ماهنامه معرفت
سال نوزدهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 151، تیر 1389)

In his "Supplication of Complainers", Imam Sajjad complains to God of a defective heart which suffers from cruelty. The word heart is used here to mean spirit or human soul. When the focus of heart is on Divine nature, it remains pure; but when rusted it gets sick. Among the main factors of mans hard- heartedness are committing sins, pursuing desires and inclinations, Satans whispering, heart rustiness and having a sealed heart. Tenderness of heart, feeling of fear, submission to heart tranquility and affection are signs of the purity of heart. Those who want to repent and return to the right path and refine their souls and clean off the rust from the heart should not sin and they are in need of Gods aid.

Civic rights are among the rights which have been decreed by God, and because they have natural basis, they are fixed and subject to no changes of time, place, or tastes, fancies and doubtful thoughts, which follows that man can, by nature, enjoy all his natural rights. On the other hand, human social life has some conditions and observing it is a logical necessity and natural and rational basis for achiving the hoped - for goal of any society. The authors aim is to show that the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil is one of the civic rights and natural needs and that it has an essential role in straightening out the society and overcoming the hardships. It is also the best means of attaining both individual and social welfare and the first-class facility for safeguarding civic rights. In addition to its loftiness, this principle has an external sense, and can be achieved if it is given due attention. The violations of social norms which we see today is an outcome of not institutionalizing the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil, an act which is inconsistent with the civic rights.

The present study is concerned with the degree of social confidence among the people of Babul and the factors that affect it. Social confidence, the origin of developing social relations, the development of a society and its growth or decrease have a great effect on the different structures of society and peoples social relations. This issue has been of special interest to a large number of sociologists in the last decades. This study seeks to answer these questions: what is the degree of social confidence among the people of Babul? Do they have high social confidence or is their social confidence low? For analysing the data, the researcher has drawn upon descriptive intersecting tables and statistical tests like kandal, Sperman, Whitney. The results show that the degree of social confidence among the people is not high, and that social confidence has significant relationship with age, education and income.

Going into mourning for Imam Husayn plays an important role in safeguarding Islam, and for this purpose the leaders of Islam mourn the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.). The present essay introduces a sociological analysis of the effects of going into mourning for the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.). Social correlation, introducing good examples, creating spirtual atmosphere, organizingreligious - cultural centres, and peoples growing religious zeal resulting from the mourningsessions and gathernings contribute to the solidarity of religious society. This kind of gatherings and sessions through which religious knowledge is spread, can safeguard Islamic culture and make it known to later generations. Also, during this ceremony, religious values - like declaring enmity to the enemies of Imam Husayn and loyalty to the frinds of Imam Husayn are revived and the notion of jihad (straggle in the cause of Islam) and yearning for martyradom is disseminated. All this guaranees the sustainablity of Islam.

The ceremonies held in the month of Muharram is among the most widespreed, most exciting and most popular rituals in the Iranian culture. It is, therefore, one of the factors of strengthing religious and national solidarity in Iran, and culture correlation between the countries of the region. These ceremonies are similar in content but they differ in form in the different places and cultures, and it is their form that attracts the attention. So, the acquaintance with the hidden values in the Ashura ceremonies and its lofty cultural status, has special significance. In Yazd, people perform symbolic funerary rites every year to mourn for the martyres of Ashura, which is Known "Nakhl Gardani". In Iran Muharam ceremonies are, perhaps, more widespread and more prevalent than any other type of ceremonies. People associate the word "nakhl" (meaning palm- tree) to Muharram "ceremonies, and this tree is grown in most parts of Iran and it is known by the people who live in the areas that do not have palm-trees. This research sheds light on the "nakhl ceremonies" held in Muharram and touches on the oblational acts and values of these ceremonies, focusing on their cultural and sociological effects.

With the gradual development of the grounds of Islamic civilization, the division of science into various disciplines and the classification of branches of knowledge according to their criterion was pursued as one of the fundamental scientific need in the Islamic world. In the Middle Ages there was a traditional specialized type of classification and the perspective of each branch of knowledge and its relationship with other branches became evident, and it is in this way that intellectual and cultural needs of Islamic world were satisfied. Providing an overview of the main kinds of classification and comparing between them, the author points out to the factors and grounds of the various kinds of classification, their strenghts and weeknesses and their course of development. The criteria of classification, such as theosophical and non - theosophicalknowledge, intellectual and shari knowledge, practical and theoretical arts, Arabic or non -Arabic identity of knowlege, etc have been the subject of speculation in this essay.

The recent decades witnessed a revival of Islam in various political and social aspects, and this revival is often referred to as the "Islamic Awakening Movement". The first front of Islamic awakening of the Sunni Muslims was led by well known figures like Seyyed Jamal, Muhammaad Abdah, Rashid Rida, and by Ikhwan al- Muslimin. Religion and politices, in their view - particularly Seyyed Jamal and Ikhawan al- Mulsim - are intermingled and cannot be separated. The pioneers of Islamic awakening movement think that the materialistic civilization of the west along with the western colonial nature are like a coin with two sides, and so they warned Muslims from being fascinated by the attractiveness of technology and from being affected by effected by the materialistic civilization. Muhammad Abdahs view on this issue is not the same as that of his master - Seyyed Jamal, or that of Ikhwan al - Muslim. the Islamic awakening movement has a very long history and it has had blights over the ages. Therefore, Muslims should enjeyspecial firmness and alertness.

In his reflection on the Islamic concepts of government and communication, the author focuses on the process of tabligh (distribution of knowledge) as the main feature of social communication in Islam. He mentions five fundamental Islamic principles and considers them as the concepts that determine the ethical framework of tabligh in Islam. They include among other the concepts tawhid (unity of God), the concept of ilm (knowledge), the meaning of taqwa (fear of God), the process of adl (justice), the notion of ijma (consensus), shura (consulation), the doctrine of amanat (public interest) and the ummat (the large Islamic community). International and cultural communication are among the essential characteristics of Islamic community. In Islam, tabligh is a theory of communication and ethics. In order to be familiar withthis theory, it is necessary to touch on five important principles in Islam: tawhid as a theory which implies the unity, coherence, and harmony betwen all parts of the universe; commanding to the right and prohibiting from the wrong as a doctorine of responsibility, guidance and action; ummah or community - a concept which transcends national borders and political boundaries; taqwa which explains the ethical framework of journalism in Islam; and Amanat which refers to Divine Vicegerency for which human beings alone are fit and none alse can share this honour with them.