Why Does God Make Us Suffer?

[tariqkhwaja]

We understand from the Holy Quran, that God did not create suffering as an independent entity in its own right, but only as an indispensable counterpart of pleasure and comfort. The absence of happiness is suffering, which is like its shadow, just as darkness is the shadow cast by the absence of light. If there is life, there has to be death; both are situated at the extreme poles of the same plane, with innumerable grades and shades in between. As we move away from death, we gradually move towards a state of life which is happiness; as we move away from life, we move away with a sense of loss and sorrow towards death. This is the key to understanding the struggle for existence, which in turn leads to a constant improvement in the quality of life and helps it to achieve the ultimate goal of evolution. The principle of the "survival of the fittest" plays an integral role in this grand scheme of evolution.

This phenomenon is mentioned in the Holy Quran in the following verse:
"Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom, and He has power over all things;
It is He Who has created death and life that He might try you—which of you is best in deeds; and He is the Mighty, the Most Forgiving." [67:2-3]

The answer to the question 'Why is there suffering?' is clearly implied in this verse in its widest application.

The profound philosophy of life and death, the innumerable shades in between, and the role they play in shaping life and improving its quality are all covered in the above verse. It is the very scheme of things that God discloses here. We know that life is only a positive value, and death merely means its absence, and no sharp border exists separating one from the other. It is a gradual process, the way life travels towards death and ebbs out, or from the other direction we view death travelling towards life gaining strength, energy and consciousness as it moves on. This is the grand plan of creation, but why has God designed it so? 'That He might try you—which of you is best in deeds', is the answer provided by the Holy Quran.
It is the perpetual struggle between life and death that subjects the living to a constant state of trial, so that all who conduct themselves best survive and gain a higher status of existence. Herein lies the philosophy and the machination of evolution as described in the verses above. It is this constant struggle between the forces of life and the forces of death which provide the thrust to the living to perpetually move away from death or towards it. It may result either in the improvement or deterioration in the quality of existence in the wide spectrum of evolutionary changes. This is the essence and spirit of evolution.

Suffering could only be considered objectionable if it were created as an independent entity with no meaningful role to play in the scheme of things. But without the taste of suffering or an awareness of what it means, the feeling of relief and comfort would also vanish. Without an encounter with pain and misery, most certainly, joy and happiness would lose all meaning. Indeed the very existence of life would lose purpose, and the steps of evolution would stop dead in their tracks.

The above was taken from The Question of Suffering. I hope the lengthy read was worth it.

[.lava]

we make ourselves suffer, unless our free wills were submitted to God.


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[Cacafire]

We make ourselves suffer. I agree. Put a human in any situation and he can find something wrong with it. Doesn't necessarily mean anything's fundamentally wrong with the world, or something like that.

[DallasApple]

Some do NOT make themselves "suffer"..Some are just born..and they suffer till death because of that one fact...(they were born)

Love

Dallas

[Darkness]

Dallas, has a great point. Some souls are simply thrust into a state of perpetual peril without a chance at happiness. Reincarnation is an attempt to explain this, though, it fails ultimately to fully explain it.

[.lava]

Originally Posted by DallasApple

Some do NOT make themselves "suffer"..Some are just born..and they suffer till death because of that one fact...(they were born)

Love

Dallas

like handicap people?


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[DallasApple]

Originally Posted by Cacafire

We make ourselves suffer. I agree. Put a human in any situation and he can find something wrong with it. Doesn't necessarily mean anything's fundamentally wrong with the world, or something like that.

Put a "human" into a starvation situation and they will "find something wrong with it"?..Put a "human'" into sex slavery and they will "find something wrong with it"...Put a human in a "war zone" and they will "find something wrong with it"?

Hmm..We need to spread the word that if you suffer..??? Its YOUR fault..Not a problem with the "world"...

Love
Dallas

[DallasApple]

Originally Posted by .lava

like handicap people?


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LOOK...Its not my fault...Its YOUR fault..Stop "blaming the world"..(or other people..YOU brought it on your self)...

Love

Dallas

[.lava]

Originally Posted by DallasApple

LOOK...Its not my fault...Its YOUR fault..Stop "blaming the world"..(or other people..YOU brought it on your self)...

Love

Dallas

i am not really following. what are you saying?


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