Why did Allah give us so much suffering?

- When I look at myself and other people, we are in pain and suffering. What is the reason for it?
- Looking back, both I and other people, all living beings, are in pain and suffering. Why did Allah give us so much suffering?

Dear Brother / Sister,

We understand that you are suffering and that you feel the pain of those around you who are suffering. This shows how sensitive and compassionate you are. In addition, it reflects that you are focused on suffering in your thoughts.

1. Life is built on opposites.

Life is built on two poles: night and day, light and darkness, cold and hot, black and white, good and evil, bitter and sweet, etc. One cannot exist without the other, and even if they did, the value of the other one would not be appreciated. Suffering is not proof of evil; it is a means of being human and being aware.

However, sometimes people focus only on the negative. That is when they lose their holistic perspective.

For example, what makes severe trials unbearable, leads man to deep depression, and causes pain and suffering is not so much the pain itself as the negative meaning the person assigns to it.

If we assign negative meanings to it on a cognitive level, we feel pain and sorrow; if we assign positive meanings, we feel peace and tranquility. In other words, we experience both pain and peace together. This is because we ourselves form all the positive and negative emotions we experience in our inner world through our cognitions and thoughts. That is, our emotional world takes shape according to how we believe, perceive, and think.

This includes our opinions, our thoughts about a person or thing. That is why the same event or person might upset one person but not another, or even make him smile.

For example, a person who assigns negative meanings to someone’s absence, an illness, a disability, or a failure, sees pain and sorrow everywhere and believes that life consists only of suffering.

“It is by means of disasters and sicknesses that life is refined, perfected, strengthened and advanced; that it yields results, attains perfection and fulfils its own purpose.” (See Nursi, 2. Lema)

However, if we think like that, in accordance with the purpose for which we were sent to this world, the suffering around us will give way to peace and the signs of divine mercy. Through these sufferings, our lives reach perfection, become complete, and serve as a means to attain eternal happiness. Because they serve as a means, we begin to see them as tools to reach our goal.

Our thoughts do not always influence our feelings; sometimes our feelings influence our thoughts. For example, when we feel exhausted and restless, our thoughts are negatively affected. We begin to think negative and pessimistic things about the world and our surroundings.

However, if we focus on good things, we will begin to think positively about our surroundings. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi expresses this state with the following concise saying:

“A person who sees the good in things has good thoughts. And he who has good thoughts receives pleasure from life.” (Mektubat, Hakikat Çekirdekleri: 50, p. 473)

2. Pain is a means of maturation and testing.

In Islam, suffering is seen as part of the test of life. It is explicitly stated in the Quran:

“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil).” (al-Baqara, 2/155)

So, suffering is not Allah’s punishment, but rather a means of drawing us closer to Him and testing us. As Mawlana (Rumi) puts it,

“Suffering leads a person to God.”

In other words, when a person’s spirit is sometimes broken, burned, or bereaved, they feel themselves and God Almighty more deeply. Pain may seem like destruction on the surface, but deep down it can serve as a catalyst for awakening because people generally grow not when they are comfortable, but when they are shaken.

If we view and appreciate suffering in this way, it becomes both a reward of eternal paradise and a means of maturation. Indeed, patience, mercy, humility, solidarity, and compassion— all these noble emotions—emerge only in the face of suffering.

3. Some sufferings are the result of free will.

It is God Almighty who creates good and evil, but it is man who desires them with his free will. Suffering and many misfortunes arise from man’s own choices because man has free will; he has the right to choose both good and evil. However, this freedom also causes suffering. For example, one person’s oppressing another is not injustice by Allah; it is the misuse of the freedom granted to man.

If Allah had willed, everyone could have been like an angel, but then the secret of the test would have disappeared, and abilities would not have developed. Abu Bakr (ra) and Abu Jahl would have remained at the same level.

4. Pain is Created for Our Survival.

When we look at the phenomenon of pain from a psychological perspective, we see that pain is actually created for our biological and emotional survival. Physical pain is the body’s way of signaling danger. Emotional pain is often a sign of an inner imbalance or dissatisfaction; it is like a “call for redirection”. In short, pain sometimes tells us, “Something is wrong here, you need to change.”

5. Suffering is a hidden form of mercy.

Sometimes mercy appears like punishment at first glance.

The Quran explains this truth as follows: “But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you...” (al-Baqara, 2/216).

Man focuses on the immediate suffering; Allah, however, considers the long-term mercy, maturity, and eternal reward that will result from that suffering.

We mature through patience when we are sick.

When we lose, our hearts will be connected to Allah, not to the world.

In times of need, we learn the meaning of sharing and gratitude.

So sometimes, seemingly painful incidents are a cure for the heart.

6. Suffering Brings About Empathy and a Sense of Unity.

If there were no suffering in the world, feelings like mercy, solidarity and empathy would not develop.

When a person feels the pain of another, he forms a bond with that person; that bond is a divine bond that holds society together.

That is why the following is stated in the hadiths: “Believers are like the limbs of a body; if one is hurt, the others feel it too.” (Bukhari, Adab 27)

Therefore, suffering is not only a factor that fosters individual maturity, but also one that strengthens the solidarity of the human family.

7. This World Is Not the Place of Ultimate Justice

The big question that preoccupies the minds of many people is this:

“If Allah is just, why do innocent people suffer?”

Answer:

This world is a place of testing and process, not the ultimate place of justice. If this world were a place where all the consequences would be seen, there would be no need for an afterlife.

The Quran states the following:

“Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.” (az-Zilzal, 99/7-8)

Therefore, the injustices seen here will be met with complete justice there.

8. Suffering Opens the Door to Prayer and Closeness.

In times of comfort, people tend to forget Allah but when they suffer, their hearts turn more toward Him.

The Quran gives the example of the prayer that the Prophet Jonah said in the belly of the fish:

But he cried, “There is no god but thou: glory to thee: I was indeed wrong!” So We delivered him from distress. (al-Anbiya, 21/87-88)

In other words, suffering elevates a person to the state of prayer (dua); and the essence of prayer is noticing one’s own helplessness.

It is the moment when the deepest connection with Allah is established.

9. The Ultimate Purpose of Suffering: Preparation for Eternal Bliss

According to Islam, the world is not a place to stay permanently, but a temporary place of learning.

The sufferings we endure here is a means of purification, enabling us to deserve eternal peace in the hereafter.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

“No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.” (Bukhari, Marda 1)

Thus, Allah makes even suffering a means for His servant to attain forgiveness, maturity, and Paradise.

Conclusion:

Suffering is a “language of testing” that Allah has given us. If we view it with belief and patience, that suffering is transformed into a hidden form of mercy.

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