Investigating the problem of evil from the ‘Separation School’ (maktab tafkik)’s viewpoint with emphasis on the works of Mirza Mahdi Isfahani

The forthcoming effort is an investigation to exposes to the readers a brief knowledge on the problem of evil from the point of view of the philosophy of religion as far as possible at first, and then we will seek a coherent presentation of the problem of evil from Mirza Isfahani’s view by analyzing his works. Two approaches are discussed in this presentation. First, we will explain the issue of evil from the perspective of philosophy due to Mirza Isfahani’s dependence on the tradition of Islamic philosophy. In Islamic philosophy, the inconsistency of the existence of evil with the theory of emanation of the world from God has caused the problem of evil. Most important answer accepted in this tradition is that the evil is non-existence.  We show that Mirza Isfahani, after raising the issue of evil and explaining the necessity of such an issue in Islamic philosophy, criticizes the non-existence response due to the lack of combination between the non-existence of evil and its existence, the contradiction between God as the absolute good and the existence of evil, opposition to the primary and general understanding of human beings and the lack of a clear criterion in recognizing non-existence. The second approach is illustrated by the specific principles of Mirza Isfahani. First, in the discussion on knowledge – and showing the inefficiency of mediating concepts and propositions in its acquisition – we present his novel view about science and reason and knowledge in general. After presenting the epistemological issues of Mirza Isfahani, we discuss the knowledge of God, stating that he introduced divine knowledge as something inaccessible to human beings that no one can achieve, and the only exclusive way to know God is the knowledge he Reveal to man. We will continue to talk about Mirza Isfahani’s view on divine knowledge and divine power and how these two belong to beings, and on divine action and divine making. In all these cases, we compare his views with similar issues in philosophy as much as possible, as he himself has done. After summarizing the issues raised, it appears that Mirza Isfahani, by alienating and separating the field of science and reason (knowledge) from the datuum and the reasonable  (known) and their sign on the purification of divine knowledge from the known and divine power from the capable and reminding Divine view and divine providence in the creation of creatures, do not accept the theory of emanation of the world from God, which is based on the causal system. The result is that the evils, like the other beings in this world, are the creatures of God and are existential matters, and not His effect, until we encounter the dilemma of the incompatibility of the God absolute good and the existence of the evil. At the end and under the title “Evil with awareness” we will talk about the expression of justice, protection, training, testing, faith increasing, raising the ranks and other reasons for the creation of evil by God.