نشریه مطالعات قرآنی نامه جامعه
پیاپی 129 (بهار 1396)

Intercession is among the essentials of the religion and its effective element is the intercessor. In Islamic sciences, this divine gift is granted to the Prophets (PBUH), Saints and special believers, and in every era, there are those who deserve this position. Awareness of the characteristics of the intercessors of the day of judgement causes a person to hold them up as role models as well as to have a special spiritual relationship with them in this ephemeral world, and this paves the way for their intercession. This research, employing library and descriptive-analytical methods, indicates that the realization of the ultimate intercession, known as a Praised Station2 belongs to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) due to specific duties. Non-Prophet believers, characterized as divinely authorized, faithful to divine promises and doers of righteous deeds, possess the attributes of intercessors. Furthermore, the extent of intercession of the non- Prophet intercessors will be according to their rank in surpassing others in doing righteous deeds.

Sūrah Al-’Anbiya’, Verse 22 argues for the unity of God stating that if there was more than one God in the world, the world would be ruined; but the world is not ruined, so the world has no more than one God. Problems and doubts are raised about this argument, the main pivot of which is often a lack of correct understanding of the term ruin. Moreover, determining what the meaning of the word ruin is and which degree of monotheism it proves contributes to the accurate understanding of the verse. In one view, the meaning of ruin in the verse is the lack of moderation and disorder in the world that leads to ruin. In the second view, ruin means the demise of the universe. In this paper, by relying on the meaning and uses of the term “Ilāh” in the Qur’an, and appealing to the similar verses, this hypothesis is proved that the term “ruin” refers to a general meaning whose instances are non-existence and disorder. Hence the verse proves monotheism in creation as well as monotheism in lordship. Therefore, the implication of the verse is broad and is not limited to denying the beliefs of the pagans, and it is proved that the realization of ruin in the universe is basically impossible.

Among the most discussed issues on Imam Hussein (AS) and the Ashura event, is the legitimacy of mourning and crying for him, and the doubts and problems raised by Wahhabism about Shia’s belief in this regard. This research, using documentary and descriptive-analytical methods, attempts to study the innateness of crying and mourning in the logic of reason and narration in a combined way and examine the issues about crying for Imam Hussein (AS) in more detail. In order to investigate the innateness of mourning and also the issue of difference in types of mourning, from the viewpoint of the Sunni scholars in particular, first, the conformity of mourning and crying with the innate nature or the existential noumenon of human beings is proved, and then the cause of the difference in mourning types despite the identicalness of innate nature is explained. Research suggests that according to Sunni narrative sources, mourning in general, and for Imam Hussein (AS) in particular, is a legitimate act. In this paper, also the issue of difference in Husseini mourning is examined addressing the issue of deviation in mourning, using narratives and appealing to the conduct of the wise, and the permitted styles of mourning are expressed.

Among the issues raised about resurrection, are the changes in the material world, including the worldly earth, and its relation to heaven. God states in Sūrah Al-Zumar, Verse 74: “has given us (this) land in heritage: We can dwell in the Garden as we will”. Interpreters have mentioned different quotes following this verse, and most of them believe that the meaning of “earth” in the verse, which believers inherit, is an unworldly earth. Some of them regard the use of the term “earth” as a metaphor. Some others, considering the foundations of wisdom, the principle of context and verses similar to the verse above, believe that the worldly earth will not be lost, but will turn into another earth which has been referred to as heaven. In this research, it is sought to investigate and explain interpreters’ viewpoint on this subject through library and descriptive-analytical methods. According to some contemporaries such as Allameh Tabatabaei and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, there is a kind of unity between the worldly earth and heaven, and heaven is the unworldly state and the celestial form of this same earth. This perspective relies on the contexts of the verses and narrative evidence that appear to be more accurate.

Badā’ is one of the most significant and fundamental beliefs that Imamiyah scholars have consistently defended and Sunni elders have attacked. By carefully examining the concept of Badā’, one can realize that the drawbacks of this discussion have been due to errors in understanding the meaning of Badā’, since several verses from the Holy Qur’an and Fariqain’s narratives are proof of the meaning of Badā’. In the Shia narrative sources, there are several narratives regarding the issue of Badā’, which this paper has reviewed and, while integrating the views of Shia and Sunni scholars on this subject, has resolved the seeming contradiction in some of these narratives. Among the achievements of this research is proving that Badā’ does not lead to change in the Divine Knowledge. Also, Badā’ has no place in the divine certain predestination, and it is only the divine uncertain destiny or predestination on which Badā’ can have an effect.

Investigating the sociocultural conditions of the Qajar Dynasty is of great significance, since it ruled over Iran for a long time, and during those years, had noticeable effects on the cultural, social, economic and political dimensions of the Iranian society, especially women’s status. In the present research, using the library method, it is attempted to explain the sociocultural conditions of this period and suggest analyses based on historical data with an emphasis on the status of women. A glance at the sociocultural status of this era shows that the status of women in two different social categories has been reported, namely that wealthy and court women enjoyed a high social status while poor and illiterate women had a low one. Based on this and the high percentage of financial and cultural poverty during this period, it seems that most women had an unfavorable social status. Moreover, historical data reveals that problems such as illiteracy, superstitions, the increase of child mortality, non-compliance with women’s rights and the like, had a negative impact on women during this time. In the meantime, the economic poverty and the failed political conditions had led to the division of women into two different classes.