مجله پژوهش های قرآن و حدیث
سال چهل و چهارم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1390)

There are hadiths whose understanding and accepting would become possible not merely through observing principles of communication and not for everybody, but rather for specific addresses who are endowed with specific degree of knowledge. Such hadiths, which are narrated in Shiite collections of hadiths in a variety of forms and by various chains of transmission, are entitled “difficult and complicated” in Traditions. Understanding of some of such hadiths is possible only for three groups of proximate angels, outstanding prophets, and those believers whose hearts are examined for the faith; and understanding of some others is not possible even for those groups - such affirmation and negation referring to different degrees of hadiths. Consideration of whole text of such hadiths indicates their close relation with virtues of Shi‘a holy Imams and since perception as well as belief in the veraciousness of such affairs is very difficult for the masses on the one hand and holy Imams were living under circumstances of dissimulation on the other, Imams recommended their close companions not to broadcast them. To approach such hadiths is in need of special ways among them being referring them to the Almighty, the Prophet, and Imams without denying them.

Prophets’ hadiths are such hadiths narrated in Islamic Traditional books which narrate some words of divine prophets or ancient celestial books. Those hadiths are scattered on the one hand and on a variety of subjects on the other. Gathering and classification of those hadiths bear fruitful results. There are 1053 hadiths narrated from 34 prophets in Traditional books of them 60% deal with fundamental teachings, 27% with ethical issues, and 13% with rituals and precepts. This indicates that religions and teachings of divine prophets are the same as to fundamental teachings. There are numerous common points in ethical issues as well, and it is only in the precepts that some differences appear.

Professor Abolghasem Gorji was an outstanding professor and also an eminent jurist of contemporary Iran whose valuable works were chiefly on jurisprudence and law and then on the Quranic sciences – as his edition of Quranic commentary Jawami‘ al-Jami‘ as well as annotations found in the end of a treatise entitled “criteria of veraciousness of commentaries” can clearly prove. Presenting a biography and introducing Dr. Gorji’s most celebrated books, the present essay expounds some of his perspectives on the Quranic sciences including definition of Quranic sciences, definition of commentary, arbitrary commentary, commenting on the Quran by the Quran, definition of clear and ambiguous, the relation of the Quran with rules of Arabic literature, and the relation between Quranic sciences and the science of usul al-fiqh.

Being an outstanding hadith transmitter of Sunni hadith collections as well as narrating some hadiths in Shiite collections while having some relation with Shiite fourth, fifth, and sixth Imams on the one hand and occupying various posts for 45 years in Marwanid court on the other, Zuhri played a significant role in organizing and writing down hadiths. Such a background caused contradictory judgments on his real position. While al-Shaikh al-Tusi and some others called him enemy, al-Muhaqqiq al-Bihbahani and others considered him Shi‘a and even a trusty, close companion of the fourth Imam and some such contemporary scholars as al-Khuee and Tustari, treated him as being Sunni but a moderate figure. Investigation of his mundanely behavior and chiefly partial narrations reveals that he was on the border moving closer to enmity and going astray more and more with the passage of time. Thus, to consider him as enemy is not that far from truthfulness.

In His Mushkilat al-Hadith, Yahya Muhammad denies knowledge and innocence of Shiite Imams through presenting such proofs as the way companions of later Shiite Imams dealt with the issue of imama, formation of various Shi‘a sects, perplexity and dispute of Shiites as to imama of the next Imam in every era, not presenting al-Kafi to four vicegerents of the twelfth Imam, and lack of belief in the knowledge and innocence of Imams manifested in the specific perspective of school of Qom as to exaggeration. Yahya’s claim, however, has no sense of validity; for the social-political situation of Shiites in later Imams’ time, caused by political pressure and associated with severe dissimulation, made availability of Imams limited and resulted thereby in less hadith transmission. Such factors as preparing Shiites for entering the occultation era, commitment of Shiites to correct recording of chain of transmissions, and loss of letters and writings of Imams had also reduced direct narration from their contemporary Imams. Not presenting al-Kafi to four vicegerents of the twelfth Imam is also caused by the atmosphere of insecurity and dissimulation, existence of evidence of authenticity of hadiths of al-Kafi in Kulaini’s view, and lack of direct mutual relation between kulaini and four vicegerents; it is not a sign of Kulaini’s doubt as to knowledge and innocence of Imams or his distrust of their vicegerents. On the other hand, enumeration of Imams’ virtues and divine qualities in hadiths they have collected in their books is a sign of deep belief of scholars of school of Qom in the knowledge of Unseen as well as innocence of Imams and their divine vicegerence.

Investigating a hadith narrated from the fifth Shi‘a Imam (Abu Ja‘far Muhammad al-Baqir) in two Quranic commentaries of al-Tibyan and Majma‘al-Bayan, the present essay finds its origin in al-Masabih fi Tafsir al-Qur’an by Abu al-Qasim Wazir Maghribi (370-418 A.H.). Wazir Maghribi attributes that hadith to Abu Ja‘far in an ambiguous way. However, that hadith is neither narrated in Shiite books on hadith and Quranic commentary, including the first Shiite traditional commentaries, before Maghribi nor is recorded in the most significant Sunni sources of traditional commentary such as Abu Ja‘far Tabari and Ibn Abi Hatim Radi. The present essay attempts to discover traces of the said hadith, as well as similar traditions, in old sources of hadith and commentary and to indicate that Wazir Maghribi has narrated so many commentarial hadiths from Tafsir al-Kalbi (d. 146 A.H.) attributing them all to Abu Ja‘far, i.e., the Shiit’s firth Imam. Almost all of those hadiths are related to story narration, causes of descend, determination of ambiguous points, and Quranic figures and places. Method of this essay is not analyzing chains of transmission, but rather a synthesis of two methods of analysis of the text and analysis of sources.

As the last celestial message for mankind, the holy Quran has not dealt only with economical, spiritual, juristic, ritual, etc. aspects of man’s life; rather, it has constantly taken correction of people’s beliefs into consideration. Belief in superstitions and wrong beliefs can harm the society as well as individuals in a serious, irremediable way. Damages being caused by evil eyes and belief in the supernatural power of some looks are among such problems which involve a lot of people. The verse wa in Yakad is presented in some hadiths and Quranic commentaries as a sign to ward off the evil eye. Having investigated opinions of outstanding Shi‘a and Sunni Quranic commentators from early Islam up to contemporary era and having considered views of Allama Tabatabaee and Sayyid Qutb specifically, the present research intends to inquire into the reality of this subject and expound type of denotation of that verse as to the topic in question.