The Relationship between Moral Evil and Natural Evil from the Perspective of Augustine and Allameh Tabataba'i

The evil has always been a hindrance to justifying the belief in the absolute Omniscient, absolute Almighty, and absolute Benevolent God. Hence, philosophers and theologians have sought to answer this question in various ways. Allameh Tabataba'i and Augustine are among philosophers who have addressed this issue differently. In the ideas propounded by each one of them, evil is considered as a punishment for sin and the result of man‘s free will . According to these two views, a connection can be established between moral evil and natural evil; thus, moral evil is the result of man‘s free will, and natural evil is the result of moral evil. In other words, natural evil is the punishment for sins and the misuse of free will. Consequently, the belief in a benevolent God can be justified. A significant point in Allameh Tabataba'i and Augustine‘s views is that their theories about the existence of moral and natural evil are justice-oriented. Given that a large part of evil is the punishment for sins; therefore, according to the divine justice, its existence is necessary, and the other part of the evil which is to develop virtues is the result of God‘s beneficence and grace. In this article, considering this point, the relationship between moral evil and natural evil is examined from the perspective of these two thinkers and a comparison is made between them.