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Articles

The Theodicies of Allama Iqbal & John Hick

Muhammad Mohsin Masood compares the evolutionary thinking of theologian John Hick and poet-philosopher Muhammad Allama Iqbal.

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

Thus pronounces Epicurus, a Greek philosopher well before the birth of Christ. The argument is a seeming paradox in which the very existence of evil and the infinite goodness and omnipotence of God are put head to head. These lines encapsulate the immense problem that faces every major theology regarding the attributes of a God defined as both good and powerful.

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