The Recognition of Civilizing Knowledge in the Sīra of Razavi Based on the Reports of ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā

Islam has provided the ground for building a civilization based on knowledge by emphasis on thinking and recommending its followers to learn. Therefore, knowledge is the origin of civilization from the perspective of religion. It is necessary to refer to religious sources in order to know civilizing knowledge as well as possible. Verses and traditions and also the Sīra (biography) of Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic: اهل ٱلبیت) have not permitted any knowledge in order to build Islamic civilization. Therefore, it is necessary to gain a proper recognition of civilizing knowledge by referring to these sources. The word and biography of Imam Reza ʿAlayhi al-salām (Arabic: علیه السلام, literally: peace be upon him) is one of these sources. Introducing and extending of knowledge in order to build a religious civilization had been one of the most important teachings of Imam Reza (AS). These features are reflected in the book of ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā (Arabic: عیون اخبار الرضا), but it is rare to find a work that deals with this issue. Accordingly, the purpose of this study which has been written in a descriptive analytical method is the review of the biography and words of Imam Reza (AS) in recognition of the propositions of civilizing knowledge based on the narrations of the noble book of ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā. The results of the existing findings show that the words and Sīra of Imams (PBUT) have provided an irreplaceable role in the growth and development of knowledge in order to form Islamic civilization. It is also possible to extract the features of civilizing knowledge from knowledge-based debates, Imam’s dialogues about knowledge, his behavior with scholars, etc.