One argument is that existence itself is clearly good.

One argument is that existence itself is clearly good. If evil were something that truly exists, then not all existence would be good, and this would break the natural link between existence and goodness—something philosophers consider self-evident. Another argument is that God is the absolute source of all goodness, and only good can come from a completely good being. Therefore, evil cannot be something that truly exists [3] .

The second solution offered by philosophers is that evil is a necessary part of the physical world. God has created different levels of existence, including some that are completely good, like the world of angels. In that world, the only limitation is that angels have a restricted level of existence, but there is no conflict or opposition. This shows that God can create a world without conflict or evil.

However, in the material world, things naturally come with change, struggle, and opposite forces, and because of this, some degree of evil becomes unavoidable [4] . However, the criticisms against the philosophers’ views on the problem of evil are as follows: The philosophers’ explanations about evil do not fully match what the Qur’an and Islamic teachings say. Some scholars tried to use certain verses to support the idea that evil is only relative and not real [5] .

However, these verses do not clearly say that evil has no real existence. In fact, they could even suggest that evil does exist in some form. Another problem is that the philosophers’ answers to the problem of evil do not address the emotional and real-life struggles people face. Simply saying that evil does not exist, or that it is necessary in the material world, does not comfort someone who is suffering.

As Martyr Motahhari points out, a person who is dealing with hardship can still ask: “Why am I the one suffering? Why couldn’t things be the other way around?” Such questions cannot be solved by just arguing that evil is non-existent or necessary [6] . Shia theologians, especially Twelver Shia, take a different approach from the philosophers. Based on the teachings of the (AS), they believe that evil truly exists, but it is never without purpose.

Every evil comes with a greater benefit that may not be clear to us [7] . Their reasoning to explain the problem of evil as follows: God is perfect and has no need or ignorance. A being only does something bad if it lacks knowledge or needs something. Since God has neither limitation, He cannot do anything ugly or purposeless.