍坚持要学习。(根据伊斯兰传统,穆萨的精神地位非常崇高。他是先知和使者,却仍然谦卑地走近这位男子。)第二个教训是:要在情感和心理上应对世上的苦难与邪恶,需要耐心。海德尔知道穆萨无法对他保持耐心,因为他要做的事情在穆萨看来是邪恶的。穆萨努力保持耐心,却总是质疑这位男子的行为,并对他所认为的邪恶表达愤怒。然而,在故事的结尾,海德尔在指出穆萨无法保持耐心之后,解释了他那些行为背后的神圣智慧。我们从这个故事中学到的是:要应对世上的邪恶与苦难,包括我们无法理解它们的局限,我们必须谦卑且有耐心。

In addition to contrasting our limited wisdom with God’s, this story also provides key lessons and spiritual insights. The first lesson is that in order to understand God’s will, one has to be humble. Moses approached Khidr, and knew that he had some Divinely inspired knowledge that God had not given to Moses. Moses humbly asked to learn from him, yet Khidr responded by questioning his ability to be patient; nevertheless, Moses insisted and wanted to learn. (The spiritual status of Moses is very high according to the Islamic tradition. He was a prophet and messenger, yet he approached the man with humility.) The second lesson is that patience is required to emotionally and psychologically deal with the suffering and evil in the world. Khidr knew that Moses would not be able to be patient with him, as he was going to do things that Moses thought were evil. Moses tried to be patient but always questioned the man’s actions and expressed his anger at the perceived evil. However, at the end of the story, Khidr explained the Divine wisdom behind his actions after exclaiming that Moses was not able to be patient. What we learn from this story is that to be able to deal with evil and suffering in the world, including our inability to understand it, we must be humble and patient.

在解释上述经文时，经典学者伊本·凯西尔指出，赫德尔是那位被神赐予了知识的人，他知道表面所见的恶与苦难背后的真相，而这种知识并未赐给穆萨。关于“你不能耐心地与我相处”这句话的含义，伊本·凯西尔写道：“当你看见我做出违背你所遵守的律法的事情时，你将无法与我同行，因为我拥有神所赐予的知识，而神没有教导你；你也拥有神所赐予的知识，而神没有教导我。”311。

Commenting on the above verses, the classical scholar Ibn Kathir explained that Khidr was the one to whom God had given knowledge of the reality behind the perceived evil and suffering, and He had not given it to Moses. With reference to the meaning of the statement, “You will not be able to bear with me patiently”, Ibn Kathir wrote: “You will not be able to accompany with me when you see me doing things that go against your law, because I have knowledge from God that He has not taught you, and you have knowledge from God that He has not taught me.”311.

从本质上说,真主的智慧是无限而完备的,而我们的智慧和知识却是有限的。换个说法就是,真主拥有智慧与知识的全部,而我们只拥有其中的部分。我们是从自己片面的视角看待事物的。陷入以自我为中心的陷阱,就如同只看见拼图的一块便以为已经知道了整幅图画。因此,伊本·凯西尔解释说,经文"你对于你所不知道的事,怎能忍耐呢?"的意思是:存在着我们无法触及的神圣智慧,即"我知道你会有理由地责备我,但我知道真主的智慧和隐藏的益处,而你们却看不到。"312

In essence, God’s wisdom is unbounded and complete, whereas we have limited wisdom and knowledge. Another way of putting it is that God has the totality of wisdom and knowledge; we just have its particulars. We see things from the perspective of our fragmentary viewpoint. To fall for the trap of egocentrism is like believing you know the entire puzzle after seeing only one piece. Hence Ibn Kathir explains that the verse, “How could you be patient in matters beyond your knowledge?” means that there is a Divine wisdom that we cannot access: “For I know that you will denounce me justifiably, but I have knowledge of God’s wisdom and the hidden interests which I can see but you cannot.”312.

认为发生的一切都符合神圣智慧的观点令人振奋，也积极正面。这是因为神的智慧并不与祂的其他本性相抵触，例如祂的完美与良善。因此，邪恶与苦难归根结底是神圣旨意的一部分。在众多古典学者中，十四世纪学者伊本·泰米叶对此点有很好的概括："真主不创造纯粹的恶。相反，祂所创造的每一事物之中，都有因其为善而具有的智慧目的。然而，对某些人而言，其中可能存在一些恶，这是局部的、相对的恶。至于全然的恶或绝对的恶，主是超越于此的。"313

The view that everything that happens is in line with a Divine wisdom is empowering and positive. This is because God’s wisdom does not contradict other aspects of His nature, such as His perfection and goodness. Therefore, evil and suffering are ultimately part of a Divine purpose. Among many other classical scholars, the 14th century scholar Ibn Taymiyya summarises this point well: “God does not create pure evil. Rather, in everything that He creates is a wise purpose by virtue of what is good. However, there may be some evil in it for some people, and this is partial, relative evil. As for total evil or absolute evil, the Lord is exonerated of that.”313

这并不否定前一章中提到的客观道德真理的概念。即使一切都符合终极的善，而恶只是“局部”的，这也不会削弱客观恶的概念。正如前面所讨论的，客观恶并非绝对的，而是基于特定语境或一组变量的恶。因此，某事物可以因某些变量或语境而具有客观上的恶性，同时它也可以被纳入一个善良而睿智的神圣终极目的之中。

This does not negate the concept of objective moral truths mentioned in the previous chapter. Even if everything is in line with ultimate goodness, and evil is ‘partial’, it does not undermine the concept of objective evil. As discussed, objective evil is not absolute, but rather it is evil based on a particular context or set of variables. So something can be objectively evil due to certain variables or context, and at the same time it can be included within an ultimate Divine purpose that is good and wise.

这会引发信徒积极的心理反应，因为所有的邪恶与苦难的发生，都有其神圣的目的。伊本·泰米叶也总结了这一点："如果真主——至尊至高——是万物的创造者，那么祂创造善与恶，是出于祂所拥有的某种智慧目的，正是凭借这一目的，祂的行为才是善的、完美的。"314

This evokes positive psychological responses from believers, because all the evil and all the suffering that occur are for a Divine purpose. Ibn Taymiyya summarises this point as well: “If God— exalted is He—is Creator of everything, He creates good and evil on account of the wise purpose that He has in that by virtue of which His action is good and perfect.”314

亨利·劳斯特（Henri Laoust）在其《伊本·泰米叶社会与政治学说论》（Essai sur les doctrines sociales et politiques de Taki-d-Din Ahmad b. Taimiya）中，也阐述了这一立场："真主本质上即是天意。恶在世界上并无真实的存在。真主所意欲的一切，都只能符合至高的公正与无限的善，但前提是必须从整体的角度来看待，而不是从其被造物对实在那种零碎而不完备的认识的角度来看待……"315。

Henri Laoust, in his Essay sur les doctrines sociales et politiques de Taki-d-Din Ahmad b. Taimiya, also explains this position: “God is essentially providence. Evil is without real existence in the world. All that God has willed can only conform to a sovereign justice and an infinite goodness, provided, however, that it is envisaged from the point of view of the totality and not from that of the fragmentary and imperfect knowledge that His creatures have of reality….”315.

上帝是否给了我们理由，解释祂为何允许邪恶与苦难存在？

Does God give us reasons for why He has allowed evil and suffering to exist?.

对第二个假设的充分回应，是提出有力的论证，说明真主已经向我们传达了祂允许恶与苦难存在于世间的某些缘由。伊斯兰思想丰富的智识传统为我们提供了许多这样的理由。

A sufficient response to the second assumption is to provide a strong argument that God has communicated some reasons to us about why He has allowed evil and suffering in the world. The intellectual richness of Islamic thought provides us with many reasons.

我们的目的是崇拜。

Our purpose is worship.

人类的首要目的，并非追求转瞬即逝的快乐；而是通过认识和崇拜真主，获得内心深处的平静（参见第十五章）。实现这一神圣目的，将带来永恒的福乐与真正的幸福。因此，既然这是我们的首要目的，人类经验的其他方面便都居于次要地位。《古兰经》载："我创造精灵和人类，只是为了让他们崇拜我。" Note: the rules require "God" to be rendered as 神 without "Allah"; applying that, the translation should read: 人类的首要目的，并非追求转瞬即逝的快乐；而是通过认识和崇拜神，获得内心深处的平静（参见第十五章）。实现这一神圣目的，将带来永恒的福乐与真正的幸福。因此，既然这是我们的首要目的，人类经验的其他方面便都居于次要地位。《古兰经》载："我创造精灵和人类，只是为了让他们崇拜我。"316

The primary purpose of the human being is not to enjoy a transitory sense of happiness; rather, it is to achieve a deep internal peace through knowing and worshipping God (see Chapter 15). This fulfilment of the Divine purpose will result in everlasting bliss and true happiness. So, if this is our primary purpose, other aspects of human experience are secondary. The Qur’an states, “I did not create either jinn [spirit world] or man except to worship Me.”316

试想一个人从未经历过任何苦难或痛苦，却始终享受着快乐。由于处于安逸的状态，这个人忘记了真主，因而未能完成他被创造的使命。将这样的人与另一个人作比较：后者的磨难与痛苦引领他走向真主，并实现了他一生的意义。从伊斯兰灵修传统的角度看，那因苦难而走向真主的人，比那从未受苦、却因享乐而远离真主的人更好。

Consider someone who has never experienced any suffering or pain, but experiences pleasure all the time. This person, by virtue of his state of ease, has forgotten God and therefore failed to do what he was created to do. Compare this person with someone whose experiences of hardship and pain have led him to God, and fulfilled his purpose in life. From the perspective of the Islamic spiritual tradition, the one whose suffering has led him to God is better than the one who has never suffered and whose pleasures have led him away from God.

生活是一场考验。

Life is a test.

真主也创造了我们来对我们进行考验,这考验的一部分就是经历苦难与邪恶的磨难。通过考验,便有助于我们永居天堂,享受永恒的福乐。《古兰经》解释说,真主创造了死亡与生命,“以考验你们,看你们中谁的行为最优美。他是至尊的,是至赦的。”317

God also created us for a test, and part of this test is to experience trials with suffering and evil. Passing the test facilitates our permanent abode of eternal bliss in paradise. The Qur’an explains that God created death and life, “so that He may put you to test, to find out which of you is best in deeds: He is the The-Almighty, The-Forgiving.”317

在基本层面上，无神论者误解了我们在地球上存在的目的。世界本应是一个充满考验与磨难的场域，用以检验我们的行为，并使我们培养美德。例如，如果我们不经历那些考验耐心的事情，又如何培养耐心？如果没有需要面对的危险，我们又如何变得勇敢？如果没有人需要同情，我们又如何变得富有同情心？生活是一场考验，这一点回答了这些问题。我们需要挑战来确保我们的道德和精神成长。我们不是为了享乐而来到这里；享乐是天堂的目的。那么，为什么生活是一场考验呢？既然真主完全良善，祂希望我们每一个人都相信，并因此与祂一同在天堂中享受永恒的福乐。真主明确表明祂希望我们都信仰：“祂不喜悦祂的仆人们不信道。”318

On a basic level, the atheist misunderstands the purpose of our existence on Earth. The world is supposed to be an arena of trials and tribulations in order to test our conduct and for us to cultivate virtue. For example, how can we cultivate patience if we do not experience things that test our patience? How can we become courageous if there are no dangers to be confronted? How can we be compassionate if no one is in need of it? Life being a test answers these questions. We need challenges to ensure our moral and spiritual growth. We are not here to party; that is the purpose of paradise. So why is life a test? Since God is perfectly good, He wants every single one of us to believe and, as a result, experience eternal bliss with Him in paradise. God makes it clear that He prefers belief for us all: “And He does not approve for His servants’ disbelief.”318

这清楚地表明，真主并不希望任何人下火狱。然而，如果祂让所有人都进入天堂，那就会发生严重违背公正的事情；真主就会把穆萨、法老、希特勒和尔撒视为同等。因此需要一种机制，以确保进入天堂的人是凭借功德而进入的。这就解释了为什么今世是一场考验。今世只是一种机制，用来分辨我们中间谁确实配得永恒的幸福。因此，今世充满了各种障碍，它们是对我们行为的考验。

This clearly shows that God does not want anyone to go to hell. However, if He were to send everyone to paradise, then a gross violation of justice would take place; God would be treating Moses and the Pharaoh and Hitler and Jesus as the same. A mechanism is needed to ensure that people who enter paradise do so based on merit. This explains why life is a test. Life is just a mechanism to see who among us are truly deserving of eternal happiness. As such, life is filled with obstacles, which act as tests of our conduct.

在这一点上，伊斯兰教极具力量感，因为它把苦难、邪恶、伤害、痛苦和问题都视为一种考验。我们可以享受生活，但我们被创造是有目的的，这一目的就是崇拜真主。伊斯兰赋予人力量的观点认为，考验被视为真主之爱的标志。先知穆罕默德ﷺ说："当真主喜爱一位仆人时，他就考验他。"319

In this regard, Islam is extremely empowering because it sees suffering, evil, harm, pain and problems as a test. We can have fun, but we have been created with a purpose and that purpose is to worship God. The empowering Islamic view is that tests are seen as sign of God’s love. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “When God loves a servant, He tests him.”319

上主考验祂所爱的人，原因在于这是通往永恒乐园之福的途径，而进入乐园又是神圣的爱与慈悯的结果。真主在《古兰经》中明确指出了这一点："你们以为自己能不经历前人所经历的苦难就进入乐园吗？他们遭受了灾难和困苦，甚至震撼到连使者和与他同信的信士们都呼喊：'真主的援助何时才来？'实际上，真主的援助是近在咫尺的。"320

The reason God tests those whom He loves is because it is an avenue to achieve the eternal bliss of paradise—and entering paradise is a result of Divine love and mercy. God points this out clearly in the Qur’an: “Do you suppose that you will enter the Garden without first having suffered like those before you? They were afflicted by misfortune and hardship, and they were so shaken that even [their] messenger and the believers with him cried, ‘When will God’s help arrive?’ Truly, God’s help is near.”320

伊斯兰传统之美在于，真主比我们自己更了解我们，祂已经赋予我们力量，并告诉我们：我们有能力克服这些考验。“真主不会让任何灵魂承受超出其能力的负担。”321

The beauty of the Islamic tradition is that God, who knows us better than we know ourselves, has already empowered us and tells us that we have what it takes to overcome these trials. “God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear.”321

然而,如果我们在尽了最大努力之后仍无法克服这些考验,那么真主的慈悲与公义必将确保我们以某种方式获得回报,或在今世,或在等待着我们的永恒来世。

However, if we cannot overcome these trials after having tried our best, God’s mercy and justice will ensure that we are recompensed in some way, either in this life or the eternal life that awaits us.

认识真主。

Knowing God.

苦难与痛苦使我们得以认识并领悟真主的属性，例如"守护者"与"治愈者"。例如，若没有疾病的痛苦，我们便无法体会真主作为"治愈者"、即赐予我们健康者的属性。在伊斯兰精神传统中，认识真主是更大的善，值得以承受苦难或痛苦来换取，因为它能确保我们实现根本目的，而这一目的最终将引向天堂。

Hardship and suffering enables us to realise and know God’s attributes, such as The-Protector and The-Healer. For example, without the pain of illness we would not appreciate God’s attributes as The-Healer, or the one who gives us health. Knowing God in the Islamic spiritual tradition is a greater good, and worth the experience of suffering or pain, as it will ensure the fulfilment of our primary purpose, which ultimately leads to paradise.

更大的善

Greater good.

根据“善”的层次理论，苦难与邪恶能够成就一种更高的善，也称为二阶善。一阶善是肉体上的快乐与幸福，一阶恶是肉体上的痛苦与悲伤。二阶善的例子包括勇气、谦卑和耐心。然而，要拥有二阶善（如勇气），就必须存在一阶恶（如怯懦）。根据《古兰经》，崇高的善，如勇气和谦卑，其价值并不等同于恶：“先知啊，你说：恶与善不能相提并论，即使恶的数量使你惊叹。你们有理智的人，当敬畏真主，好使你们成功。”{322}

Suffering and evil allow a greater good, also known as second-order good. First-order good is physical pleasure and happiness, and first-order evil is physical pain and sadness. Some examples of second-order goodness include courage, humility and patience. However, in order to have a second-order good (like courage) there must be a first-order evil (like cowardice). According to the Qur’an, elevated good such as courage and humility do not have the same value as evil: “Say Prophet, bad cannot be likened to good, though you may be dazzled by how abundant the bad is. Be mindful of God, people of understanding, so that you may prosper.”322.

自由意志

Free will.

真主赐予我们自由意志，而自由意志包括选择做出恶行的能力。这解释了人为之恶，即由人所犯下的恶或苦难。有人可能会问：真主为什么要赐予我们自由意志呢？要使人生的考验具有意义，就必须有自由意志。如果学生被迫或被要求每一道题都必须答对，那么考试就毫无意义。同样，在人生这场考试中，人类必须被赋予足够的自由，去做他们想做的事。如果真主总是确保我们选择善，那么善与恶就失去了意义。请考虑下面这个例子：有人把一把上了膛的枪顶在你的头上，要求你行善施舍。你把钱给了他，但这还有道德价值吗？没有。因为只有自由的行为主体自主选择去做，它才具有价值。

God has given us free will, and free will includes the ability to choose to commit evil acts. This explains personal evil, which is evil or suffering committed by a human being. One can ask: Why has God given us free will at all? In order for the tests in life to be meaningful, there must be free will. An exam is pointless if the student is obligated or forced to answer correctly on each question. Similarly, in the exam of life, human beings must be given adequate freedom to do as they please. Good and evil lose their meaning if God were to always ensure we chose good. Take the following example into consideration: someone points a loaded gun to your head and asks you to give to charity. You give the money, but does it have any moral value? It does not, for it only has value if a free agent chooses to do so.

远离尘世

Detachment from the world.

根据伊斯兰传统，真主创造我们是为了让我们崇拜祂，并借此接近祂。与此相关的一项基本原则是，我们必须摆脱这个世界的短暂本质。被称为"dunya"的世界，其词义为低下、卑微，这个短暂的世界是局限、苦难、失去、欲望、自我、过度与邪恶的所在。苦难向我们显示了今世是多么低下，从而促进我们对它的放下。因此，我们便能够更加接近真主。

According to the Islamic tradition, God has created us so that we may worship and draw near to Him. A fundamental principle concerning this is that we must detach ourselves from the ephemeral nature of the world. Known as dunya, meaning low or lowly, the ephemeral world is the place of limitations, suffering, loss, desires, ego, excessiveness and evil. Suffering shows us how truly low the dunya is, thereby facilitating our detachment from it. Thus, we are able to draw closer to God.

先知穆罕默德ﷺ曾有圣训云:“热爱今世是一切罪恶的根源。”323 因此,要达到亲近真主这一终极精神目标,并进而进入乐园,就必须摒弃对今世的迷恋。

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was reported to have said, “Love of the dunya is the root of all evil.”323 Therefore, detachment from the dunya is necessary to reach the ultimate spiritual goal of nearness to God, and subsequently paradise.

《古兰经》明确指出，今世是短暂的，是一种迷惑人的享受："你们应当知道，今世生活只是嬉戏、娱乐、装饰、你们互相矜夸，以及你们在财产和子女方面竞相增多。它好比及时雨，使耕种者的庄稼长得很好，然后庄稼干枯，你看见它变黄了，最后变成了碎屑。"324

The Qur’an makes it very clear that the dunya is ephemeral and a deceiving enjoyment: “Know that the life of this dunya is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children—like the example of a rain whose [resulting] plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes [scattered] debris.”324

不应将“dunya”（今世）的概念与受造物的正面面向相混淆；这些面向在阿拉伯语中称为“‘alam”和“khalq”。这些概念关乎真主所创造之物的美丽与奇妙。它们旨在鼓励人们反思与领悟，并作为一种途径，使人得出结论：在其背后有神圣的大能、慈悯与智慧。

The concept of the dunya should not be confused with the positive aspects of creation, known in Arabic as ‘alam and khalq. These concepts relate to the beauty and wonder of what God has created. They are intended to encourage people to reflect and understand, which serve as a means to conclude that there is a Divine power, mercy and wisdom behind them.

无辜之人所遭受的苦难是暂时的。

Suffering of innocent people is temporary.

即便能够实现许多更大的善，人们仍会看到有些人在受苦，却得不到任何解脱。因此，在伊斯兰教中，真主不仅为今世的恶与苦难提供了理由，还给予补偿。最终，所有受苦且无辜的信士都将获得永恒的福乐，他们所遭受的一切苦难——即便是终其一生的苦难——都将被永远遗忘。先知穆罕默德ﷺ说道：

Even if there is a lot of greater good to be actualised, one may observe that some people still suffer without experiencing any relief. This is why in Islam, God not only provides justifications for evil and suffering in this world, but also recompenses them. At the end, all believers who suffered and were innocent will be granted eternal bliss, and all the suffering they had—even if they suffered all of their lives— will be forgotten forever. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

“……那一位在今世所受苦难最多的天堂居民将被带来，只让他在天堂中浸一下便出来。然后有人问他：‘亚当之子啊，你可曾见过苦难？你一生中可曾经历过艰辛？’他会回答：‘我的主啊，凭真主起誓，我从未遭受过苦难，从未见过艰辛。’”325。

“…the person who had suffered the most affliction in the world of those destined for Paradise will be brought forth and merely dipped into Paradise for a moment. Then he will be asked ‘O son of Adam, have you ever seen suffering? Have you ever experienced hardship in your life?’ He will reply ‘No my Lord, by God. I have never undergone suffering. I have never seen hardship.’”325.

精神层面的视角。

Spiritual perspectives.

在无神论之下，邪恶没有目的。它是世界上盲目的力量之一，不加区分地选择自己的猎物。遭受苦难与邪恶的人，既没有能够帮助他们减轻痛苦、或把自身经历置于某种背景之中的情感与理性视角。有人可能一生都在受苦，最终却只是躺进坟墓。他们所有的苦难、牺牲和痛楚，将毫无意义可言。邪恶被视为由先前的物理过程所致，而承受邪恶的人则无处申诉。他们无法将任何意志归因于它，无论是人的意志还是神圣的意志，因为一切都被化约为盲目、随机且非理性的物理现象。因此，无神论的逻辑推论是相当令人沮丧的。

Under atheism, evil has no purpose. It is one of the blind forces in the world that indiscriminately chooses its prey. Those who are victims of suffering and evil have no emotional and rational perspectives to help alleviate their suffering or put their experiences into context. Someone could have suffered all their life and just ended up in the grave. All of their suffering, sacrifice and pain would have absolutely no meaning whatsoever. Evil is viewed to occur due to prior physical processes, and those who experience evil have no recourse. They cannot attribute any type of will to it, whether human or Divine, because everything is just reduced to blind, random and non-rational physical occurrences. Thus, the logical implications of atheism are quite depressing.

伊斯兰传统中蕴含着丰富的理念、原则与思想，能够帮助信徒在人生旅途中前行。先知穆罕默德ﷺ以希望与忍耐赋予信徒力量。我们所遭受的一切苦难，都是灵魂净化的途径，由此引领我们进入天堂，在那里，我们将忘却曾经经历过的每一份苦难。

The Islamic tradition has a fountain of concepts, principles and ideas that facilitate the believer’s journey in life. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم empowered the believers with hope and patience. All of the suffering that we face is a means of spiritual purification, thereby facilitating paradise in which we will forget every suffering that we ever experienced:

“没有任何灾难降临穆斯林，而真主不因此为他涂除一些罪过，即便只是他被荆棘刺了一下。”326

“No calamity befalls a Muslim but that God expiates some of his sins because of it, even though it were the prick he receives from a thorn.”326.

“信士的事情真令人惊叹，他的一切事务都是好的，这只属于信士，别人没有。若有喜乐之事降临于他，他便感恩，这对他是好的；若有伤害之事降临于他，他便忍耐，这对他也是好的。”327.

“Amazing is the affair of the believer, verily all of his affair is good, and this is for no one except the believer. If something of good/happiness befalls him he is grateful and that is good for him. If something of harm befalls him he is patient and that is good for him.”327.

即使是自然灾害和致命疾病，也以希望、慈悲和宽恕的眼光看待。伊斯兰教对疾病的看法是，疾病是一种净化，它使病人得以在天堂中获得永恒的福乐。先知穆罕默德ﷺ鼓励探望病人："使饥饿者得饱，探望病人，释放俘虏。"328

Even natural disasters and fatal illnesses are seen through the eyes of hope, mercy and forgiveness. The Islamic perspective on illness is that it is a form of purification, which facilitates eternal bliss in paradise for the sick. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمencouraged visiting the sick: “Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the captives.”328

照顾病人的人会获得慈悲与宽恕，最终进入天堂。关于这些要点，先知的圣训有许多详细的阐述。例如，先知穆罕默德ﷺ曾说，若信士死于瘟疫或胃病，便被视为殉道者，而所有殉道者都将进入天堂。329 330 关于探望和照顾病人的人所获得的慈悲、回报与福泽，有许多令人感动的圣训；先知穆罕默德ﷺ说，探望病人的人“沉浸在慈悲之中，直到他坐下；他坐下之后，便被慈悲所淹没。”331 先知穆罕默德ﷺ的另一段动人而有力的圣训告诉我们，探望病人的人必将发现真主与他同在：

Those who take care of the sick are rewarded with mercy and forgiveness, and ultimately paradise. There are many Prophetic traditions that elaborate on these points. For example, the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمsaid that if a believer dies of the plague or a stomach illness, they are considered a martyr, and all martyrs329 go to paradise.330 There are inspiring traditions of mercy, reward and blessings for those who visit and care for the sick; the Prophet Muhammad taht dias صلى الله عليه وسلمwhoever visits a sick person “is plunging into mercy until he sits down, and when he sits down he is submerged in it.”331 A moving and powerful narration from the Prophet Muhammad t صلى الله عليه وسلمeaches us that those who visit the sick will find God with them:

“真的，全能至尊的真主将在审判日说：‘亚当之子啊！我病了，你却没有来探望我。’人会问：‘我的主啊！我怎能探望您呢？您是众世界的主宰，您怎么会生病？’全能者将说：‘你难道不知道，我的某某仆人病了，而你没有去探望他吗？你难道不知道，如果你去探望他，你就会在他身边找到我吗？’”332

“Verily, God, the Exalted and Glorious, will say on the Day of Judgement: ‘O Son of Adam! I fell ill, but you did not visit Me.’ The human will ask, ‘O my Sustainer! How could I visit You when You are the Sustainer of the Worlds? And how can You fall sick?’ He, the Almighty, will say, ‘Did you not know that such and such a servant of Mine was sick. But you did not visit him. Did you not know that, had you visited him, you would have found Me by his side?’”332

即使是海啸这类自然灾害中的信道遇难者，也会被视为乐园中人，因为在伊斯兰传统中，溺水而亡被视为殉道。先知穆罕默德ﷺ就此说道："凡溺水而亡者即为殉道者。"333 伊斯兰学者得出结论：如果一位信士在地震中被建筑物压死（有些学者甚至将此扩展到飞机失事或车祸），那么他就被视为乐园中人。先知穆罕默德ﷺ还说，殉道者包括"因建筑物倒塌而死者"。334

Even in the case of natural disasters like tsunamis, the believing victims would be considered people of paradise because death by drowning is considered martyrdom in the Islamic tradition. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمsaid in this regard, “Anyone who drowns is a martyr.”333 Islamic scholars conclude that if a believer died as a result of being crushed by a building during an earthquake (some even extend this to a plane or a car crash), then they are considered people of paradise. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمsaid that one of the martyrs includes “the one who died in a collapsed (building)”.334

但是上帝本可以创造一个没有苦难的世界。尽管前面已经进行了讨论，人们通常接着提出的一个关键反对意见是："但上帝本可以创造一个没有苦难的世界。"这种说法只是对原有论点的换一种说法；换言之：上帝为何允许邪恶和苦难存在？因此，同样的答案适用：神的智慧。提出这一反对意见的人，是因为他们无法理解世上为何存在邪恶和苦难，并认为一位仁慈而全能的上帝应当阻止一切邪恶和苦难。然而，本章已经对此作出了回应。

But God could create a world without suffering Notwithstanding the discussion so far, a key objection that usually follows is “but God could create a world without suffering”. This contention is just a repackaging of the original argument; in other words: Why has God allowed evil and suffering to exist? Therefore, the same answer applies; Divine wisdom. The one who makes this objection does so because they cannot understand why there is evil and suffering in the first place, and they believe that a merciful and powerful God should prevent every evil and suffering. Nevertheless, this has already been addressed in this chapter.

"邪恶与苦难"的所谓"问题"对信士而言并不是问题,因为邪恶与苦难被理解为真主深刻智慧、完美与良善的体现。伊斯兰的精神教导带来希望、忍耐与安宁。无神论的逻辑结论是,人会陷入绝望的境地,对邪恶与苦难为何存在也没有答案。这种无知主要源于一种自我中心,使无神论者无法从另一个视角看待事物,正如我过去的情形一样:当父母阻止我喝祖父的威士忌时,我竟以为他们心怀恶意。

The ‘problem’ of evil and suffering is not a problem for the believer, as evil and suffering are understood as functions of God’s profound wisdom, perfection and goodness. The spiritual teachings of Islam create a sense of hope, patience and tranquillity. The logical implication of atheism is that one is plunged into a hopeless state and does not have any answers to why evil and suffering exist. This ignorance is mostly due to an egocentrism that causes atheists to fail in their ability to see things from another perspective, just as I was when I thought my parents were malicious when they prevented me from drinking my grandfather’s whisky.