نشریه رهیافت هایی در علوم قرآن و حدیث
سال چهل و سوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 86، بهار و تابستان 1390)

Along with the communication era and bringing forth the interdisciplinary discussions, dealing with the spiritual grandeur of the Qur’anic verses and concepts from the perspective of various sciences and attempts or better understanding them requires employment of new scientific findings. This important task is possible through rendering it into various languages and cultures. Obviously, presenting a translation that can correspond to the Holy Qur’an is definitely impossible. However, it is always attempted to translate the Qur’anic concepts in a sound way. With an examination of the extant translations, interpretations, and expressions of the Qur’anic vocabulary, since the theory of semantic networks expresses a great number of words in an interrelated network, the translator would be situated in an atmosphere that enables him/her to present a more accurate translation and interpretation of the Qur’anic vocabulary into different languages by inclusion of mental, cultural, cognitive, and linguistic dimensions as well as relevant time line considerations. Also, the relational patterns are very useful data bases in the procedures of access to the vocabulary through the index of the Qur’anic verses (kashf al-abyat), based on semantic relations, Qur’anic searches into Web pages, and automatic translation and interpretation programs.

One of most frequently stated phrases of Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya is related to repentance and asking for God’s pardon for the sins that are not only incompatible with the infallibility of Imam al-Sajjad (A.S.) but are inconsistent with ordinary human beings as well. This article intends to bring up and study some of the solutions for the above-mentioned enigma. On this basis, in explanation of the conflict erupted between the infallibility of the Imam and confession to sins in supplications, the phrases related to the discussion are divided into two categories: The first consists of some phrases that because of their content are not to be attributed to the Infallible Imam (A.S.); it seems that the supplication of the Infallible (ma’sum) and his confession to sins in these cases is related to other human beings as the existential rank of the Infallible Imam (A.S.) and not to the specific presence of his holiness. The second, includes the supplications in which the kind of confession to sins is not in conflict with the Infallibility of the chosen friends of Allah since the sin in the conventional sense of the word is not implied from it; because the slightest distance from God and preoccupation with other than Allah, and as such not the kind of distance and preoccupation that are more or less common among other human beings, is regarded insolent and as an unforgivable sin towards the Glory of the Lord, and eventually making any proclamation is regarded as if standing up against Allah, the Almighty, for which the Imam asks for His pardon.

Muslim phoneticians and the scientists of the art of recitation (orthoepists) have based the entity of a letter on two foundations: point of articulation and properties. Accordingly, they have categorized Arabic letters and tried to scientifically explain the phonetic process existing in the science of correct recitation of the Qur’an (tajwid); however, they have not been successful in many instances and have been widely disagreed. These disagreements have caused different readings (qara’at) of the Holy Qur’an. This article has viewed from contemporary perspective of phonetics and phonemics what our earlier scholars have said about tajwid and presented a scientific and modern description of it. On this basis, it has achieved a new classification of the Arabic Language, a new definition of such terms as convergent (mutiqarib), homogeneous (mutijanis), and divergent (mutiba’id) letters, and a new explanation of tajwid processes like assimilation (idqam).

The word salat is one of the most significant Qur’anic words, which is used in various verses. The researchers have suggested various concepts for this word in their researches. However, since these suggestions were not scholarly well-grounded, the choice of the equivalents have somehow suffered disorder and inconsistency. There is also disagreement concerning the root of the word and its being deficient in waw or ya. Etymological study indicates that salat is among the common words in the Semitic group of languages, which the early Arab poets have employed and it has been a quite familiar word in the pre-Islamic era. Also, the root salu has been used in the South Arabian epitaphs by the meaning of supplication and ritual prayer. Relying on these researches and examining the historico-semantic evolution of the word, this article proposes its equivalent in four sections: A. Ritual prayer (the Muslims’ doctrinal invocation), B. Prayer (personal invocation), C. Invocation (in its absolute sense), D. Salutation (with the intention of honoring).

The Qur’an has informed about the presence of angels in heaven and has deprived and prohibited the devils and jinns from hearing their words. That is to say, whenever a rebellious devil (Satan) intends to listen to the words of the angels, it will be targeted by meteorites and get rejected and disappointed. The present article explores into and reappraises the related verses and states that the Qur’anic proposition of “lapidation of Satan with meteorites” does not by any means deny the natural causes of the appearance of meteorites and that the Qur’an is exonerated in this respect of any inconsistency with scientific data.

When researching on the Meccan and Medinan verses, knowledge about the criteria and definitions of the arbitrators is important and effective. For the first time, Zarkeshi brought up the claim of difference in definitions of Meccand and Medinan and from among the three definitions of time- place- and addressee-oriented, he himself chose the former one. The studies indicate that the sahaba and tabi’in (companions and their successors), whose opinions are relied on in recognition of Meccan and Medinan [verses] have paid attention to all three criteria, but they have preferred the criterion of time in their arbitrations. Of the definitions left behind by the earlier Qur’an researchers, only the definition based on time is seen and in their arbitrations sometimes the superiority of the place criterion and most of the time the time criterion is noticed. More recent Qur’an researchers have added the content-oriented definition to the previous definitions and have mostly preferred time-oriented definition; and in terms of arbitration, a great number of them have arbitrated according to place but mostly have arbitrated according to time.