Analysis of the problem of evil in the view of Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 student, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran .

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Theology, Faculty of Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

The problem of evil has occupied the human mind for a long time, and different schools of thought have tried to answer this theological problem. One of the answers given to the problem of evil is the answer given by Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā. The basic problem of this article is to explain and analyze the viewpoint of Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā on the problem of evil. The data collection method is library and the data analysis method is descriptive-analytical. The importance of addressing this issue is due to the fact that the opinion of this school has not been examined on the issue of evil. The brief conclusion reached by the article is that the Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā are dealing with the Platonic-Plutonian problem of evil and they have also added some elements to it, but there are some ambiguities in their opinion, especially their interpretation of the first intention and The second intention and the influence of the planets on the happiness or sadness of the human horoscope and not proving the connection between evil and disbelief or reprehensible morals and goodness and faith or honorable morals. Therefore, although there are strong points in their opinion, such as dealing with the problem of evil about animals, their theory is faced with ambiguities that can make accepting their answer about the problem of evil doubtful.

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References

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