The Quranic Moral Approach to the Problem of Evil

The problem of evil always confronts humanity with the question of why the world is marked by such vast hardship and adversity, and what proportion of human trials relate to happiness and pleasure. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method, attempts to present the Quranic approach to the problem of evil by considering the nature of humanity and the world, the ultimate purposes of creation, and human eternal happiness, and by analyzing these components from the perspective of the Holy Quran. Accordingly, the nature of worldly life—which causes negligence, arrogance, and deception—along with the nature of humanity as a free and excessive-desiring being, leads people into epistemological errors and practical afflictions that result in the production of moral evil and eternal misery. In contrast, from the Quran's perspective, the problem of evil serves to nurture the soul and complete the human self, offering people an opportunity to return to their origin, acquire moral virtues, and move toward perfection and ultimate happiness. The Quran, by distinguishing between the ontological and epistemological factors of evil, attributes its causes to human beings, but justifies its wisdom on the basis of the most fundamental condition of the individual human being—eternal happiness—and a moral model.