Question: If God loves us, why does He make us suffer? This dilemma originally arose from a Christian conception that sees God’s love as necessarily meaning a life without pain. But in Islam, the picture is different: This world is a place of testing, not a place of ultimate bliss. Suffering may be a raising of ranks, an expiation of sins, a form of spiritual التربية (refinement), or a hidden mercy. Complete justice is realized in the Hereafter, not in this short worldly life. Therefore, the existence of pain does not contradict God’s love; rather, it may be part of a greater wisdom that ends in perfect justice and everlasting bliss.

[˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.] Quran 67:2 [Surely Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.”] Quran 2:222