The problem of evil in Mevlana?s Mathnawi

This study entitled ?The Problem of Evil in Mevlana?s Mathnawi? aims toexplore the concept and problem of evil with a special reference to Mevlana?sMathnawi, as it is evident from the title, and to contribute it makes both to Islamicphilosophy in particular and to philosophy of religion in general.The thesis comprises of four chapters. The first chapter of the study focuses onexplaining the conceptual information in the aim to understanding the issue in question.For this reason, preliminary and basic knowledge about the philosophical concept of eviland the problem of evil is evaluated in this chapter.In the second chapter, the problem of how the problem of evil is dealt with inIslamic thought. were analized. Here the study concentrates on the problem of evil in theQur?ân, Islamic philosophy and in the science of Kalam, which are the major fulcrumand components of Islamic thought.The third and fourth chapters, which are the essential parts of the research, areassigned for the investigation of the concept and problem of evil in Mevlana?sMathnawi. Openly, in the third chapter, the concept of evil is taken up first and theanalysis of the kinds and modes of evil in Masnawi follows it. In the last chapter, thecase of how the problem of evil is constructed in Masnawi in connection with the majorsciences of Islamic thought such as the Qur?an, Islamic philosophy and the scienceKalâm was explored and classified.In conclusion, this study aims at enquiring into the notion of evil in Mevlana?sMasnawi, who was a prominent Islamic thinker, and, in so doing, it intends to contributeto the discussion of the problem of evil in religious thought and especially in thephilosophy of religion.Key words: Mevlana, Mathnawi, good and evil, ?Problem of Evil?, Theodicy, IslamicPhilosophy.