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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Ultimate Questions in Philosophy of Religion Chapter 18: God, and the Solution of Evil In the previous chapter we discussed the problem of evil as the most fundamental and ultimate problem that has been challenging the philosophers specially the theists. In summery, failure to solve the paradox of God and the problem of evil and lead some to 1) believing in non-existence of God, or 2) believing in dualism, or 3) limiting God's attributes.

In principle, we believe there is only one God who is the creator of all, who is infinite and hence Omnipotent, Omniscient and Benevolent or most Merciful. The above statement will be understood only when the reality of evil is comprehended. Evil is nonbeing This answer was the doctrine of the Roman philosopher Plotinus (AD 205-270) and finds adherents among Christian philosophers from Scholastics to several modern philosophers of note, Leibniz, for example.

The main stream Muslim philosophers from Farabi (c.873-950) and Avicenna (980-1037) to Molla Sadra have also adopted this doctrine to denote the concept of dualism. This answer suggests that the analysis of evil shows that there are chiefly two types of evil. One which is nonbeing, and the other one which although is being but because they lead to nonbeing are regarded evil. Thus, evil tends to make that which ceases to be.

This obviously does not mean that what which is known to us as evil does not exist. No doubt, blindness, earthquake, disease and the like do exist. All what we know as evil are either in fact lack of something or the cause of lack of something, or else they are not evil. Let me explain this a little bit further. When we say something is bad or evil, what we really mean is that the thing in question lack something, is somehow incomplete.

But to say that something is lacking in some respect is not to assign any positive or real quality to it. Ignorance' is lack of knowledge, poverty' is lack of wealth and death' is lack of life. Evil, then, considered in itself, is mere nonbeing, the deprivation of reality, whereas being and perfection are synonymous. Insofar as anything is real, it is perfect and good.

Similarly, if certain bacteria or earthquake or cyclone is bad, is primarily because they cause death or lose in any way which falls into the first category of nonbeing. Imagine a volcano with no harm, a spider with no poisonous sting, an earthquake with no destructive effect, would they still be bad?