Is it okay to ask this?

Maybe you saw a child hurt in a war on the news. Maybe someone you love is very sick. Maybe your own life has been hard for a long time. And a question came into your head:

This is one of the oldest and hardest questions people ask about God. It is a fair question, and asking it is not a sin. Wanting to understand is not the same as turning away from Allah.

Even the angels asked something close to it. When Allah told them He would place people on the earth, they said: will You place on it someone who will spread harm and shed blood? Allah did not scold them. He said: I know what you do not know¹.

The answer Islam gives is honest, it makes sense, and it brings real comfort. If the question keeps coming back as an unwanted thought, also read Is it normal to have doubts?

What is the short answer?

• This life is a test, not the final stop.
• Allah gave people a real choice, so they can do real good and real harm. Much evil comes from people's own hands.
• Pain is never wasted for a believer. It wipes away sins and raises your level with Allah.
• Nothing is left unpaid. Every wrong will be put right on the Day of Judgment.
• Allah knows what we do not know. He has not told us the reason for every event. But He has shown us enough to trust Him with the rest.

Why is life a test?

Allah tells us plainly why He made life and death: He created death and life to test you, to see which of you is best in what you do².

So this world is more like an exam hall than a holiday home. An exam has hard questions on purpose. It is how you show who you really are.

• Allah tests with both hard times and easy times: We test you with bad and with good, as a trial³. Being rich and healthy is a test too.
• No one is left out: do people think they will be left alone to say "we believe", and not be tested?⁴.
• Allah told us ahead of time: We will test you with some fear and hunger, and some loss of wealth, lives and crops. But give good news to those who are patient⁵.

Patience, courage and mercy are some of the best things a person can have. But you cannot be patient if nothing is ever hard. A world with no hardship would have no room for these good things.

Also read the post Why is Allah testing me?

Why does Allah let people do evil?

Allah gave people a real choice: We showed him the way, whether he is thankful or ungrateful⁶. For how this fits with Allah's decree, see Free will, fate and fairness.

A choice is only real if both sides are possible. If Allah stopped every person the moment they tried to hurt someone, we would be like robots. Kindness only counts when you could have done the opposite.

• Much suffering is caused by people: war, theft, abuse, greed. Allah says: harm has spread on land and sea because of what people's hands have done, so that they taste some of it and come back⁷.
• Allah forbids this harm. In a hadith qudsi (Allah's words told by Nabi ﷺ), Allah says: My servants, I have made injustice haram for Myself, and I have made it haram between you. So do not wrong one another⁸.
• So when a person does evil, the blame is on that person. Allah warned him, showed him the right way, and will hold him to account.

Will the wrongdoers get away with it?

No. In this world, many cruel people seem to escape. But the story does not end at death.

• Allah does not wrong anyone, not even by the weight of a tiny speck⁹.
• Whoever does a speck of good will see it. And whoever does a speck of evil will see it¹⁰.
• Nabi ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgment every right will be given back, even a sheep with no horns will get its due from the sheep with horns that hit it¹¹.

Without a Day of Judgment, the people who suffered most would never see justice. Islam says they will.

Is Allah the source of evil?

Nothing happens outside Allah's will. But what Allah does is always wise and fair, even when the thing itself hurts us. In his night prayer, Nabi ﷺ said to Allah: all good is in Your hands, and evil is not to be linked to You¹². Scholars explain: Allah allows a hard thing for a good purpose. The harm is in the thing as we feel it, not in Allah's purpose. To read more, see Qadr: Allah's decree.

Why do good people suffer?

Why would a kind, praying, honest person get cancer, lose a child, or live in poverty? Islam gives clear answers.

1. Pain wipes away sins

Nabi ﷺ said: no tiredness, illness, worry, sadness, hurt or distress reaches a Muslim, not even the prick of a thorn, without Allah wiping away some of his sins because of it¹³.

He told a woman who cursed her fever: do not curse the fever. It takes away sins, the way a blacksmith's fire takes the dirt out of iron¹⁴.

2. The best people are tested the most

A man asked Nabi ﷺ: who is tested the hardest? He said: the prophets, then the best people after them, and then the best after them. The tests keep coming until a person walks on the earth with no sin left on him¹⁵. Nabi ﷺ also said: when Allah wants good for someone, He tests him¹⁶.

So a hard life is not a sign that Allah hates you. Ayyub was ill for a long time. Yaqub lost his son Yusuf for years. Nabi ﷺ lost his parents, his wife Khadijah, and six of his seven children in his lifetime. Read their stories on the prophets page.

3. Patience gets a reward with no limit

Allah says: those who are patient will be given their reward in full, without counting¹⁷. Nabi ﷺ said: how amazing is the believer! Everything that happens to him is good for him. In good times he is thankful, and in bad times he is patient, and both are good for him¹⁸.

Patience does not mean you stop feeling pain. It means you keep trusting Allah, and do not turn against Him, while you still hurt.

Is this life all there is?

Much of the pain in this question comes from looking only at this life. But in Islam, this life is a short trip, and the next life lasts forever.

• Nabi ﷺ said: be in this world as if you were a stranger, or someone just passing through²¹.
• Every soul will taste death, and you will be given your full reward on the Day of Resurrection²². Full reward comes then, not always now.
• With hardship comes ease. Truly, with hardship comes ease²³.

One moment in Jannah

Nabi ﷺ said: on the Day of Judgment, the person who had the easiest life, but ends up in the Fire, will be dipped into it once. Asked if he ever had any comfort, he will say: no, by Allah, never. The person who had the hardest life, but ends up in Jannah, will be dipped into it once. Asked if he ever went through anything hard, he will say: no, by Allah, my Lord. I never saw any hardship²⁴.

One moment in Jannah will wipe out a whole lifetime of pain. That does not make your pain small today. But it is not the end of your story. See Jannah and Jahannam.

What about things we cannot explain?

Here we must be honest. Allah has not told us the reason for every single pain. Why this flood, in this town, on this day? We do not know. Anyone who says they know the reason for every event is claiming too much.

But not knowing the reason does not mean there is no reason. Allah says: you may dislike something while it is good for you, and you may love something while it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know²⁵.

A small child does not understand why his mother takes him for a painful injection. To him, it looks cruel. To her, it is love. Our view of the world is like that child's. We see one small piece. Allah sees all of it.

The Quran tells a powerful story about this in Surah al-Kahf²⁶.

So the honest answer is this. We know some of the reasons for suffering, and they are strong ones. For the rest, we have good reason to trust the One who has already shown us so much wisdom and mercy.

So why do babies and animals suffer?

This is often the hardest part. A baby has done nothing wrong. Here too, Allah has not told us every reason. But Islam tells us some very important things.

• A child who dies is not lost. In a true dream, Nabi ﷺ saw Ibrahim (Abraham) in a garden with children around him. He was told: these are the children who died on the fitrah (the natural state every child is born with). The Companions asked: and the children of idol worshippers? He said: and the children of idol worshippers too³¹.
• The parents' pain is not wasted. A Muslim who loses three children before they grow up will be entered into Jannah by Allah, out of His mercy to those children³². When a believer loses a child and still praises Allah, Allah says: build for My servant a house in Jannah, and call it the House of Praise³³.
• Allah is more merciful than any mother. Nabi ﷺ saw a mother hugging her lost baby she had just found. He said: Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child³⁴.

Scholars agree that young children of Muslims who die are in Jannah. About the children of non-Muslims, scholars hold different views. Many say they are in Jannah, based on the hadith above. Some say Allah will test them on the Day of Judgment. Others say only Allah knows. All agree that Allah will not wrong any child. See also Other religions, and people who never heard.

A sick child is also a test for the adults around it. And much child suffering comes from people, like war and hunger caused by greed. That is a call for us to act, not only to ask.

And animals?

Animals feel pain too, and they have no sins to wipe away. We do not know every reason. But Allah says: every animal on land and every bird that flies is a community like you, and they will be gathered to their Lord³⁵. So animals are not forgotten. Even the sheep with no horns will get its right back from the sheep with horns³⁶. If Allah is that fair with a sheep, He will be fair with every creature.

Allah also put mercy into animals. Nabi ﷺ said Allah sent down one part of His mercy and kept ninety-nine parts with Him. Because of that one part, a horse lifts its hoof away from its baby so it does not hurt it³⁷.

What if it is me who is suffering?

Answering the question in your head is one thing. Living through the pain is another.

You are allowed to cry

When Nabi ﷺ's baby son Ibrahim was dying, tears ran down his face. A Companion said: even you, Messenger of Allah? He said: this is mercy. Then he said: the eyes shed tears and the heart is sad, but we only say what pleases our Lord³⁸. Crying is not weak faith.

Tell Allah how you feel

• Yaqub said, grieving for his son: I only complain of my sadness and grief to Allah³⁹. You may tell Allah everything, even your questions.
• Ayyub said: harm has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of all who show mercy. Allah answered him and took away his pain⁴⁰.
• When something bad happens, say: Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (we belong to Allah, and to Him we return)⁴¹. Then add: Allahumma ajurni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha (O Allah, reward me for this hardship and give me something better after it). Umm Salamah said this when her husband died, though she could not imagine anyone better. Later Nabi ﷺ married her⁴².

Take practical steps

• Use every help Allah has made. See a doctor. Take medicine. Ask family and friends for help. That is part of trusting Allah⁴³.
• Keep making dua. If it feels like no answer is coming, read When your dua seems unanswered. You can find duas for hard times on the duas page.
• Help someone else who is hurting. It often heals you too.

Common questions

If Allah can stop all evil, why does He not?

Because then this life would not be a test, and our choices would not be real⁴⁴. Allah will put every wrong right on the Day of Judgment⁴⁵. Even now, He sent messengers, made evil haram, and put mercy in people's hearts⁴⁶.

Is my illness a punishment for my sins?

Do not think that way. The prophets, the best of people, were tested the most⁴⁷. For a believer, illness wipes away sins and raises your level⁴⁸. See it as a cleaning and a chance, not a sign that Allah hates you.

What about people who die in an earthquake or a flood?

We do not know the reason for each disaster, and we must not blame the victims. Nabi ﷺ said a Muslim who drowns, dies under a falling building, or dies of plague is a shahid (martyr)⁴⁹. That is an honor, not a punishment. And we must help those who survive.

Is it wrong to feel angry or confused about what happened to me?

You are not blamed for a feeling you did not choose. What matters is what you do with it. Take it to Allah, like Yaqub did⁵⁰. Do not say words against Allah, and do not give up on Him⁵¹.

My friend says suffering proves there is no God. What do I say?

Be kind and calm. Suffering is real, and it hurts. But it does not prove there is no God. It shows this life is not the whole story. Without God, there is no final justice for anyone who was wronged. With Allah, every wrong is put right. See How do we know Allah exists?