A New Look at the Truth of the Meaning of Tafaqqoh in Religion and its Ruling

God is the one who is the origin of the religion, and He is the one who has communicated the one religion, first, to His messengers and then to people through the revelation till the Day of Resurrection. This single religion was passed on to the divine prophets, and they were responsible to communicate it to their own people until the perfect and complete version of it was revealed during the time of Prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h.). A careful reflection upon the verses of the holy Quran reveals that Islam is the only religion approved by God, and the truth of Islam is Hazrat-e Amir al-Mo’menin’s (a.s.) welayat. Fiqh-e mosaveq (concurrent) refers to a deep understanding of religion, and tafaqqoh (gaining sound knowledge) denotes a form of understanding of and reasoning about welayat and acquisition of true knowledge of the Imam of every age. Therefore, it is revealed from the Quran and other religious texts that ‘tafaqqoh in religion’ in the 122nd verse of Surah al-Tobah refers to reflection upon welayat and acquisition of a sound knowledge of the Imam in every age and of Imam Mahdi (aj.) at present. Accordingly, the ruling of tafaqqoh in religion is wajib-e nafsi, wajib-e eini and wajib-e molavi (an act that God has made it obligatory due to its common good). That is, the essence of tafaqqoh in religion or attainment of the knowledge of the Imam of every age is desirable to the mowla (God), and it is obligatory for all the religiously accountable people, and the abandonment of this wajib-e molavi will result in punishment and the rejection of other acts. This study has been conducted using the analytical approach and with a new look at the truth of tafaqqoh in religion and its ruling.