Having a Deep Chat with My Sibling About Faith and Our Questions

Assalamu alaikum, okay so we’re both young adults, grew up Muslim. To be honest, I’m not as close to my deen as I’d like-I’m working on building that strong foundation and dealing with some personal stuff too, and my sibling is kind of in the same boat. They’re a real thinker, always questioning things, and I guess I am too, maybe not as much. Anyway, we got talking about some past experiences and it led to discussing Allah SWT. We both shared different angles, but after a while, the conversation just went in circles, saying the same things over and over. I got tired of it and decided to stop, though they wanted to keep going. The talk lasted ages and I’m not about to write it all out, but here are a few things that came up-some from their side, maybe some from mine. One point was that when someone does something bad, their background and past affect it, so it’s understandable but not okay (we’d talked about this before). They brought up an example that honestly made me uncomfortable, so let’s just leave that. Another thing was about people causing harm in this world: if Allah SWT knows and plans everything, is He making it happen? I used to wonder about this as a kid-like, if everything is written, He already knows if I’ll turn left or right, but I’m still the one choosing to turn. They kind of lost me there. Then, why would Allah SWT create someone who’s just going to be evil from the start? Also, did Allah SWT create the world on a whim, as something to entertain Him? If He’s so merciful, why is there so much suffering, and why doesn’t He step in? My take was that this dunya is a test, and the real goal is the akhirah, so interfering wouldn’t make sense-He shouldn’t be blamed for what people choose to do. But it kept looping back to the same questions. Why make a world with pain instead of just sending everyone to Jannah? And if that’s the case, how is He the Most Merciful? Isn’t that what He calls Himself? I shared my own thoughts (a lot aren’t here ’cause it’s late and I’m tired), but we weren’t getting anywhere. Neither of us was really understanding the other’s points, and it felt stale. I figured it’s better to pause, get some sleep, read up, and learn more rather than just repeating ourselves. So I ended it for now. Basically, I had my own questions too-like, it’s hard to think that Allah SWT, who’s the Most Merciful, would send all non-Muslims to Hell without considering their actions. Maybe it’s said to inspire taqwa and guide hearts, not to be taken literally? I’m working with what I already know, but my sibling seemed to be creating whole new ‘what if’ scenarios where it’s all just arbitrary. I’m not looking for anyone to blame us or anything, just your thoughts on this or ideas for a better chat next time. It’s not about arguing who’s right-just ‘here’s how I see it, what do you think?’ I know I didn’t share all my views, but I’m wiped. Feel free to ask if you want more details. And remember, these are just discussions-we’re two young people learning, questioning, and having doubts as we grow in our faith.