حسام عطائی

Abstract

The question of how humans came to exist in this world has a long history in human life, with traces of it found from ancient myths to the emergence of religions and their claims regarding creation and the Fall.

But how does such a story become problematic? In other words, when does this narrative lead to philosophical questions, separating it from its mythological, literary, and other implications?

It is clear that if we seek a criterion for this story, a multitude of questions arises; namely, if we accept the reality—if not entirely, at least a significant portion—of it, questions arise regarding the Creator and the creation, His nature, the quality and quantity of creation and the Fall, the purposes behind them, the soul and spirit, and so on.

One of these issues is the existence of evil in the world, which fundamentally shapes the >In any case, those who adhere to and believe in this story must find a way to justify and explain the presence of Adam in this world filled with, if not evil, at least discomforts and adversities.

For example, the Abrahamic religions, particularly Islam, which are among those believers, must at least be able to justify and explain this belief to strengthen and solidify themselves.

Now, considering these preliminaries, what we are investigating is the interpretation of one Islamic commentator, Allameh Muhammad Hussein Tabatabai, regarding the story of the Fall.

In this project, we aim to examine whether, based on Allameh Tabatabai's views on the Fall and the problem of evil, it is possible to arrive at a satisfactory justification for the story of the Fall or not.

Key Words: The Fall, Tabatabai, The problem of evil, Creation