نشریه پژوهش های قرآنی
سال هفدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 66، بهار و تابستان 1390)

In this research, the viewpoints of two Shī‘ī interpreters, ‘Allāma Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabā’ī and Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍl Allāh, are comparatively studied. The writer has compared the viewpoints of the two interpreters on the following four pivots: 1. Infallibility of the Prophets, 2. Intercession, 3. Free will and determination, and 4. Miracle. In each of the above-mentioned pivots, first the viewpoint of one of the two interpreters is brought up and reported, then their differences and similarities are stated, and after that the affirmative evidences available for the views are evaluated and criticized. In conclusion, the writer maintains that the viewpoint of ‘Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī concerning the twp pivots of infallibility and intercession is closer to reality; however, on two other pivots, i.e., free will and determination and miracle, Faḍl Allāh’s viewpoint is more consistent with the Qur’ān than that of ‘Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī.

Faḍl Allāh considers religion as a training device by which one can be rescued from weakness and achieve power. In his view, the role of religion tends towards practicality with a spirit of devotion and use of dispositional prerequisites. Also, the religious training can come to fruition and produce godlike and powerful human beings through impressive God-seeking mechanisms with such characteristics as devotion, practice of piety, risk-taking, development of faith and reinforcement of action, attempting to unveil realities, increasing the quality of actions, following the instructions of the trainer in relation to community-improvement, pointing out the relation between difficulties and deviations, and imposing restrictions on the offenders.

This article is intended to explain the view of the author of Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān on the infallibility. The writer has completed this article in four sections: The first section concerns the definition of infallibility. Like many other interpreters of the Qur’ān, Faḍl Allāh views the Qur’ān as Divine grace and introduces it as a blockade against perpetrating sins and making mistakes. The second section is about the realm of infallibility. The writer of Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān regards the Prophets to be infallible both before and after prophethood and take this infallibility not only of sins but also of mistakes as well. The infallibility of the Prophets applies to legal rulings as well as conventional rulings. The third section is on different types of infallibility. Faḍl Allāh documents different types of infallibility with the verses of the Qur’ān and most of the verses that he presents concern the infallibility of the Prophets in propagation. The fourth section is about doubtology or study of misconceptions. In this section the opponents’ doubts and their referring to a number of the verses of the Qur’ān as evidence is brought up and each has been beautifully answered to.

Scientific interpretation is an exegetical approach that tries to use scientific data in interpreting and elucidating the Revealed verses of the Qur’ān from whose perspective both discovery of concepts would take place and, possibly, the scientific miracle would be unraveled. This approach specially thrived in the recent century and various interpretations as well as many independent writings were composed. It found its opponents and proponents, too. The present article studies the viewpoints of Ayatollah Faḍl Allāh and briefly examines his position in comparison to the contemporary Shī‘a interpretations (Al-Mīzān, Al-Furqān, Al-Kāshif,and Nimūna). These studies indicate that although his viewpoint does not absolutely deny scientific interpretation, he encounters with this type of interpretation from a quite reductionist and cautious position. This prudence and precaution arises from the specific attitude and principles that he possesses.

This writing addresses gender change from the viewpoint of Faḍl Allāh. The introductory discourses of this research include the legal background of the concept and process of gender change, its types, and the areas where gender change is applicable. The main part of this research consists of gender change from the viewpoint of Faḍl Allāh, study of permissible and impermissible types of gender change, study of the viewpoints of Muslim scholars concerning gender change and the Qur’ānic and ḥadīth evidences of the proponents of each of the above viewpoints. The final part of the research is dedicated to mentioning the possible deficiencies existing in Faḍl Allāh’s viewpoint in this respect.

Instructor of Advanced Studies of Jurisprudence and Principles In this paper, expectation from text in Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān is divided into two general sections, which are discussed in detail as follows: First: expectation from the Qur’ān in respect to its lingual nature; second: expectation from the Qur’ān in respect to its doctrinal nature. The Arabic nature of the Qur’ān, its interior and exterior aspects, the unequivocal and the ambiguous, multi-meaning, using a word in more than one meaning, not having enigmatic language, its being for the general public, and the validity of its external meanings are taken into consideration in the section relating to the lingual nature. The insistence of the author on the above issues has turned him into a formalist (in the literal, not the technical, sense of the word). The role of the interpreters’ presuppositions, the Qur’ān as a guiding book for all, a book of presence in the stage and movement, a book for intellection and beliefs, plans for moving in the field of semantic nature of the Qur’ān, reliance on the dynamic nature of the Qur’ān’s doctrines, and the gradual Revelation are touched upon in the second section, i.e. the doctrinal nature of the Qur’ān.

Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍl Allāh is one of the valiant Shī‘a interpreters and eminent scholars in Lebanon. What makes necessary for us to delve into his viewpoints is the plethora of exegetical data existing in the tafsīr of Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān. It is attempted in this article to express Faḍl Allāh’s viewpoint concerning the historical process of the Banī Isrā’īl’s decline as stated in the Qur’ān. With reference to the verses 74 and 82 of Sūrat al-Baqara, Faḍl Allāh eloquently states the decline of Banī Isrā’īl in three stages of petrifaction, distortion, and hypocrisy. Maintaining that getting to know the enemy is a giant step toward victory, he tries to enlighten people’s minds that today’s Banī Isrā’īl are the same as those contemporary to the Prophet, who with their own hands distorted their own Scripture.

The knowledge of the Prophet and the Imam, which in theological terminology is called ‘ilm-i Imam (knowledge of Imam), although not religiously obligatory to believe in, has occasionally been discussed just as religiously obligatory in scholarly gatherings and religious Shī‘a circles, and many a time has in recent centuries challenged the Islamic seminaries and created inconsistent intellectual tendencies; to the extent that at times some had no choice except keeping silent or remaining cautious and conforming towards it. In such an atmosphere, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍl Allāh – the author of Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān – has not tolerated to remain silent on this issue and wherever the interpretation of the verses necessitated, he has dealt with it with a courageous penmanship and a Qur’ānic approach. But as to what he has had to say in this respect, in what intellectual trends has he been placed among the learned scholars, and what eminent intellectual features he enjoys, are the issues dealt with in this research.

In this article first the allusive indication is studied from different perspectives as an introduction to the explanation of inspirational (istīḥā’ī) indication (dilālat) in Faḍl Allāh’s viewpoint. Inspirational indication refers to a referent (madlūl) and meaning that has a kind of affinity with the outer meaning. The inspirational referent is developing and deepening; and this kind of indication that occurs in respect to generality or absoluteness of the verse, admonitory aspect of the stories, association of the spiritual dimension, exoteric signification, legislation criterion, simultaneous study of homophonous texts, concept of attribute, etc., is regarded as the only way to prove the immortality of the Revealed doctrines and a means for explanation of the Qur’ān. Using this indication, Faḍl Allāh has attempted to extract the principles of life and provided them for those eager for development through the Qur’ān.

This paper studies the existence of the “Ten Commandments” in the Qur’ān. First, the writer addresses the viewpoints of the Sunnī interpreters and draws the conclusion that, in respect to the “Tablets” that the Qur’ān has referred to its revelation to the Prophet Moses (A.S.), most of the Sunnī interpreters believe that the Tablets consist of a collection of legal regulations in relation to Judaism. Then, he addresses the viewpoints of early Shī‘a interpreters and maintains that, by resorting to the two terms, “maw’iḍa” (preach) and “tafṣīl” (detail), they have considered the Tablets as containing sciences that have been bequeathed to the Imams from the Prophets and their legatees, and that it is somehow related to the word jafr that is brought up in Ahl al-Bayt’s traditions. However, modern Shī‘a interpreters have not accepted this viewpoint and are more of the opinion that the Tablets contain the Torah and all the things that Banī Isrā’īl required for preserving their religious tenets and practices. The writer has also discussed the relationship between the Tablets and the knowledge of the Imams and their authority from the Shī‘ī point of view.

This paper is a brief study and exploration into discourse in view of text-based linguistics, which appraises the role of lexical cohesion in the blessed Sūrat al-Nūr with reliance on the principles of discourse analysis. Lexical cohesion deals with the embodiment of lexicon in text through repetition and homonymy. This article expresses some evidence of how the lexical cohesion plays a role in the textuality of the Qur’ān, and then goes on to analyze the data produced by the former model with the use of statistical patterns through examining the function of these cohesive relationships. The degree of frequency, repetition, and homonymy of the lexicon of the above sūra is calculated and accordingly the thematic structure of Sūrat al-Nūr is put to analysis. In response to the question, “Can lexical cohesion explain the issue of thematic cohesion or the consistence of the verses?” the answer comes out to be that the change in lexical cohesion model is not able to explain the consistency and interrelation between the verses of Sūrat al-Nūr.

In this article, written by the Dutch orientalist Frederik Leemhuis, a brief report is presented about the gradual formation of the readings (qarā’āt) of the Qur’ān. Then, the course of development of the readings in different historical periods is reviewed along with the most significant books in this respect. In conclusion, the accepted criteria on determining the obvious and the isolated recurrent (mutawātir) readings are touched upon. The writer studies the historical development of the establishment and prevailing of the readings of the fourteen reciters in different regions of the Muslim world in the process of punctuation and diacritical marking of the Qur’ān.

We see two ideologies in Christianity, each one of which conforms to a part of the Holy Scripture. There are many references in the Qur’ān to the life-story (sīra) of Jesus Christ (A.S.). Contrary to the New Testament, the Qur’ān has not dealt with the details of Jesus Christ (A.S.); however, it has touched upon issues that have always been of interest to the Christians, too. What is worth mentioning here is that following up these issues would lead us to two different ideological systems in Islam and Christianity concerning Jesus Christ (A.S.). So, in this article, first we have addressed Christology in various viewpoints in the Gospels and discussed various names of Jesus Christ according to the verses of the Gospel and then stated the Qur’ān’s position in this respect.