فصلنامه اندیشه تقریب
پیاپی 31 (پاییز 1392)

Taghiyeh i.e. dissimulation is a conventional act approved by Islam and introduced as an original Islamic concept. Dissimulation means preserving and guarding; and in jurist terminology it means concealing reality from others or replacing non-real instead of the real in order to save something more important than the real issue. Legitimacy of dissimulation can be deduced according to the Quranic verses such as verse 28 Surah Al-e Omran and verse 106 Surah Nahl. Some people have described dissimulation as a concept fabricated by Shiite religion and considered it as the Shiite beliefs; however, by referring to the Quranic exegesis and Feqhi books of Islamic denominations, it is observed that the entire Islamic denominations have authenticated it and acted accordingly. Of course, it should be mentioned that the non-Shiite scholars have limited application of dissimulation to the time when there is an extreme pressure or situation; nevertheless, Emamiyeh scholars, such as Imam Khomeini have divided dissimulation to different classifications and allowed some classes, e.g. Modatati dissimulation even when there is no extreme situation.

This paper compares the interoperations of two major Shiite and Sunni exegete regarding the Quranic verse ''Man''. Firstly, the overall structure of the two exegetes and their exegesis and then other viewpoints regarding Surah ''Man'' are assessed. The most important difference in the viewpoints are related to the reason of revelation and the question whether they are revealed in Mecca or Medina. Seyed Ghotb believed that the Surah was revealed in Mecca and Alameh Tabatabaee, like other Shiite exegetes was of the belief that this Surah was revealed in Medina to describe the status of Ahl-e Bayt (a.s); i.e. it was revealed after the household of Imam Ali (a.s) fulfilled their vow for healing Imam Hassan (a.s) and Imam Hossein (a.s) and when the poor and the orphan came before Imam Ali's (a.s) house and they helped them; i.e. the Surah was revealed to reflect greatness and munificence of Imam Ali's (a.s) household. Since there are some documents and proofs, e.g. mentioning of ''prisoner'' in verse eight, it is clear and undeniable that the Surah is revealed in Medina and for the status of Ahl-e Bayt.

This article assesses the Fatwa of Dr. Khaled Ibn Mofleh Ale Hamed regarding lack of a religious permission for producing manmade rain. This honorable researcher presents some evidence and the supporting ideas of other scholars to prove his claim. We have tried to first assess the theories behind forbidding producing manmade rain and answer such theories and second, explain the reasons for proving religious decree regarding producing manmade rain and last we explain the Hokm-e Thanawi regarding the issue.

The present paper assesses the unity and lack of social cohesion according to Quranic verses; it intends to prove that Quran pays more attention to social issues particularly unity and social cohesion of Muslims than personal issues. The Quran calls for Muslims to develop a united society in order to achieve material and spiritual gains. This article assesses three subjects, i.e. barriers, strategies and achievements of unity.

God has revealed different religions in different eras to guide mankind to heaven. The question to ask is whether one can follow the former religions or shall they convert to the new religion. According to Muslims, Islam is the last divine religion which is comprehensive and designed for all times and after its revelation, it is a must for everyone to follow it and following other religions is not true. There are three reasons why it is not true: first, change (alteration) in divine books; second, proofs in other former religions; and third, last of the prophets and comprehensiveness of Islam. The first reason needs to be assessed in another research; however, the second and third reasons support necessity of following Islam.

The most important duty of a historian is to rightfully record the events and refrain from any bios. Masudi, the major historian of his time, observed the same requirement in his works; he has recorded the events of his time like a judge without any partiality. Most of the writings of Masudi have been lost including the book entitled, ''Akhbar Al-Zaman" in thirty volume; only one volume of this book is available which is entitled, ''Moroj Al-Zahab". However, this work and the other available book entitled, ''Al-Tanbih wa Al-Ishraf" are so well-written that they reflect the author's expertise and skillfulness. In this two books, Masudi has tried to record the events occurred during the life of the Prophet (a.s) and the ones happened after his demise without any prejudice. He explains, ''anyone who reads this book shall be aware that I did not support any religion and neither did I support any saying''; that is why it is not easy to indicate Masudi's religion, and only a few of the historians of his time pointed to his religion. This character of Masudi goes back to his good spirit and his non-bios approach. He can be introduced to Islamic society as one of the proximity seekers. The present paper attempts to introduce Masudi's personality in order to take a step towards unity among Islamic religions.

Jordan is an old land internationally recognized for the name of the river located in West Asia. The historical background can be found in the Bible and historical resources; the name of Jordan has been mentioned in religions and historical events since the region has been an important region and the river located in the region is a major river. The author assesses Amir Abdullah -government, the U.K and France colonialism and its independence. The researcher explains the dispute between Amir Abdullah and the Jews and the relation of Jordanians with the Muslims of Palestine based on their Islamic and Arabic commonalities.