Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya on Divine Wisdom and the Problem of Evil

Tallal Zeni, tr.

Paperback

9781911141396

This is a translation of selections from two of Ibn al-Qayyim's books Key to the BlissfulAbode (Miftäh dãr al-sa'ada) and Remedy for Those who Question on Matters Concerning Divine Decree, Predestination, Wisdom and Causality (Shifa' al-'alil fi masa'il al-qada' wa'l-qadar wa'l-hikma wa'l-ta'lil). As with all his other writings, Ibn al-Qayyim's foremost goal is to establish the wisdom of God, the primacy of the Qur'än and Sunna, and the congruity between reason and revelation.

In this translation, Ibn al-Qayyim focuses on the application of the wisdom of God to the existence of evil. Ibn al-Qayyim first discusses twenty-six wise purposes behind God creating humanity and settling them on Earth. His perspective is that whatever exists in this world is either purely or preponderantly good, or indirectly leads to a greater good. Ibn al-Qayyim then explores how the presence of evil allows the manifestation of many of God's Beautiful Names, glorious attributes, and compassionate actions. For humanity, the existence of evil provides the righteous with opportunities to strive against it; Paradise can only be reached by traversing a bridge of hardships and tribulations. The discussions of the existence of evil are followed by thirty wise purposes in God allowing people to sin. Prominent among them is that God loves repentance and loves to manifest His Attributes of forgiveness and mercy. Finally, Ibn al-Qayyim debates at length whether the punishment of Hellfire will be eternal or whether it will come to an end.

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya was born in 691/1292 near Damascus where he obtained a classical Islamic education and specialized in jurisprudence. In 711/1312, he met the Hanbalite reformer Ibn Taymiyya and remained his disciple until the latter's death in 728/1327. Ibn al-Qayyim went on to become a renowned jurist and to write nearly 100 books, many of which are extant and popular to this day. He died in 751/1350 in Damascus.

Tallal M. Zeni is a medical doctor who has studied traditional Islamic culture, He is the translator of The Cayyim al-Jawziyya on Knowledge.