Why Allah allows evil and suffering
“We can only appreciate wealth when we understand what poverty is.”
Although evil and suffering are real, Allah permits them within a greater wisdom, while human free will, spiritual growth, and divine reward give believers reasons to remain patient and trust His complete knowledge.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Raises questions about widespread evil, suffering, oppression, and Allah’s justice.
- Uses the Musa and al-Khidr story in Surah al-Kahf to show that apparent harm may serve hidden good.
- Explains the ship, child, and wall incidents as examples of limited human understanding and divine wisdom.
- Discusses free will, life as a test, and the contrast that helps people appreciate blessings.
- Explains how hardship can return people to Allah and bring forgiveness, reward, and higher ranks.
- Warns against claiming certainty about the unseen reasons for specific tragedies and urges proper manners with Allah.
In the khateeb's words
“we can only appreciate wealth when we understand what poverty is we can appreciate health good health when we know what sickness is”
“it is not befitting it is inappropriate for a Muslim to look at specific situations of evil right and say this is happening this evil and this suffering is happening because of this”
For the dinner table
The khutbah acknowledges that seeing innocent people suffer can make us ask where Allah is and why He allows evil. It uses the story of Musa and al-Khidr from Surah al-Kahf to remind us that people see only part of reality, while Allah knows the full wisdom behind events. It explains that suffering can result from human choices, help us appreciate blessings, bring us back to Allah, and become a means of forgiveness and reward. We should not claim certainty about the unseen reason for a particular tragedy, but keep good manners with Allah, remain patient, and continue righteous action. The message is to hold onto faith while seeking wisdom and trusting Allah’s complete knowledge.
- What blessing do you appreciate more because you have experienced its opposite?
- When something difficult happens, what could help us return to Allah?
- Why should we be careful about claiming we know exactly why a tragedy happened?
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