A Comparative Study of Innate Nature in Imam Khomeini’s and Allama Tabatabaei’s Thought

The issue of innate ‘nature’ is, on the one hand, related to theology and is, on the other hand, the key for resolving many issues in anthropology. Human’s mode of existence is accompanied by a series of superb knowledge and attitudes called, in the Quranic culture, the ‘divine nature’ (the Quran, Rum, 30). In Imam Khomeini’s thought, innate natural things are divided into primary and secondary. The primary nature is the nature of love of absolute perfection and absolute goodness and happiness, and the secondary nature is the nature of hating defect and abhorring evil and wickedness. Natural affairs, for Imam Khomeini, are as follows: natural belief in existence of the origin, natural belief in monotheism, natural belief in collection of all perfections in that essence, natural belief in resurrection, natural belief in prophethood, natural belief in existence of angels and spiritual beings as well as revelation of divine books. In Allama Tabatabaei’s view, innate nature means creation from nothingness. What is inferred from Allam’s works is that he has put forward the role of religious nature in three spheres related to principle of monotheism: (1) seeking God, (2) knowing God, and (3) belief in God.