The Colonial Context of The Sufi Theodicy of Amīr ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī (d. 1883)

This paper examines the Sufi theodicy of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī (1808–1883), figure whose life and thought intertwine anti-colonial resistance, theological inquiry, and mystical philosophy. Focusing on his magnum opus, Kitāb al-Mawāqif ("The Book of Mystical Halting Stations"), this paper explores ʿAbd al-Qādir’s mystical theodicy – the  the problem of evil and divine benevolence. I frame his reflections on this topic within the context of Emmanuel Levinas’ critiques of its metaphysical assumptions. The arguments of ʿAbd al-Qādir will be examined in light of his commentary on Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī’s (d. 1111) assertion that "there is nothing in existence more perfect than what already is." Following al-Ghazālī’s lead, ʿAbd al-Qādir defends the view according to which God creates the most optimal world. This perspective is embedded in his Sufi ontology of inherent predisposition (istiʿdād) . What defines his perspective is the view that an optimal world is an order of existence where the predispositions of all beings are providentially actualized.