Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful...the Best Knower.

When we say "bad things happen to good people", we are making an evaluation. What standard do we use to make such evaluations? What standard do we use to determine that something that has happened is "good" or "bad"? What standard do we use to determine if the person, to whom it happens, is "good" or "bad"? "Unpleasant" is not necessarily "bad", and "pleasant" is not necessarily "good".

Allah(God) can take what we might call "bad" and use it to serve His Good Purposes. For example, most of us would agree that the African Holocaust was a "bad" thing, which happened to "good" people. Millions of people killed...millions more maimed, disfigured and mentally destroyed. And what did we do to warrant such? What crime were we guilty of that carried such heinous consequences?

As "evil" as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was, Allah(God) ALLOWED it to happen!! The Question is "WHY?" Is God UNJUST?

If it is absolutely true that "bad" things happen to "good" people, then that is INJUSTICE, but God is not unjust.

Because of our underdeveloped state, it is easy for us to "judge" things and people by how they affect us personally. The Most High, the Creator and Governor of all Creation, is not bound to cater to our limited understanding or emotional reactions to what He does. What He does, He does for the Highest Good of the WHOLE. So, if we, in our minds, place more value on the "parts" (self) than on the "whole", then we are bound to misperceive the reality of what is "good" or "bad", because we are judging from a personal and selfish point of view.

We must strive to take God's Point of View. We must strive to evaluate persons and events based on how GOD sees them...based on how they affect the WHOLE...based on whether or not they facilitate the Creator's Plan for the Whole.

If God, the Most High, is GOOD, and He is...then NOTHING can take place within His Sphere of Power (Universe) that He does not either cause or allow, and if He allows it He has a GOOD Reason for doing so, even if the event appears to US to be "bad".

Now, "Does God give us Guidance to help us to determine when or whether He is excercising His ACTIVE or PERMISSIVE Will?" He gives us Guidance as to how WE should live our lives...how we should exercise OUR "active" will.

Should "good" people accept the misfortunes that happen to them as God's Permissive Will? In my opinion, Yes. Does that rob us of our freedom to exercise our own active will? No.

We are all on a Journey...a Journey to Almighty God, Allah...the Most High. We are not the Authors of the Journey, nor did we Lay the Path. We are merely Travelers. We know, although few understand, what has passed; and we know, to a degree, what is at present; but tomorrow, what lies AHEAD on the Path, only Allah(God) knows. Since we generally do not know what lies ahead of us on this Journey, then it follows that we also do not know how far we have to go yet to reach the Goal. But the Most High does. Therefore, He knows best, not only where we are going and how far we have to go to get there, but He knows best WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO EXPERIENCE IN ORDER TO GET THERE!

This is where FAITH comes in. "Faith is the substance of things Hoped for; the evidence of things not seen." "...without Faith, it is impossible to please [God]."

God would be unjust to reveal to us that which we have not been prepared to receive, so He does not give us the "whole picture" at once. He simply reveals to us what we need to know at that moment, to get us through "that moment". If we Follow that Guidance properly, then He gives us another degree of Guidance...and then another...and another...until we eventually reach the goal. All we have to do is Follow the Guidance and the Guide.

However, We cannot Follow someone if we have no Faith in their ability to GUIDE us. If we believe that God allows "bad things to happen to good people", then in our minds we fall victim to DOUBT, wondering if the God is unjust, which hinders our ability to follow His Guidance...especially when the "bad thing" happens to US!!

So, the Believers, from the Qur'anic perspective are Instructed to "be steadfast under trial". We are told from the Beginning of our Journey that we MUST and WILL be tried, sometimes SEVERELY; but we must hold to FAITH in Allah's Goodness...that no matter what happens, be it "good" or "bad", it is for our Highest Good, both individual and collective.

Here is a passage from the Holy Qur'an that illustrates this point beautifully:

From Surah 18:
66. Moses said to [the Wise man]: May I follow thee that thou mayest teach me of the good thou hast been taught?
67. He said: Thou canst not have patience with me.
68. And how canst thou have patience in that whereof thou hast not a comprehensive knowledge?
69. He said: If Allah please, thou wilt find me patient, nor shall I disobey thee in aught.
70. He said: If thou wouldst follow me, question me not about aught until I myself speak to thee about it.
71. So they set out until, when they embarked in a boat, he made a hole in it. (Moses) said: Hast thou made a hole in it to drown its occupants? Thou has surely done a grievous thing.
72. He said: Did I not say that thou couldst not have patience with me?
73. He said: Blame me not for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for what I did.
74. So they went on, until, when they met a boy, he slew him. (Moses) said: Hast thou slain an innocent person, not guilty of slaying another? Thou hast indeed done a horrible thing.
75. He said: Did I not say to thee that thou couldst not have patience with me?
76. He said: If I ask thee about anything after this, keep not company with me. Thou wilt then indeed have found an excuse in my case.
77. So they went on, until, when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they found in it a wall which was on the point of falling, so he put it into a right state, (Moses) said: If thou hadst wished, thou couldst have taken a recompense for it.
78. He said: This is the parting between me and thee. Now I will inform thee of the significance of that with which thou couldst not have patience.
79. As for the boat, it belonged to poor people working on the river, and I intended to damage it, for there was behind them a king who seized every boat by force.
80. And as for the boy, his parents were believers and We feared lest he should involve them in wrongdoing and disbelief.
81. So We intended that their Lord might give them in his place one better in purity and nearer to mercy.
82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father had been a righteous man. So thy Lord intended that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure -- a mercy from thy Lord -- and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the significance of that with which thou couldst not have patience.

Peace and Blessings of Allah, the Most High, be with you.

RM