نشریه سفینه
پیاپی 29 (زمستان 1389)

There exists a dispute amongst the Islamic scholars concerning when the prophethood of the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him and his pure progeny) began. A number of scholars hold that he became a prophet at the age of forty. Others believe that his prophethood commenced at the beginning of his childhood, after he had beenfully nursed. A third group believe that he was prophet even before the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) was created. They use as their proof a narration from the Prophet of Islam in which he is reported to have said, "I was a prophet whilst Adam (peace be upon him) was between water and mud. The two questions that will be examined in this dissertation are: 1. When did the prophethood of the Prophet of Islam commence? 2. What was his creed before his appointment?

The need for the prophets is worth discussing from two different viewpoints: 1. Man¨s need for prophets. 2. The necessary nature of Divine Grace. Philosophers and theologians have offered different theories concerning the need for the appointment of the prophets. Concerning these theories, criticism has been expressed and questions have been raised. According to philosophers, what is meant by necessity is that it must exist for Him and can not be separated from His essence. Based on this, grace and generosity are essential attributes of God. Most theologians, however, rely on the concepts of good and bad according to the intellect in order to prove the necessity of the dispatch of the prophets. This definition of necessity differs from that of philosophers. The rule of divine grace viewed by Shi¨ah great theologians, like ShaykhMufid and Khawajah Tusi, has been criticized and analyzed. The necessity of dispatch of messengers on the basis of divine justice has also been analyzed.

According to the Qur¨anic verses and narrations, the inerrancy of the prophets and divine love are necessities of guidance. A number of the Qur¨anic interpreters have commented on the abovementioned verse in a way that is incompatible with the inerrancy of the Prophet (s), namely, the anxiety of the holy Prophet about forgetting revelation and his anxiety at the beginning of his mission. Considering the concept and nature of divine revelation on the basis of Qur¨anic verses and the presentation of khnowledge and guidance by a holy spirit sent by God, prophets are safeguarded from any error, slip or doubt in the reception and deliverance of divine revelations. A_number of interpreters hold that the Prophet (s) was not secure from satanic inspirations in receiving and delivering divine revelations (the Legend of Gharaniq). In the Qur¨anic exegesis of Manahij al-Bayan, after citing and criticizing some of the commentators of the verse, Ayatullah Miyanaji presents a correct interpretation of the verse.

The seal of the prophecy by the Prophet of Islam is one of the questions raised in our society. A theory raised regarding the philosophy of the seal of prophethood is that mankind doesnot need divine guides any longer. This article raises two criticisms on this theory; then analyses the idiomatic meaning of prophethood and Imamate from two points of view: First, what is the nature of prophethood and Imamate and what are the differences between them? Second, what are the differences in the effects of prophethood and Imamate? Later, considering each one of the two ideas, the philosophy and meaning of seal of prophethood are discussed.

The author deals with prophethood and imamate from several points of view: human inability in attanining divine favor; independent logical fundamentals of embracing religion; the variations of human ranks; the argument of the possibility of the noblest entity; perfect servitude and perfect servant. The integration of intellect and tradition in this text is significant. This article is based on the lessons of Shaikh Mahmud Halabi Khurasani in 1383 A.H.

The writer has reviewed the chain of articles in safineh volumes 4, 5 & 6, titled as "Oneness of God in the holy Qur¨an and Nahj al-Balagha". The poissibility of knowing God; essential difference in the natures of the Creator and creatures; and some common or similarities in the words and views of the writer of those articles with the philosophers are the main points in the current article.

Doubts have continuously been raised on the subject of revelation since the Qur¨an has been revealed and answers have been presented on the basis of extra - and intra - religious norms. The relation between humans as lowermatter and the higher world, the nature of this relationship in terms of lexical and semantic forms, the type of its disclosure to the divine prophets particularly to the Seal of the Prophets, empiricality of revelation and possibility of expanding it,multiple meanings of revelation, and multiple applications of a single meaning of the term are various doubts that have been raised to a number of professors. Both Qur¨anic terms and their meanings were revealed to the heart of the holy Prophet by God and the Prophet would hasten to transmit the exact words to the people. The Quran expressly states that it has been both semantically and lexically revealed. The Qur¨an¨s challenge (tahaddi) is also discussed in this article.