Islamic Philosophy and the Problem of Evil; a Philosophical Theodicy

Conclusion

In order to present a kind of theodicy, Muslim philosophers attempt to provide some solutions for a couple versions of the problem of evil.

The main and the most serious version for them is the problem of "Evil and Divine Providence".

In order to solve this problem, they first argue in several ways for a "negative theory" about the nature of evils; that (essential) evil is nothing but nonexistence and privation. In this step, they meet the challenge of the "apprehension evil'. Then they come to recognize the distinction between essential and accidental evils. Considering the minor (accidental) evil and its necessary partnership with the major good, they finally argue that this kind of evil enter into Divine decree only accidentally.

Muslim philosophers also use the advantage of the "negative theory" to meet a subordinate problem of creation-dualism. According to this theory, the problem finds an easy reply; since evil is of a non-existential nature, it does not need to be created or caused at all. The other minor problem is based on the claim of inconsistency between Divine wisdom and the reality of apparently futile evils. Muslim philosophers meet this problem briefly as far as they seek to discover some universal reasonable purposes and benefits for certain kinds of evils.