Stauros' Notebook
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Winter, 2002
Faith and Suffering in Islam Inamul Haq The idea of suffering in Islam is based on the fundamental notion of the imperfection of human life. "Verily, we have created man into a life of pain, toil and trial (Quran 90:4)." Humans are on this earth so that their faith in God be tested. A test necessarily requires calamities and misfortunes. "And most certainly we should try you by means of fear, hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of life or of labor’s fruit. But give glad tiding unto those who are patient in adversity, who when the calamity befalls them, say, ‘Verily unto God we belong and verily unto him we shall return’ (2:155-156)." "Do men think that on their mere saying, ‘We have attained to faith’, they’ll be left to themselves and will not be put to test? Indeed we did test those who lived before them and so too shall be tested those who are now living and most certainly will God mark out those who prove themselves true and most certainly will He mark out those whose faith is a lie (29:1-2)." The Muslim statement of creed requires that a believer must have faith in "Taqdeer" (predetermination), along with belief in God, his prophets, angels, divine scriptures, and life after death. The word "Taqdeer" comes from God’s attribute of Qadir, which indicates his absolute power over created order. According to Islam, God "Allah" cannot be understood in his being and essence because ‘nothing is like him’ (42:1). He is not just one item among many items of the world. The human mind can investigate the nature of the created world, but it cannot delve into the mysteries of God’s being. However, God can certainly be understood in light of his attributes "sifat." His attributes represent that face "wajh" of him through which he is attentive to this world. The attributes of God rest with him in absolute fashion but they are also dimly reflected in the cosmos. For example, God has knowledge, power, mercy, compassion, life, light, etc. Humans also partake in these attributes at a miniscule scale. God’s knowledge is absolute. Human knowledge is relative ignorance. God’s life is pure being and human life is a fleeting moment borrowed from the realm of absolute existence. "There is nothing whose infinite treasuries are not with us. But we send it down only with a known measuring out (15:21)." It is this understanding of reality which creates necessity of evil "sharr" in human life. Evil is thought of in a moral and ethical sense, but is not judged by what people perceive bad for themselves. The statement of faith reminds that good and bad are both measured by God. In some situations, what a person considers good may not be good at all. "As for those who are stingy with the wealth God has given them, let them not think it is good for them; no, it is evil for them (3:180)." Neither is what a person considers bad necessarily bad. Death may be bad for grieving relatives, but no one can deny its necessity for the good of the world. It is this transitory nature of life that makes test and trial a possibility, and in fact a prerequisite, for humans to know their own nature, so that they should not be caught in surprise when God demonstrates their true nature on the Day of Judgment. People who have faith in Taqdeer recognize that God knows what He is doing even when they fail to comprehend His wisdom. A proper response to God’s favors is gratitude "shukr," and a proper response to affliction and suffering is patience "sabr." A person who is arrogant in ease and despondent in hardship has not understood God, as God ought to be understood. "We split them up in the earth into nations, some of them wholesome, and some of them otherwise; and we tried them with the beautiful things and the ugly, that perhaps they should return to one God (7:168)." Trial does not involve only pain and suffering; benefits and pleasures may also be a trial. Some people fail the test of affliction, others fail the test of blessing, and still others fail both. People fail because they do not acknowledge their real place in the scheme of things. When they experience good, they think they deserve it. When they suffer, they think they are mistreated. "When harm touches the human being, he calls upon Us. Then, when we confer on him a blessing, he says, ‘I was given it only because of a knowledge.’ No, it is a trial, but most of them know not (39:49)." It is in this background that Islam’s sacred text, the Quran, talks about holy prophets who suffered in their earthly lives, sometimes at the hands of their enemies and sometimes tried by God himself. Muhammad is insulted, abused, and fought against, Jesus is crucified, and Abraham is thrown into fire, though God saves him. Lot and Noah have troubles with their wives. Other prophets are murdered by their own communities because their messages become too burdensome on the conscience of people who want to silence their voices. However, one story of God’s test and trial that receives considerable attention in Quran and also in the Bible is the story of Job "Ayoub." He is the prophet of patience, a model par excellence of steadfast faith in the face of painful sickness and loss of life and property. Job, a descendant of the prophet Abraham, is a wise, just, and learned man. His father possessed much property and livestock and there was none like him in the land of Syria. At the age of 30, Job married Rahma, a beautiful woman descendant of the prophet Joseph. God blessed them with twelve sons and daughters. The devil wants to incite some of the Lord’s most sincere and pious servants to go astray. With God’s permission, the devil puts Job to the test. Job suffers first the loss of his property, then his children, and then his health. Struck with boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, Job lives in pain and utter isolation. He is shunned by his people and becomes a burden on his wife. But Job perseveres and constantly invokes God’s mercy. "My Lord! I am suffering and you are most gracious and most merciful (21:83)." One day Job’s prayer is answered and an angel descends on him with the good news of God’s forgiveness. A spring gushes forth beneath his feet, restoring Job’s health and beauty. Job gets his family and possessions back, and he lives a long happy life thereafter. Job, as God’ true servant, did not complain but rather saw in his suffering the test and trial. Suffering is educative. Misfortune is God’s discipline for those whom God loves. The proper response is patience and perseverance. "For those who are patient, we have for them abundant reward in store (39:10)." In the end, suffering makes sense only in the context of Reality in total. One must not hope for perfection in an inherently imperfect world. However, it is not easy for humans to rise above the contingent nature of earthly existence. With loss of faith, a modern person may not find Job’s response to human suffering justifiable. We may be left with the poets mysterious lines concerning human misery. I heard upon his dry dung heap That man cry out who cannot sleep; "If God is God He is not good, If God is good He is not God; Take the even, take the odd, I would not sleep here if I could Except for the little green leaves in the wood And the wind on the water." |