Rereading Divine Justice in the Light of an Inquiry Into the Theological Ontology of Imām Khomeinī and Fakhr Rāzī

Knowing God and His Attributes is the basis of all religious beliefs and a necessary condition for faith (Arabic: إیمان, romanized: ʾimān) and action. Therefore, Shubha (Arabic: شبهه, lit.: doubt, obscurity, or mis-grounded conceit) and theoretical disorder in this field will cause irreparable damage to the belief system and consequently to the practical conduct of human beings. The current research is going to resolve some doubts about Divine justice with the aim of the redefinition of Divine justice in the light of an inquiry into the ontology of theologians. The research method is descriptive-analytical and the research data have been analyzed through documentary review, note-taking and an argumentative approach. The books of Imām Khomeinī and Fakhr Rāzī are the research sources, and other sources related to the research goals have been used as explanatory and supplementary sources. The findings indicate that the act of bringing-into-existence from Fakhr Rāzī’s point of view is a direct act of God and man has no act of bringing-into-existence. Good and evil are based on the will of Shāriʿ Muqaddas (Arabic: شارع المقدس, the Sacred Legislator), and God’s justice is also due to the fact that He is God. However, Imām Khomeinī believes that humans, as voluntary agent (free agent) have a role in creation. Good and evil are intrinsic and are based on intellect. Therefore, God is just, as He does not commit evil deeds and the divine realm is free from imperfect creation.