Extended abstract
Introduction
The problem of evil is one of the important issues in philosophy and the new theology, which has always been a place of discussion and reflection by different thinkers. Saint Irenaeus (130-202 AD) is one of the prominent Christian thinkers who played a major role in the defense and evolution of Christian teachings. The explanations he made in this field have caused him to be referred to as one of the greatest “Christian teachers” (Norris, 2004, p.102). Regarding the problem of evil, he has defended the ideas and teachings of Christianity about God and His Absolute Attributes, which describe Him as Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnibenevolence God. According to Irenaeus, evils are the basis for the cultivation of the human soul, and through the evils, man can cultivate his soul in this world, which is the prison of the soul, so that he can reach his true position in the next world again. Despite the efforts of Irenaeus in his theodicy to solve the problem of evil, it must be acknowledged that his theodicy is faced with challenges and deadlocks, and in this research, an attempt is made to analyze and criticize his theodicy from the perspective of Immāmiyya theology.
 
Methodology
In this research, with a descriptive-analytical method and with a critical approach, an attempt is made to investigate the theodicy of Irenaeus and then criticize it from the perspective of Immāmiyya theology.
 
Findings
Irenaeus believes in the Attributes of Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnibenevolence of God, and that He has created man in His Own Image in order to get rid of the immaturity that is one of the characteristics of the material world, to cultivate his soul. All these cases can be considered as the strengths of Irenaeus's theodicy, which are highly consistent with Islamic beliefs. The theodicy of St. Irenaeus, although based on the teachings of Christianity, such as the issue of fall of man, original sin, epistemological distance, etc., has tried to solve the problem of evil, and consider evils as necessary for the cultivation of the human soul, but this theodicy, according to its foundations, faces challenges that make it difficult to be truthful and cannot be a complete answer to solve the problem of evil. According to Immāmiyya theology, the theodicy of Irenaeus is faced with deadlocks that it cannot defend the Existence of God with His Absolute Attributes. According to the principles of Immāmiyya theology, it is clear that some evils are necessary to live in the material world and they cannot be separated from material life, and moral evils are not exempted from this rule (Javadi Amoli, 2006: p.90). On the other hand, relying solely on the role of the evil in the cultivation of the soul is neglecting other underlying factors in this regard. Considering only evil as the cause of cultivation is in conflict with the Attribute of Omnibenevolence (Javadi Amoli, 2008: p. 109). Also, Irenaeus' theodicy ends with pointless evil, but from the perspective of the Holy Quran and reason, there is no pointless evil in the realm of existence (Subḥānī, 2010: p. 109).
 
Discussion and Conclusion
In the theodicy of Irenaeus, it is emphasized that evil is necessary for the advancement and cultivation of the human soul, and it is with the presence of evil that a person is able to achieve perfection as well as ultimate happiness (Irenaeus, 2012, p.84). In his theodicy, St. Irenaeus tries more than anything to justify the problem of evil in a way that does not cause the denial of God's Existence and does not challenge His Absolute Attributes, and on the other hand, does not make the best world of creation seem disordered and endless. From the point of view of Irenaeus, what is considered evil is not really evil, or it is the ignorance of a person who wrongly considers good to be evil (Irenaeus, 1919: p.56). Irenaeus attributes most of the things that are considered evil to human ignorance (Irenaeus, 2012: p. 91; LaCocque, 1987: p.109). Irenaeus wants to explain the nature of evil according to moral evil. Irenaeus believes that moral evil is a necessary condition for the creation of man at an epistemological distance from God, and epistemological distance is a gift to man, which causes him to freely say yes to God based on it, and in response to God's non-coercive presence to actualize man as His servant, to evolve and cultivate his soul and to exalted man from face to likeness (Irenaeus, 2013: p.101). However, it should be noted that although one of the causes of actual human pain is the abuse of human freedom, there are other sources of human pain and suffering that are completely independent of human will; such as floods, earthquakes, famines, or in a more general sense, natural evils (Khalili Noush-Abadi, 2016: p. 107).