Evil and Human Suffering in Islamic ThoughtTowards a Mystical Theodicy
This paper sheds light on the treatment of the problem of evil' and human suffering from an Islamic perspective. I begin by providing an overview of the term evil' in the Qur'an to highlight its multidimensional meaning and to demonstrate the overall portrait of this notion as it is...
| Published in: | Religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
MDPI
[2018]
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| In: |
Religions
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| Further subjects: | B
Occupation
B Islam B Mysticism B Evil B Theodicy B problem of evil B Qur'an B Good B al Ghazālī |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This paper sheds light on the treatment of the problem of evil' and human suffering from an Islamic perspective. I begin by providing an overview of the term evil' in the Qur'an to highlight its multidimensional meaning and to demonstrate the overall portrait of this notion as it is presented in the Islamic revelation through the narrative of the prophet Job. Having established a Qur'anic framework, I will then provide a brief historical overview of the formation of philosophical and theological debates surrounding good and bad/evil and the origination of Muslim theodicean thought. This will lead us to Ghazālian theodicy and the famous dictum of the best of all possible worlds by one of the most influential scholars of Islamic thought, Abu ?āmid Ghazālī. The final section of this paper will explore the Sufi/ mystical tradition of Islam through the teachings of one of the most distinguished mystics of Islam, Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī. The conclusion of the paper will attempt to bring about a new understanding of how the so-called problem of evil is not presented in Islam as a problem but rather as an instrument in the actualization of God's plan, which is intertwined with human experiences in this worldan experience that is necessary for man's spiritual development. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel9020047 |