A Comparative Study of the Beauty of the World and the Issue of Evil from the Perspective of Plotinus and Moulavi

The issue of the beauty of the world and its challenge, the issue of the evil, is one of the most important philosophical and theological issues. Plotinus and Molavi, as the two distinguished world scholars, have tried to face this challenge. A lot of their suggested solutions are common: the relative and necessary nature of evil, its eminence from man’s free will and his atomistic approach, and considering it as a prerequisite for soul exaltation. Some of the solutions, solely proposed by Plotinus, are philosophical in nature as is the case with considering evil non-existent and accidental. Such solutions do not seem to convince people as evil causes emotional distress for mankind. In contrast, the solutions that have a mystical aspect are convincing to a large extent. An example in case, which has been proposed by both Plotinus and Moulavi, is the consideration of evil as a prerequisite for the exaltation of the soul. This solution, which was expanded by Moulavi, is very useful and convincing. The specific versions of this solution are as follows: solving the problem of evil with the help of mutual love between man and God and the answers that come from Islamic verses and traditions, such as evil being the cause of awareness, mercy, and purification of the soul, all as signs of love. The present article with a descriptive-analytical library research method concludes that the similarities between the views expressed by Muoulavi and Plotinus can be the result of mystical intuition that is common between them as a source of their thoughts.