Problems with Evil

Some time ago, I came across a research paper on Muslim beliefs based on interviews with teenagers and young adults. The results were alarming: for the vast majority, the concept of God and the world was very much determined by the fear of evil and punishment, to an extent that made me wonder how much space there was left for their intellectual and spiritual or even moral development. I had heard these fears expressed in counselling sessions and some of my students had to to struggle with them before they felt confident enough to ask all the questions they had on their minds. But apparently they were more widespread than I had thought. Having become more perceptive for the problem, it soon struck me how often parents used the word "harām", religiously forbidden, for anything they didn't want their children to do and invoked "God's punishment" when trying to keep them within the range of discipline, especially when, due to a lack of education of their own, they felt unable to get things across to them with rational arguments and some patience.

But parents do not seem to be the only ones to resort to this kind of authority backup. Once being sensitised, I noticed people who would be expected to have a much better educational background laying a disproportionate weight on Shaytân, hellfire and the influence of Evil. An extreme that I came across only recently was a sermon in a mosque that sounded almost dualist, as if the preacher's world view were based on the notion of a battle between God as the Force of Good and Shaytân as the Force of Evil rather than monotheism where evil is an element within creation and everything is finally brought back to God for judgement. I pointed this out to him afterwards as well as the possible impact his sermon could make on the audience and we had a long fruitful conversation about his own worries and concerns that were behind this perspective of his.

This, of course, is worlds apart from a story told by al-Ghazzâli about a preacher who kept focussing almost exclusively on the merits of good actions as well on God's mercy, generosity and readiness to forgive. Standing before the Ultimate Judge, he was asked why he had presented only this aspect of theology although, as the great scholar he was, he could as well have pointed out God's justice and strictness in dealing with injustice and evil. He replied, "I wanted people to expect good from You, that they do not give up hope for Your forgiveness, and that they feel love for You in their hearts." Thereupon God replied, "I will not disappoint anyone who expects good from Me. I will forgive those who do not give up the hope for My forgiveness. And I will love those who love Me."

This certainly does not not mean that we could take evil lightly or ignore it altogether. At least for those who suffer from the evil actions of others, it is an ever-present reality. At least in times of war and oppression we might feel that it is overwhelming. But even under normal circumstances any human being whose conscience is alive is aware of the constant struggle with his or her selfish and evil impulses, of the necessity of making decisions between good and bad actions in everyday life - choices that are a most self-evident constituent of our freedom.

Nor would it make sense to deny the evil consequences of evil and the good fruits of good. Even someone who does not share the traditional images of the Fire and the Garden can see the point that bad and selfish actions eventually result in conflict and unrest, in extreme cases in situations that surpass any image of hell one might have, and that honesty, justice, kindness and mutual helpfulness leads to order and peace and gives satisfaction to those who work for it. It has therefore always been among the prophets' tasks to warn against evil and injustice and to urge people to repent and follow the path of the good.

Fear and hope have often been described as two moral motivating forces: on one side the fear of evil consequences that prevents a person from doing evil, on the other side the hope for the fruits of good actions that encourages to do good. Al-Ghazzâli compares them with the two wings with which a bird flies and insists that they must be balanced. An overweight on fear beyond a healthy sense of awe can paralyse and depress a person to the extent that any actions, including good ones, seem difficult or impossible. Since, according to the Qur'an, the "struggle between good and evil" does not take place in outer space between anonymous forces but on the human level, this would certainly defeat the purpose. An overweight on hope can lead to unrealistic expectations and carelessness. Parents and other people in authority can misjudge the fine point of balance if they are themselves under the influence of strong fear or excessive expectations, thus inadvertently placing a burden on those whom they bear responsibility for.

Idealists might now say that both fear and hope as motivating forces are still very much tied to a person's selfish interests, to the desire to avoid suffering from the evil consequences of bad actions and to enjoy the fruits of good actions. But then this is not an end in itself but only one stage on our journey. Among the next stages there are trust, insight and love.

The need to continue on our journey, to move on to further stages, was dramatically illustrated by Râbi'ah the Mystic when she said, "I would like to extinguish hell and set paradise on fire so that people do not serve God for fear of punishment or hope for rewards but out of love for His beauty."

God, guide me with those whom You guide
and protect me with those whom You protect
and be near to me together with those to whom You are near
and bless me in what You have given me
and protect me from the evil of anything that You have decided - for You decide but You are not decided about.
The one whom You protect is not put to shame and the one who is Your enemy cannot achieve honour.
You are blessed and sublime, therefore You deserve the praise for all that You decide.
I ask You for forgiveness, God, and I return to You.
God, bless our chief Muhammad and his near and dear ones and companions and grant them peace.
Our Lord, forgive us and grant us mercy.
You are the best of those who have mercy.

The supplication was transmitted from the Prophet Muhammad and is used in the Shâfi'i Qunût Du'â.

(c) Halima Krausen, 2006