Abstract
Morteza Motahhari was a celebrated Iranian philosopher who proposed a solution to the problem of evil derived from the Holy Quran and the medieval Muslim philosophers Avicenna and Mulla Sadra. He argues that evil is nonexistent or the lack of goodness. He assumes that some types of evil are relative and emphasizes the importance of viewing the world holistically. He claims that the necessity of evil reveals the role of suffering in the development of the human soul. This paper examines Motahhari’s view and the sources that influenced him.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Note that Motahhari's meaning of relativism is not relative versus absolute (al-shar fi muqābil al-muṭlaq), but relative versus actuality (al-shar fi muqābil al-ḥaqīqat), that is, relativism in respect to something else. In the first sense, relativism refers to a set of conditions of which the absolute is independent. According to this interpretation, all contingent and material objects are relative since they depend on a set of conditions, and the only thing you can validate as absolute (al-muṭlaq) is the abstract existent (al-mawjūdat al-mujarradat).
References
Al-Sharif al-Radhi. (1983). Nahj-al-Balaghah (Peak of Eloquence) (A. Jafri, Trans.). Imam Al Khoei Islamic Center.
Avicenna. (2005). The metaphysics of healing (Al-ilahiyat min al Shifa) (M. E. Marmura, Trans.). Brigham Young University Press.
Motahhari, M. (2004). Divine justice (S. H. Abidi, M. Alidina, & Sh. Ali Mirza, Trans.). International Institute for Islamic Studies.
Mulla Sadra. (1981). Al-Ḥikmat al-Mutaʿaliyat fī al-Asfār al-Arbaʿat. Beirut: Dār iḥya al-Turāth al-ʿarabī. Vol. 7.
Rahman, F. (1975). The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra. State University of New York Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wongsena-aree, M. (2023). Morteza Motahhari on the Problem of Evil. In: Hongladarom, S., Joaquin, J.J., Hoffman, F.J. (eds) Philosophies of Appropriated Religions. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5191-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5191-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-5190-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-5191-8
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)