ماهنامه معرفت
سال بیست و سوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 196، فروردین 1393)

The present paper expounds Imam Sajjad's supplication about the effects and requirements of love for God. Among the effects of love are the desire to see the beloved, attention to Him, loving Him heartily together with everlasting rapture and desire through which the lover tries to reach the beloved. The joy of desire is not love and rapture; rather, the lover has a far better joy than any kind of material – a joy which cannot be realized easily. Regarding the question whether or not love leads to knowledge we can say that, naturally, one does not love something when one neither knows what it is nor finds any ecstasy in it, because love is a perceptive thing which is based on knowledge. Therefore, love will not last without knowledge. So, we should always remember God all the time and let no place in our heart for the love of any except Him.

Incorrect explanation of the different wars and peace treaties which occurred during Holy Prophet's lifetime raises the doubt that Islam is a "religion of sword". Today, Takfiries who are so-called Muslim have developed "Islamophobia" through their inhuman activities. Therefore, the present paper investigates the question of war and peace in the lifetime of Holy Prophet who is regarded as a good example. In the Holy prophet's lifestyle, his only real aim was to invite people to God; no doubt, he did his hardest to avoid being in a war. Rizwan Allegiance, which accompanied the treaty of Hodaybiyyah and was a sign of Muslim's strength, had led to the consolidation of peace. With this treaty, the Holy Prophet guaranteed security through his heroic act of flexibility and managed to give his message a universal property. The aim of the wars which Muslims fought in Holy Prophet's lifetime was to defend the territory of Islam or to remove the obstacles in the way of spreading Islam; therefore they are considered holy wars during which mercy and kindness were given special attention.

A review of the methods used by the Holy Prophet for promoting the culture of performing prayer in society can provide parents, instructors and administrative authorities with one of the best models of promoting religious teachings including prayer in modern society. The Holy Prophet's mission was in a period in which ignorance, superstitions, irrelevant biases, polytheism and idolatry were prevailing and in which the manifestations of the worship of God were subject to deviation. In such an environment, the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his progeny) prepared the ground for the spiritual relation between man, as a mean creature, and the Most High God by offering a correct picture of the path of man's perfection and his obedience to God and by fostering a culture of performing prayer. To this end, the Holy Prophet’s efforts were directed to two main things: 1- culture- production of every single member of the society by exerting influence on their spirit and thought through providing good examples, correct training, promoting their knowledge and understanding, tolerance and gradual education, etc. 2- making use of the social and political capacities by supervising the way of performing prayers and conduct of prayer leaders and prioritizing prayer even in political relations, etc. In this way, the Holy Prophet managed to prepare the ground for internalization of the culture of performing prayer among Muslims.

The Jewish were among the groups who seriously opposed the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) after his emigration to Medina. The Jewish were a dangerous threat to the newly-established religion of Islam, but the Holy Prophet managed to face this threat, hatch the plots which the Jewish devised and save Islam and Islamic territory by explaining Islamic discourse, adopting systematic strategies and policies and exercising a wise leadership. The Holy Prophet's strategies to confront Jewish is as an important subject, and so the present paper, using a historical analysis method and referring to the holy Quran as the main source, and to first hand sources and some recent studies and research, seeks to expound this issue. The research findings indicate that the Holy Prophet managed to counter Jewish deceptions, spoil their plots and protect Islam and Muslims from their conspiracies by his overall and wise management. To this end, he used different kinds of methods such as entering into treaty with Jewish, inviting and guiding them to Islam, showing patience and tolerance and finally taking a rigid attitude against them. The study of the Holy Prophet's interaction with the Jewish and understanding the principles, frameworks and logic of this interaction help contemporary Muslims to have a clear idea about the principles and frameworks which they adopt in their interactions with non-Muslims, harmonize their acts with their beliefs and follow the lifestyle of Holy Prophet, who is a goodly example.

In Islam, Imamate or guardianship is regarded as one of the main principles of beliefs and foundations of political, social and cultural life, and, according to Shiah, guardianship enjoys a special and high status, so that it ranks above prayer, fasting, hajj or jihad. The approach adopted by Zahra (peace be upon her), who is the first supporter and defender of rightful divine guardianship and the pioneer in defending the precinct of guardianship, determines the axis of the political and social values in the historical movement of Islam. Her approach in defending the precinct of guardianship in the period between the Holy Prophet's demise and her martyrdom represents one of the important phases in the history of Islam. During this short period of time, Zahra (peace be upon her), as a great politician, set up her "political university" for defending guardianship and could, within less than 100 days, promote her "political culture" and provide the followers of truth with a torch of guidance. Therefore, Using a descriptive-analytical method the present paper introduces a picture of how the precinct of guardianship was defended and explains the critical situation of the time by citing historical evidence. Finally, an account is given about Zahra's theoretical and practical conduct in this political conflict with the aim of consolidating the position of truth and justice.

Expounding a person's political thought and conduct can contribute to the acquaintance with his beliefs and his role in determining political behavior and also to his good understanding of the political structure of the society. The importance of this issue will increase if one analyzes the political structure in the framework of the scientific, spiritual and social position and intellectual- political trends of his time and takes a proper attitude to the political position on the basis of his own doctrinal principles of faith. Given the particular conditions of the rule of Banu 'Abbas and their attempts to control Shias and infallible Imam's political activities, the present paper, using a descriptive analytical method, studies Imam Reza's political thought and conduct vis-à-vis Banu Abbas's political behavior. Among the important research findings which are worth mentioning are: Imam Reza's attempt to take Shias out of the circle of dissimulation temporarily, highlight the issue of Imamate and expose the political illegitimacy of 'Abbasid Caliphs.

Orientalists show different views about Islamic history and Islamic civilization, one of which is the view adopted by Hadgson. Besides addressing the influence of the different sociological, economic, geographical and cultural factors on Islamic civilization, he tries to compare it with the west-oriented tendency which is characteristic of most orientalist's works and study the history of Islam in the broader framework of the history of world. Therefore, the present paper seeks to review his main views within the framework of Islamic studies, included in his work "The Venture of Islam" and then he shows his special attention to the historical processes in ecology, communal interests, creative individual's role, etc in an interesting way. Furthermore, explaining the social conditions on the basis of the function of military elite, bureaucratic officials and aristocrats and laying emphasis on the status of Persian culture have special importance because they can contribute to a deeper understanding of Islamic civilization.

The Holy prophet's words and acts are known as "the Holy Prophet's lifestyle" which includes his sermons, hadiths and actions regarding various personal, social, cultural and political affairs which are deal with in the books of history and biographies of the Prophet. The war led by the Holy Prophet is usually called "Ghazwah", meaning “battle”. Investigating these battles and presenting information about them are called "Maghazi" meaning" place of Ghazwah". The compilation of such information is technically called "Historiography of Maghazi", which is grouped under the heading of biography. At the beginning of the compilation of these kinds of information, historians gathered information about the wars that occurred during the Holy Prophet's lifetime, most of which were called "Maghazi (battles) of God's Messenger". Later on, historiography of Maghazi, however, became part of books on the biography of the Holy Prophet and due to the developments in historiography, the biography of the Holy Prophet and Maghazi came to mean one thing. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the present paper studies the historiography of Maghazi and gives an account about the former historiographers in this field, especially Mohammad Ibn 'Omar al-Waqidi and his book "Al-Maghazi".