why so much suffering

Yes, Allah has power over all things and yes, the evil in the world comes from man's own actions.  Allah has made it clear that he loves those who do good and hates those who do evil.  So, His position is clear.  So, it does not make sense to blame Allah for the evil in the world.  Certainly, He has the power to stop it but he does not for many reasons.  First, He knows more than we do.  So, even though it may not make sense to us why something happens, it does to Allah.  Second, He allows evil in the world so that people can make a distinct choice.  We have the free will to either help the poor or to persecute them, to be faithful or faithless, to be kind to all living things or be oppressive to them.  By the choices we make, Allah judges us and as such, He either rewards us in the next life or punishes us.  To those who suffer, He urges patience and the faith that He will help them.  If you think about it, this was exactly the early Muslims were thinking.  They were suffering tremendous persecution, and the hypocrites were asking them when Allah would help them.  When all seemed hopeless, Allah opened a door and the persecuted Muslims now found safe-haven in another city and Islam began to grow and thrive, eventually defeating their pagan oppressors and claiming all of Arabia for Allah.  

To add to our members, here's a story, and am very hopeful that this story gives you an answer

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.

 When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'

'Why do you say that?' asked the customer.

 'Well,you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.

'The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: 'You know what? Barbers do not exist.

''How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber.

 'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!'

'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.'

 'Ah, but barbers DOexist! That's what happens when people do not come to me.'

 'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.'

I recieved an sms the other day, which I found interesting - and may perhaps help someone through a bad time:

A sailor was stuck on an islan where he was the only survior. He worked very hard to make a hut for his shelter. He went around collecting food and stored it inside his hut.

Edited by Chrysalis - 23 June 2009 at 6:30am