نشریه هفت آسمان
پیاپی 43 (پاییز 1388)

In Shiite culture, knowledge is among the properties which characterize Imam; that is, Imam must be the most prominent as regards the knowledge of religious doctrines and rules. In fact, such knowledge is the absolutely necessary condition of Imamate; that is why ever since the Imamate, this characteristic has been one of the major concerns for the Infallible Imams (PBUT), their companions, disciples and followers. As for the quality and extent of Imam's knowledge, there have been a variety of speculations three of which have been considered more than others. The first view holds that we should be silent in regard to Imam's knowledge; the second one regards knowledge as limited; the third one regards it as non-delimited. The third view can be found in Islamic mysticism as well as in philosophy as expressed in Mulla Sadra's transcendent theosophy which is more consistent with Islamic mysticism. In the light of specific philosophical and mystical grounds, the present writing tries its best to elaborate on this view which is almost more widespread.

What Sufism conjures up in the eastern part of the Muslim World is a mystical practice engaged by those who are concerned with spiritual experience, abstaining from the world and society in order to refine their soul; but the same term denotes something different in the western part of the Islamic World, that is North Africa. This term is associated with Jihad (Holy War), clash and getting involved in political and social affairs. One of the significant and active Paths in contemporary Morocco is the Path of Justice and Benevolence. The distinguishing characteristic of this Path is the combination of two apparently incompatible phenomena, that is, Sufism and Politics. Inspired by Sufi teachings, the Path of Justice and Benevolence has founded a political movement which is presently regarded as one of the most important Islamic political groups in Morocco. In order to know this Islamist Sufi movement better, first the author gives a short account of the way in which Sufism enters the Islamic western realm, especially Morocco. Having considered the Path of Budshishieh, the author then goes through the thoughts of the Sheikh of the Path of Justice and Benevolence; finally the paper deals with the Sufi teachings of this Path, which is hardly separable from its social ones.

Mage Brahmans or sun-worshiping Mages were a group of Indian priests who were probably of Iranian origin, descending from sun-worshipping Sistanis. These Sistanis were groups of Iranian descent but were not Zoroastrian; they had immigrated to India long ago and succeeded in penetrating into the caste of priests, that is, Brahmans. Brahamehra, a well-known Indian astronomer, had risen from these Mage Brahmans. One of his most important work entitled Brhat Samhitra was fortunately translated into Farsi in the 13th century AD. Since Mage Brahmans are probably of Iranian descent, an investigation into their writings may help shed light on the evolution of astronomy in ancient Iran. Thus, the present paper is an attempt introduce, although briefly, the sun-worshiping Sistanis and Mage Brahmans as well as to give a short report of Brhat Samhitra.

Confucianism is a way of life which was originally developed by Kong Fu Zi, a Chinese sage, through organizing the old teachings in 5th-6th centuries. This religion has persisted across China and its neighboring countries in a variety of forms for the past 2500 years. In order to become more familiar with Confucianism one can adopt a variety of methods and approaches to examining it. Before embarking upon any exploration into this religion an overview of it will help examine it well and give birth to cohesion of the study. Thus, the present paper tries to sketch out the main issues associated with Confucianism. This enterprise begins by going through the name and sign of Confucianism, its evolution and its social, demographical, political and sociological context; it deals then with its most outstanding manifestations and apparent features as well as its rituals, different ways of religiosity and the most important places and occasions; then it proceeds to briefly introduce its sacred and authoritative scriptures, denominations and its different schools of thought. Finally, the paper gives an overview of the present status of Confucianism as well as a prospect of its future status.

Dead Sea Scrolls refers to a collection of about 900 manuscripts which were discovered between 1947 and 1956 after 2000 years in eleven caves along the North-West coast of Dead Sea. The scrolls are concerned with the early Christianity which had been developing about the middle of the first century AD around Jerusalem. These documents indicate that besides the belief in Jesus Christ, the followers of early Christianity regarded it as necessary to obey the Old Testament laws. Thus, these scrolls are among the reliable documents which have enabled the scholars to put forward new theories about the origins of Christianity. The present article initially introduces the scrolls, elaborating on their contents. Because of their significance, the scrolls have been immensely examined since their discovery and as a result, different theories have been propounded as regards their originality and content. From among the lists gathered through the process of discovery and discussions on scrolls, Dr. Mahlon H. Smith's list is one of the most comprehensive which will be dealt with in this writing.

Martin Buber (1878-1965) is one of the key thinkers of Judaism in the 20th century. He has written a great deal about Judaism, especially the eighteenth century movement of Hasidism. Buber’s well-known book entitled I and Thou (1923) actually contains an outline of his thoughts; in this book he develops his theory on the distinction between I-thou and I-it relations. Buber's another well-know work is God's Solar Eclipse (1952). Buber maintains that we can know God only through encounter. The present writing initially puts forward a survey of Buber's thoughts, particularly the development of his ideas set out in I-Thou, considering the major factors which had a bearing on his intellectual character as well;the article proceeds to consider Buber's conception of God's solar eclipse in terms of the issue of Holocaust. Ultimately, while admiring Martin Buber's consistency of mind and his appropriation of a systematic intellectual mechanism, the author of the present writing offers a critique of his ideas, particularly his conception of God's solar eclipse.

Two of the most challenging topics in the realm of the study of religion are, and have always been, Religiousness and Spirituality. Adopting a sociological approach, the present essay aims at studying the role of spirituality and religiousness in the social functioning of the elderly. The research, of which this paper is a representative, is based on a long-term study conducted by a research institute in the University of California in 1920s. This longitudinal study has examined the factors involved in the rise of religiousness and spirituality among a group of Americans throughout some decades of their life span; the extent and characteristics of the increase were also measured. The key issue of the study was the review of common patterns in religiousness and spirituality, and their relation with social functions in the elder ages. The authors first come up with some certain definitions of religiousness and spirituality, and then examine the grounds of the rise of religiousness and spirituality in the older adulthood. Then, they present how religiousness affects people's satisfaction of the life. They finally illustrate the role of religion and spirituality in setting goals for life and turning the older adulthood to a period of vital involvement in social functioning.