Ma`rifat Adyan

"Suffering" is the most challenging issue that face religions. It directly challenges theism or the religions that believe in God, the unique Almighty the Benevolent the All-powerful, the absolute. In these religious suffering is often considered as a penalty for committing sins; but it is difficult to support this explanation in the face of the suffering of the innocent and the welfare success of the evil. Using a descriptive analytical method, this article seeks to discuss the question of the suffering of the righteous and the welfare of the evil and the answers offered by the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) because the afore mentioned answer seems dusty, on the one hand, and there is a need to address this question, on the other. The righteous suffer for the purpose of purification and divine discipline, accepting the heavy responsibility of the ascension of others, the atonement of the children of Israel or all the peoples of the world, and the test, according to the Old Testament. Sometimes their suffering is due to the sins of their fathers and the welfare of the evil is due to the righteousness of their fathers. One of the views is that the notion of the suffering of the righteous and the welfare of the evil is too difficult for the human intellect to comprehend. It is sometimes said that the suffering befalls the righteous by Divine Decree.