Kalam and Modern Obfuscations “Imam Al- Maturidi on the Problem of Evil as a Case Study”

Abstract

How can a Merciful God accept the existence of evil in the cosmos that He created? This question emerged early in the history of mankind leaving many to believe that it presented a great dilemma difficult for all religions to solve. At the same time religions differed in their conceptualizations of evil and its causes to the extent that their differences reach the point of contradiction. However, they all agree that there is no contradiction between the existence of evil and the existence of God. In Islamic Theological thought, we find clear and precise answers to, “the problem of evil.” All of the answers attempt to link the question back to either God’s Will or to the concept of evil being relative. Except for Imam Maturidi, who had his own unique method that differed from other theologians, such that he used the existence of evil as a proof in and of itself for the existence of God. Many theologians and philosophers were later impacted by the answer he formulated to this question. In this paper, the researcher will attempt to clarify the answers provided by the theologians to the problem of evil and then specifically focus on and clarify the answer provided by Imam Maturidi.