Beautiful question. This is something I reflect upon very often. We must be careful, however, that we do not overstep our bounds when questioning God’s Will.

One of the pillars of faith in Islam is to believe in God’s Divine Decree, good or bad. Sometimes we see something as being bad, but in reality, there is much good in it. Sometimes we see something as good, but there is much harm in it.

“Fighting is ordained for you, even though it be hateful to you; but it may well be that you hate a thing the while it is good for you, and it may well be that you love a thing the while it is bad for you: and God knows, whereas you do not know.” (Qur’an 2:216)

In this beautiful verse, the example of fighting, war, battle is used. Most people despise fighting, hurting others, or worse, killing a human being. In some cases, unfortunately, it cannot be avoided. If one is under attack and fighting cannot be avoided, then to preserve our own lives we may have to seriously hurt or kill someone. We will never understand the big picture as God sees it. He has a plan for humanity, the earth, and the whole universe, and His Will will be done. We are not in a position to criticize Him or challenge His reasoning for what we see happening to innocent people. We must trust that God’s promise is true:

“Do you think that you could enter paradise without having suffered like those [believers] who passed away before you? Misfortune and hardship befell them, and so shaken were they that the prophet, and the believers with him, would exclaim, “When will God’s Help come?” Truly, God’s Help is [always] near!” (Qur’an 2:214)

“Does mankind think that they will be left to say, “We believe”, and they will not be tested? Indeed, We did test those before them, and God will certainly distinguish those who prove themselves true, and most certainly will He distinguish those who are lying.” (Qur’an 29:2-3)

As Muslims, we do not see death as a disaster in itself. God created us and we will certainly die. To Him we belong, and to Him we shall return. We have no say in the matter. What we do with the time we have is what matters most. None of us knows how much time we actually have, so we must not let a day go by without accomplishing something good, for ourselves, or for others, believers, or non-believers. No soul will be wronged by God:

“God does not burden any soul with more than it is able to bear: in its favor shall be whatever good it does, and against it whatever evil it does. O our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or unwittingly do wrong! “O our Lord! Lay not upon us a burden such as you laid upon those before us! O our Lord! Make us not bear burdens which we have no strength to bear! And remove our sins, and grant us forgiveness, and bestow Your Mercy upon us! You are our Lord Supreme: help us, then, against people who deny the truth!” Qur’an 2:286

We are confident in God’s Promise that goodness will be rewarded beyond anything we can possibly imagine or deserve. But evil will also be punished, again beyond what we can imagine, but surely deserved. Those who appear to us to be living the good life free of problems or worries are not necessarily in that situation because God loves them. Do not mistake worldly success and pleasure as always a sign of God’s Love or reward. It may well be the exact opposite; allowing these people to have whatever they please now, and in the end, have earned nothing from God’s Mercy on the Day of Judgment. This does not mean that there is no good in them. There are many wealthy, kind hearted, people of faith in the world, but their wealth does not make them better than anyone unless their good deeds accompany it.

I hope this has been helpful to you. May God grant us patience and strengthened faith in times of difficulty, and appreciation of His Bounties during times of ease.

Salam.