why is there suffering? is suffering just a test? Why is there bad and evil? that just says that god is not the kind and a supreme being like will not gain anything from all this. what is the purpose?
i don't think God being supreme has got anything to do with evil and good.
while those terms could mean anything to anyone, evil and good are born out of what definitions and ideas linked to some sort of collective consensus that can be deemed good or bad.
in my opinion, if you constantly attribute God to human suffering, then you might as well forget about the prospect of trying to change things..
that's like saying that the cause of poverty in the world is all God's doing and that we must accept as a fact of life. and yes, i have met scholars who tell me that.
ermm.. the problem I have with that idea is that if you look inside the causes of the world's problems, they are issues centred around the fact that people pretty much want to keep this suffering because of their interests.
this is what i mean by free will and choice. the intention of those who invoke this suffering isnt to 'help' society, but to further profit from its destruction.
now... where's God in all this?
if you want to talk about the 'destiny' of this.. and how it's meant to happen.. well, it's interesting to point to the idea that God has the plan that we humans will eventually self-destruct.
then again, i'd be more inclined in working against this possibility because well, i don't particularly like that, and we muslims THEORETICALLY, shouldnt be doing this.
it's definately a test, but like i said, to view it in a lens where it's a test from God, sort of, ironically, makes it less 'significant', because the idea of being proactive looses its meaning...
from a prophetic standpoint, while hadiths point to our self-destruction, i just feel somehow that muslims have taken this doomed prophecies to a mindset that they might as well not do anything about it... which i think is an opposite reaction from something so powerful.
when you understand the purpose to be in the world from chapter 2 verse 30 from the Koran. it is actually a test from god . it is to see if you really love Him.
yes, but isn't it a matter of interpretation? while we could go on and on defining just what this test means, how about actually doing something about this test?
sigh. perhaps i'm less idealistic as i used to be, but if you're just going to take the avenue of how this 'test' points 'how much we should pray for change'... then i mean, what's the point of actually changing anything?
i'm getting really tired of meeting people who tell me that 'there's nothing we can do about all this suffering'.
yes there is. we may not agree on just what these solutions are, but at least SOME people i'd meet have the SPINE to suggest solutions instead of the usual cliched responses of 'the road to reform', and the classic... 'give it time'.
honestly... GROW A SPINE.
even if you think military confrontation is a solution (which by all means is disagreeable), at least those who propose it are actually putting something on the table, as opposed to those who constantly CRITICISE everything that is put forward on the basis that it is inevitable that HUMANS will always make mistakes.
EbOnYTiGReSS,interesting definition. definitely is mind boggling. so basically our choices are the product of all suffering or good things.
and yes i'm uncomfortable to think that God is the cause of evil or good as a matter of fact. So in another words humans either create good or bad in their lives through free will. which via a huge hidden agenda some humans have cause the world into terrible chaos and worked really hard to keep it that way for as long as they can. hrmmm... this makes quite alot of sense actually.
evil: when nabi adam was created, the evil( syaitan ) did not bow to nabi adam as what was instructed by allah, thinking that he was created by fire, and adam was created by mud. the syaitan then promised that he will make the sons of adam murtad till the day after.
for the suffering part, i think of this 2 reasons. are we loyal to Him(so He tests us how loyal are we to Him), or maybe to pay back for our sins that we had done.
at the day after, when we will be at the mahsyar field, you do not think of anything else, just to save your live from the hell. so, as we thing what you had done in this world, you might came across of this item.
why do we pray?hmm.... there are much reasons for this. for me, i think it is for us to remember allah. after the lan gaming etc. it is time for us to remember allah. what is the use of being a muslim when you do not do what He says.
let us think it through. what is the use of us be in this world? we have an objective here, to be a khalifah.
How do you differentiate between the good and the not so good Muslims ? Through a test. If we take things for granted, life becomes meaningless and Allah wants to know if you really mean what you said when you were born. That He is your Lord. Through our life, we need to show proof that we are worthy and off course the cursed one, the Shaitan will try his hand at recruiting more members to accompany him in hellfire. So life is a test and the reward is eternal life.Insya Allah.
And we humans are the ones who commit evil on earth. And if you are saying that god is not kind for creating evil. then you are saying that god is not kind in creating humans. You are saying that god is evil for creating you.
And if you want a life without suffering then you can get it. God has created for us the heavens. Do righteous deeds and you can have a place in paradise inshallah.
To get to a good secondary school you have to get a good aggregate for PSLE. to get to a good JC you have to get good marks for O levels. To get a good job you have to have a degree.
To get to paradise , you have to be a good muslim.
2nd question.
I pray because praying helps me remember Allah s.w.t and praying brings me closer to my creator.
But mashallah it seems that Allah has more in store for us than we expected. There are many benefits from praying. In fact there's a whole book on it I found at Wisma Indah the other day.
Do you know that science have shown that when you prostrate (sujud) radiation travels out from your body and onto the ground.
and that when you pray in jemaah jemaah , and your elbows is touching the person next to you ions from your bodies are exchanging . Its a long scientific story but to make it short , this process will make you a more calmer person.
It's a test, whether we like it or not. Having said that, actually i personally don't agree with the notion that "All the good come from God while all the bad comes from us." Instead the notion should perhaps be something like, "The bad may come from God (as a test) but we're supposed to make it good and if we don't succeed in doing that, it's our fault whether we like it or not."
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