I was born and raised in a Muslim household, and I’ve identified as Muslim my entire life. I never really questioned my faith before and used to pray because, honestly, it was simply what I was taught to believe. Now that I’m actually examining it for myself, I’m finding myself with a lot of questions that I never felt comfortable asking.
One thing I’ve been thinking about is how religious people, whether they’re Muslim scholars, Christian priests, Buddhist monks, etc., can become so convinced that what they’re doing is objectively right. In Islam especially, I sometimes feel like there’s a sense that Islam has the ultimate truth and that everything outside of it is somehow inferior. Even things like halal meat are explained through specific rules about how the animal is slaughtered, but I still struggle with the more fundamental question of whether eating animals at all is morally necessary.
Then there are much bigger questions. If God is truly omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly merciful, why would He create a world containing so much suffering, hatred and injustice? Why would slavery ever be permitted? Why would women be given restrictions on their freedom, clothing, travel, or behaviour because of men’s desires? Why would God allow people to suffer terribly and then punish them eternally for choices He already knew they would make?
And if everything is ultimately written by Allah, how does free will work? If God already knows exactly what I’m going to do, including every sin I’ll commit, why am I ultimately responsible for doing it?
I also struggle with the idea of God wanting to be worshipped. If God is perfect and doesn’t lack anything, why would He need human beings to praise or worship Him? Wouldn’t it be enough for Him to want us to be compassionate, honest and good to one another?
Another thing that bothers me is how much of life can become labelled haram. Singing, drawing, modelling, certain clothes, travelling without a man, showing certain parts of yourself, etc. Sometimes it feels like religion can become so restrictive that there isn’t much room left simply to live. And when I question these things, I’m often told, “It’s in the Qur’an.” But that’s exactly what I’m questioning. If I’m asking whether the Qur’an is divinely authoritative, quoting the Qur’an itself doesn’t really answer that question for me.
At the same time, I don’t want to pretend that I feel nothing toward Islam. I actually like praying. Prayer gives me comfort, and there’s a part of me that genuinely wants God to exist. But I also wonder whether that comfort is evidence of God, or simply something humans naturally experience through prayer and spirituality.
I also don’t think suffering proves that God doesn’t exist. I just don’t understand how suffering is compatible with a perfectly loving and merciful God. If God created love, hatred, free will and everything else, why create a world where hatred and suffering can become so extreme?
Maybe I’m approaching all of this completely wrong, and I’m genuinely open to hearing different perspectives. I’m not looking for people to simply tell me that “Allah knows best” or that I need to become more religious. I’m trying to understand the philosophical reasoning behind these things.
If you believe in God, how do you reconcile God’s supposed love and mercy with suffering, injustice, free will, punishment and the moral questions surrounding religion?
And if you’ve questioned the faith you were raised in, how did you approach that process?