In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
USOOL AD-DEEN
(ROOTS OF RELIGION)
FOR CHILDREN
The "Usool ad-Deen" course has been put together by volunteer experts and teachers in the Mohammad (PBUH) Scientific and Cultural Foundation Center for Kids and Teens (Khaane Koodak va Nojavan in Farsi). This course is appropriate for children between the ages of 8 to 12. It aims to make students familiar with the basics of Shia Islam, including beliefs and doctrine...
Lesson 8: God’s Fault or Our Fault?
(Adalah – Part 3)
Written by: Zahra Moradi
Translated by: Mohammad Jahani and Shamsi Nasiri
Edited by: Marzie Salehi and Neda Nima
Note to Instructor: Do not blame God for the unjust and unwise behaviour of human beings.
Content:
Up to now, we explained that God is Just. He wants nothing but goodness for the people and does not hurt anyone.
But there is suffering and unfortunate circumstances in the world. So where do these come from? They come from one of the two following cases:
- Unfortunate circumstances that appear purely bad from the outside, but could also have an unknown positive aspect that only God is aware of. Think of the examples we talked about the last session, like the car that did not turn on.
- Alternatively, some things are not a result of God disliking or hurting us (God does not dislike or hurt us), but rather outcomes of human actions. For example, imagine a person who drives fast and carelessly. This person zig zags around different cars with no regard for safety. To make things worse, he does not wear a seat belt. As a result, this person may get into a car accident. It is even possible that in this accident, he does not injure himself, but does hurt other, innocent people. Would it make sense for the victims of this accident to blame God, asking, “Why did God do this to us?” Was this car accident a result of God’s will? Or was it the outcome of someone’s dangerous driving? Put simply, God is not ruthless. Rather, people’s actions are what bring about disasters.
God is not merciless. Most personal disasters and unfortunate events are consequences of the mindless and bad behaviour of human beings.
Another example is war. Millions of innocent people have been killed in wars started by cruel individuals. Ruthless people ruined other people’s lives, killed innocents, and destroy homes. But are these a result of God’s ill will towards humanity? Are all these disasters dictated by God, or they are consequences of humans pursuing aggression and terror?
God is the Most Kind and Compassionate. God has given everyone the Aql and the ability to choose their actions. He also sent prophets and infallible Imams to guide and train people. In addition, God has promised all people heaven for good deeds and hell for evil deeds. Despite all of this, some people still choose to be unwise, act evil, and take advantage of others.
Can some of you now, give me some other examples of miserable conditions which are a direct result of human actions? (Some good possible answers are air pollution, cancer and other diseases that develop from an unhealthy lifestyle, drought due to misusing the water resources, flood because of cutting trees, theft, and infantile disorders the develop from unsafe prenatal conditions.)
Today, we learned that the root of much of the suffering in the world is the unwise and unjust decisions of humans. This suffering does not mean that God is merciless to us. It should be emphasized again and again that God is not uncaring and wants nothing other than goodness for humanity.
{Some students may ask why God does not directly intervene to prevent disasters from happening to us? Why does He not protect people from being killed or houses from being destroyed in a war? Why doesn’t He stop the cruel ones or change unfortunate situations?
The response to this question is that God certainly could stop all these if He wanted to. However, as a part of the Sunnah of Allah (the method God does things), He usually does not. God does not make things right as soon as someone does a bad deed. Rather, He has given us the Aql and the ability to choose what to do and face its consequences. So, we need to be mindful of our actions. Our Aql and the guidance of the prophets and Imams can help us make correct choices that lead us down the right path. This right path will allow humans to live more beautiful and joyful lives. Conversely, avoiding this right path, like the unwise, is what keeps our world as unfair, full of suffering, and lacking justice.}
