پژوهشنامه معارف قرآنی
پیاپی 14 (پاییز 1392)

Comprehensiveness of the Qur’an is one of the most important topics in tafsīr (exegesis of the Qur’an). Allameh Tabataba’i's views, as one of the most prominent tafsīr figures, are of crucial importance and can be used to solve a number of important problems raised under this topic. For Allameh, comprehensiveness of the Qur’an refers to the book’s completeness. He believes that comprehensiveness of the Qur’an, in all its types and forms, is based on its zāhir (exterior—apparent meaning) and bātin (interior—hidden meaning) together. In the zāhir, virtue ethics can be found to have been discussed in details, but other guidance, rules and instructions are only discussed in general, and the details of them are found either in rivāyāt (Islamic narrations) or through other ways. Two types of comprehensiveness are addressed in Allameh’s works on the Qur’an:1.The Qur’an’s comprehensiveness in terms of completeness of its teachings compared to other books of revelation2.The Qur’an’s comprehensiveness in terms of completeness of its teachings regardless of other books of revelation

Tafsir al-Quran wa huwa al-Huda wa-al-Furqan is a book on exegesis of the Qur’an, written by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Hindi, which follows a radical rational approach in giving explanations for accounts of metaphysical or esoteric matters in the Qur’an, often producing implausible interpretations. Three main factors appear to contribute to the author’s intellectual diversion in addressing the Qur’an, particularly in respect to verses on miracles or extraordinary events: socio-political changes of the time, the author’s disregard of the exterior and sīyāq (context) of the verses, and influences of the Testaments. This paper explores a number of interpretations given in the book for miracles of prophets and then it critically examines them.

The Qur’an, the last book of the Divine Revelation, has two domains: the domain of zāhir (exterior-apparent meaning) and that of bātin (interior-hidden meaning). Only a few specific people are thoroughly aware of both, so the human society needs those people in order to be connected to the truth in its fullest and to travel the path of excellence. The Shi‘a school believes that the fourteen Infallibles are the ones who have full knowledge of zāhir and bātin of the Qur’an, and that their knowledge is far beyond regular knowledge and is connected to the Divine source through certain channels. The latter is proved using a number of the Qur’an verses and several rivāyāt (Islamic narrations). The present paper uses a library method and an analytical approach to investigate and prove Imām’s comprehensive awareness and knowledge of the Qur’an. Connection of Imām to the truths of the Qur’an is then explored using examination of different channels of Imām’s awareness of the zāhir and bātin of the Qur’an, and the paper reveals that this quality in Imām is due to his status in the universe for supporting people’s guidance by Allah.

The present paper aims to explore geometry of knowledge in the Quranic thought. It employs a descriptive-analytical method and analyses data acquired form a number of books and references. In the Qur’an, not every confrontation or relationship with knowledge is regarded as one which can guide humans toward excellence and perfection. Among the relationship the paper has found, including bearing, understanding, criticizing and constructing knowledge, only the latter is introduced as the superior relationship. Based on the teachings of the Qur’an, knowledge has intrinsic characteristics, including doubtability, boundlessness, authenticity, sacredness, direction and eternity, all of which together create a special framework and geometry for knowledge in a way that clears the boundaries between them and a number of similar words used in other contexts. The last part of the paper examines a number of barriers which create challenges for humans in their journey toward knowledge and yaqīn (certainty).

The family lifestyle in Islam is like a tree whose roots are beliefs and thought and whose branches are the family members and their duties. The family lifestyle therefore has various aspects. The present study aims to investigate the family lifestyle in the Qur’an and sunnah of the fourteen Infallibles in the Shi‘a belief in the following aspects: marriage and forming a family, the family environment, and spouse caregiving. In the perspective of the Qur’an and sunnah, beliefs play a fundamental role in the family, marriage is sacred and all people are called and encouraged to form families with marriage, taqwā (piety), reason, good conduct and similarity in social statuses are the criteria that need to be satisfied in marriage, management of the family should be handled by the husband, all family member need to take responsibility toward each other, most importantly including the father’s crucial role in religious upbringing of the children, the husband and wife should form a collaboration between themselves at home, and good conduct and compassion with the wife is highlighted.

The human, as the most important creature in the universe with special qualities, has always been a topic of focus for various scholars, each group investigating the human with their particular focuses and insights. The most comprehensive and yet most secure way to acquire an understanding about the human, however, is by referring to God and investigating the Divine sources provided by Him in this topic area. The present paper refers to these sources and employs an analytical-descriptive method to explore qualities of the human and his creation. The paper then searches the common definition of the ‘human’ in the Qur’an, based on which it then investigates factors contributing to the human’s attainment to ‘excellence’ and his failure in this course. A close look at the Qur’an verses reveals that the human, as the ahsan al-makhlūqīn (the best of all creation), is a being whose quality of creation differs from that of other creatures in the universe, and he can attain to the status of khalīfat Allāh (Allah’s representativeness) by resorting to the knowledge revealed by God and by proper faith and beliefs.

One way to prove existence of God and gain awareness of the levels of tawhīd (doctrine of Oneness) is by understanding the human and his various types of relationship with Allah. In his famous munājāt (colloquy with Allah) in the Great Mosque of Kufah, Imam Ali (A.S.) says, ‘My Lord, O My Lord, You are the Affluent and I am the poor, and does anyone but the affluent have mercy on the poor? ’ The same sense is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in two verses, the more complete of which is verse 15 of surah al-Fatīr: ‘O mankind! You are the poor in your relation to Allah, and Allah is the Ever-Affluent, the Ever-Praised ’ (35:15). The present paper aims to study the role of philosophical attitudes adopted by philosophers in tafīr (exegesis of the Qur’an) of this verse, to explore the content of the verse, and to elaborate views of both Shi‘a and Sunni exegetists in respect to the verse. In addition to characterizing the true beings of the human and God, the intention in the verse is to describe an argument for the existence of God. This paper explores the seven views explained by exegetists, all of whom have suggested that the best and most comprehensive meaning of the verse is the one related to the Argument for Destitutional Possibility [of existence], and it then contrasts the argument with the Argument for Substantive Possibility [of existence], and outlines a number of conclusions.