Analysis of the Communication Approach of Imam Riḍā (as) with the Leaders of the Wāqifīyah Sect (Based on Pedam's Narrative Discourse Analysis Method)

During his Imamate, Imam Riḍā (as) was faced with various theological, religious sects. Various sects and trends had emerged among the Shiites. Among the most influential of them - among the Shiites - is the deviant sect Wāqifīyah. The Wāqifīyah sect can be considered the first group within the Shia that made a large number of common people lean towards them with their deviance. A group of knowledgeable people who were actually the lawyers and deputies of Imam Mūsá Kāẓim (as), the honorable father of the eighth Imam. Due to various motivations, they created the sedition of endowment on the Imamate of Imam Mūsá Kāẓim (as). The social status of this sect and other factors caused a large number of nobles and commoners to lean towards Wāqifīyah. The present research, in a descriptive-analytical way, based on Pedam's method of narrative discourse analysis and its completion, has dealt with the approach of Imam Riḍā's (as) communication in dealing with this deviant group. The analysis of structural space and semantic space of Imam Riḍā's (as) speech with the leaders of the Wāqifīyah clearly indicates the decisive position of the eighth Imam in facing this deviant trend. The findings show that imams mostly take an offensive-repulsive approach when dealing with Wāqifī leaders. This approach has the highest frequency with 58%. On the other hand, defensive and absorbing approaches have the lowest frequency with 9 and 10 percent. The Imam's communication approach in dealing with the followers of Wāqifīyah - who had joined this sect with bad intentions - is in most cases an attractive-repulsive, aggressive and repulsive approach. However, this honorable Imam, in dealing with the misguided public or those who are suffering from sedition and doubters regarding the martyrdom of Imam Kāẓim (as), have dealt with an absorbing and absorbing-repulsive approach.