Mostaz'af* and the Issue of Salvation

One of the important discussions of pluralism is the issue of salvation. This topic has been discussed by many Islamic scholars. To study pluralism or exclusivim of salvation from the perspective of Islam, Qur'an's verses and traditions should be carefully revised. One of the effective subjects in this topic is the mostaz'af (the weak or the abased). It is necessary to deeply study traditional reasons to investigate the meanings of mostaz'af, its limits and borders and its effect on the issue of salvation. This article has achieved a new idea in this topic using a librarian method and an analytical-descriptive method.
This article will show that mostaz'af has a general and a special meaning; each of which have their own special theological and jurisprudential consequences. The general meaning of mostaz'af is less realized by Islamic scholars and its theological effects are not distinguished from the effects of the special meaning. The general meaning even includes the ones who have fault, to some extent, in not reaching to the reality. Not paying attention to the different meanings of mostaz'af may lead to an incorrect perception of traditional reasons. Each of the two meanings of mostaz'af may be defined on the base of the circumstances of the person and his/her beliefs and it includes different classes of people. Each of the two meanings have a special relation with the matter of salvation and entail a specific kind of salvation which shows the wider scope of salvation compared with rightfulness.