نشریه معارف عقلی
پیاپی 42 (بهار و تابستان 1400)

The problem of evil is one of the issues that has long been considered by theists and atheists. Atheists have always used evil as evidence against theism, and theists, on the other hand, have made various analyses to justify the existence of different evils in the universe. The theodicy1 of "man's free will and the universe based on Divine Providence" is one of the theodicies expressed by Richard Swinburne, the contemporary philosopher of religion, in justifying the existence of evil in the universe. According to this theodicy, on the one hand, he believes in man's free will, and on the other hand, he considers the world to be ruled based on laws and characteristics that both bring about the effects that human beings choose based on their own free will and enable human beings to predict and control evil by studying nature. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this research first explains this theodicy and then mentions its problems along with the answers that Swinburne himself has offered.

Knowledge of beings is feasible, and there are many ways to gain this knowledge. According to the Qur'an, some of these ways, such as intellect, heart’s intuitive guidance and sense are internal and everyone can use them. The other ways such as revelation are external and specific to the divine prophets. Although intellect, heart’s intuitive guidance and revelation are the most important ways of knowledge and are necessary for human happiness, some people have conversely abandoned them and turned to sensualism and sensationalism. This extreme view of the senses has caused them to raise theological issues, such as seeing God, His having children, and His poverty. In the area of prophethood, they have expectation for receiving the divine books, and finally, by denying the resurrection, they have restricted themselves to this world. This is while: first, sensory knowledge is based on rational knowledge and is not convincing by itself; second, many things, such as causality, effect, and resurrection, are beyond the realm of sensory perceptions

Intercession is a doctrinal principle and one of the most important theological issues in Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Although the principle of intercession is clearly stated in the Qur'an and the intercession of the Friends of God in the hereafter has been accepted by Muslim commentators (Shiites and Sunnis), some believe that intercession is God's deed and His right, therefore, requesting others to do God's deed is polytheism. The commentators of Al-Manar interpretation (Mohammad Abduh and Rashid Reza) have raised some doubts about this issue. The Shiite commentators, including the author of Tasnim interpretation, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, have tried to answer these doubts using verses and narrative-theological evidence. Intercession is not a change in the divine will, but rather a reasonable deed permitted by Him based on rational reasons. Given the controversialness of intercession among Muslims, it is necessary to take it into consideration. This research aims to study these two perspectives comparatively. First, the doubts about intercession have been addressed. Then, based on Tasnim's interpretation, the Qur'an, and rational and narrative reasons, the doubts have been answered. Relying on library resources, this research has used descriptive-analytical method.

The Holy Qur'an is an eternal miracle for the guidance of mankind. One of the miraculous aspects of the Qur'an which is greatly influenced by computers and software programs is its numerical miracle. This is a topic that has been addressed by many Qur'anic scholars and has led to the formation of many debates and views in favor and against it. Since researchers in the field of numerical miracles deal with counting letters, words, verses and chapters to achieve the desired results, it is necessary to carefully examine flaws to examine the veracity of the opponents' ideas. Using descriptive-analytical method and based on library resources, this research seeks to achieve this goal. The most important objections include presenting a theory based on choosing a particular point of view on controversial issues in the Qur'anic sciences, not adhering to accepted principles and methods, and not following logical rules and expressing exaggerated results. Therefore, expecting a numerical miracle from the Qur'an is misplaced; the expectation that God speaks to His servants through mystery and enigma is fundamentally at odds with the Qur'anic words; because the Qur'an introduces itself as a clear and rich book, not a mysterious and an enigmatic one!

From the perspective of the two disciplines of theology (Kalam) and philosophy, Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi seems to have a dual personality. Because sometimes he has held two different opinions on a scientific issue; one in accordance with theologians’ ideas and the other in congruence with those of philosophers. At first glance, it seems that Khajeh Nasir has been contradictory. For example, from a philosophical point of view, he does not believe in the coming-back of non-existent, and on the other hand, in the preliminaries of the topic of resurrection, he has accepted that non-existence of the universe is possible and in harmony with the narrated proofs. In this paper "resurrection" is studied, and probabilities are discussed and from among them, the viewpoint that corresponds to reality from our point of view is selected as the preferred viewpoint. This paper bases its judgment on the words of Khajeh Nasir. It considers his social and scientific status and the fact that the period in which he lived was marked with widespread attack by theologians against philosophers. Also, considering the moderate, right-oriented and scholarly personality of the late Khajeh, the paper concludes that his personality is pseudo-contradictory, not contradictory. This mainly library study is based on research into the works of Khajeh. We have tried to state Khajeh's point of view after analyzing and examining all the possible aspects. Therefore, where necessary, we have also used the views of commentators.

Discovering Abhari's innovations in the field of metaphysics and theology and determining his historical position in these two fields depend on the typology of philosophical and theological issues in his thoughts. This research studies: 1. problemology (posing and developing philosophical and theological problems); 2. Determining the position of raising problems; 3. Knowing the approaches accepted by Abhari and 4. Classifying his works and finding out their similarities or changes. Based on the findings of this study, Abhari’s philosophical works can be classified into three levels; in terms of content, the works in the first and second levels owe much to the prevailing tradition of writing philosophy, but the works in the third level manifest critical encounters with the views of the Aristotelian-Sinaitic system as well as some of the ideas of Fakhr-e Razi; however, these critical positions have not led to the development of innovative ideas in the field of metaphysics. Abhari's intellectual paradigm is peripatetic, although he is inclined to some of Sheikh Ishraq's views, such as the analysis of perception and some issues of the soul. Ontology, issues related to the obligatory, and the study of the theologians' methods are three important areas in Abhari's metaphysical works. In his theological monograph, Abhari is influenced by the theological principles of Ash'ari. But in most philosophical works, he deals with the issue by adding a chapter to the critique of the principles and issues of Ash'arite theology, including: possible existential identity and contingent accident, the reversibility of non-existent, critique of philosophical determination and the issue of intellects and souls. Abhari, the philosopher, can be considered as a critical thinker, not an innovator of new ideas; however, his role in writing educational materials with a revisionist approach is valuable.