Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 183
THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING and helps it to achieve the ultimate goal of evolution. The principle of the "survival of the fittest" plays an integral role in this grand scheme of evolution. . This phenomenon is mentioned in the Holy Quran in the following verse: تَبْرَكَ الَّذِى بَيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرُ الذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيوة لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ 3-67:2. Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom, and He has power over all things;. It is He Who has created death and life that He might try you which of you is best in deeds; and He is the Mighty, the Most Forgiving. ". The answer to the question 'Why is there suffering?" is clearly implied in this verse in its widest application. . The profound philosophy of life and death, the innumerable shades in between, and the role they play in shaping life and improving its quality are all covered in the above verse. It is the very scheme of things that God discloses here. We know that life is only a positive value, and death merely means its absence, and no sharp border exists separating one from the other. It is a gradual process, the way life travels towards death and ebbs out, or from the other direction we view death travelling towards life gaining strength, energy and consciousness as it moves on. . This is the grand plan of creation, but why has God designed it so? 'That He might try you which of you is best in deeds', is the answer provided by the Holy Quran. . It is the perpetual struggle between life and death that subjects the living to a constant state of trial, so that all who conduct themselves best survive and gain a higher status of existence. Herein lies the philosophy and the machination 181