پژوهشنامه امامیه
پیاپی 13 (بهار و تابستان 1400)

The lack of a part of Shiite historical sources is a concern that some thinkers have paid attention to and listed various causes for it, including material causes. Although there are spiritual causes for the lack of sources, it is not the subject of this article. Since material causes have been given a more prominent role, this paper explores them and answers the question: What is the important material cause of the lack of historical sources? The research is done through examining historical reports and referring to sources to clarify the real cause and the contribution of each cause in the lack of sources, by referring to libraries and analyzing and describing historical information. Many works were destroyed before the Mongol invasion due to other causes. Hence, attributing the loss of sources solely to the Mongol invasion as the most important material cause of the lack of sources is a well-known misinformation

Among the issues that Muslim theologians have addressed is human identity and how this identity continues in this world and the next worlds, as it is related to various topics of "divine justice". According to the principle of divine justice, human existence in its movement from this world to the hereafter has an existential unity and continuity so that the reward and punishment in the hereafter will belong to the same person who deserves them in this world. Hence, the present study seeks to answer the question: What is the criterion of the unity and continuity of human existence in this world and the hereafter according to Fayyaz Lahiji and Imam Khomeini? The answer has been studied in accordance with the chosen theological views of these two scholars about the unity of identity and the continuity of human existence in this world and the hereafter. The findings show that Fayyaz Lahiji does not consider the world of purgatory or the imaginal world in expressing the criterion of this unity. Rather, he presents his arguments on the basis of the existential truth of human (single soul) and the attachment of the body other than the worldly body (but similar to it) to the soul. But according to Musawi Khomeini's view, the existence of the imaginal world (purgatory) and the body of purgatory or imaginal body (thin and delicate body) is of great importance. Using a comparative method, this research was done based on library sources.

In the analysis and semantics of the words of religion about the attributes of God, Molla Sadra believes in semantic commonality and gradation of existence. In addition to the semantics of the attributes of God in the interpretation of Heaven and Hell and the issue of bodily resurrection and in general in the language of religion, he has advanced in the realm of resurrection with the same view and method and has tried to explain the bodily resurrection and related issues such as the torment of the grave and sirat (the path), without facing common doubts. According to Molla Sadra, the story of the descent of Adam and Eve from Heaven is also tied to the language of religion in the realm of resurrection. He considers Adam's sin to be related to the fourth position of the descending arc of man before the beginning of life on earth. In his view, man's disobedience was not an external event, but the Quran, considering the humankind, mentions one of the characteristics of his nature. However, several verses of the Quran, referring to the deception of Adam and Eve by Satan and the revelation of their nakedness after disobedience, have questioned this interpretation and explicitly mentioned it as an external event, to the extent that the verses maintain that the couple tried to cover their ugliness by foliage. The importance of this issue is because so far no one has criticized Molla Sadra's interpretation of Adam's paradise and his disobedience, from the perspective of the language of religion. This article explores the issue by using a descriptive-analytical method and library sources.

In Islamic philosophy and theology, God is called by various names, and the concepts used for the specific name of God are different. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is among the philosophers and theologians, and his view of the issue of God benefits from both philosophical and theological perspectives. He has used Sane‘ (The Maker), Khalegh (The Creator), Bari (The Evolver), Allah (God), and also Wajeb al-Wojud (The Necessary Being) as the names of God, which are conceptually different. Our question in this article is: To what extent are the concepts used in Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's thought for God theological or philosophical? In conceptualizing God, did he make philosophy theological or theology philosophical? In this article, we examine the conceptualization of God by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi in three dimensions; structural, content, and methodological. In the structural dimension, the focus is on the arrangement of discussions in his works and their effect on the conceptualization of God. In the content dimension, we pay more attention to the concept of "God" and its characteristics in theology and philosophy and the extent to which Nasir al-Din Tusi is influenced by them in the conceptualization of God. Finally, in the methodological dimension, the emphasis is on Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's method of examining the issue of God, and we examine this method in the way of proving the existence of God, as well as explaining His attributes. At the same time, the place of theology and philosophy in the conceptualization of God becomes clear. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is a theologian who has philosophized theology; we find the dominant philosophical view in the concept he has chosen for God and in proving the existence of God and expressing His attributes

Islamic thinkers have briefly accepted the prophets' knowledge of the unseen. Meanwhile, Muslim thinkers have long differed on the scope and quality of their knowledge of the unseen. The existence of verses denying and proving the prophets' knowledge of the unseen has increased this ancient conflict. In the present article, with a descriptive-analytical method, the approach of Tabatabayi and Abu al-A‘la Maududi, as the most prominent contemporary commentators of the two sects, towards the prophets' knowledge of the unseen has been studied. Examining the interpretations of these two scholars shows that they have a common opinion about the prophets' knowledge of the unseen in general. According to them, God-given revelation and knowledge is the source of the knowledge of the prophets. On the contrary, they do not have the same view in explaining the scope of the knowledge of the unseen. Tabatabayi puts together the verses that attribute the knowledge of the unseen to God and the verses that assign it to the prophets, and concludes that the prophets have extensive knowledge of the unseen by the permission of God. On the other hand, based on the verses of the first category, Maududi rejects the knowledge of the unseen from anyone other than God, and according to verses 26 and 27 of Surah Al-Jinn and the Efk Incident, as well as some narrations, he considers the prophets' knowledge of the unseen to be limited to their mission.

Given the principles, the theological approach of the Twelvers and Asharites towards the doctrine of salvation in the Hereafter is different. However, sometimes they have a common view on salvage means. The Twelvers believe that the unity of actions is all-encompassing and purposeful, and by committing to the intellectual goodness and badness of things, they consider man free in his actions. They hold wisdom, divine justice and free will as the foundations of the knowledge of salvation and consider freedom as the basis of perfection for human beings. But the Asharites believe that the only effective factor in creating human deeds is the divine power, and man only plays the role of acquirer. They accept the Sharia goodness and badness and reject the purposefulness in God's actions and hold man to be forced in his deeds. Imami and Asharite theologians consider the believers who oppose their sects and even the followers of other religions to be saved. According to Twelvers, believing in the Imamate of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) (The Prophet's Household) is one of the means of salvation and they hold that giving rewards to the servants is a matter of grace and merit. Relying on divine wisdom and justice, they establish the reward and punishment for the righteous and the wicked on the basis of justice, which is distorted without the reward and punishment of the Hereafter. But the Asharites consider the giving of rewards to the believers as a mere bounty of God. By denying the causal relationship and adhering to the principle of God's habit, they allow duty beyond human power and believe that whatever God does is the same as wisdom and justice, even though it is regarded as oppression by ordinary human minds.

Some of the narrations of revelation occasions in Shiite exegeses do not have a Shiite source and have been transferred from Sunni sources to Shiite commentaries. Considering the position and role of the narrations of revelation occasions, as separate evidences in understanding the Quranic verses, it is necessary to carefully examine the criteria for identifying them, because knowing the authenticity and criteria for identifying these narrations has a serious effect on their acceptance, denial and critique. The present article, by inducing and analyzing interpretive and narrative sources and reflecting on the content of some narrations of revelation occasions transmitted to the Shiite exegeses, finally discovers four criteria for recognizing these narrations, with each of which the transmission of such narrations from Sunnis to Shiite interpretations is possible. These criteria are as follows: the acknowledgment of some exegetes quoting a narration from Sunni sources, historical precedence of a narration in the first Sunni sources, existence of specific Sunni narrators in the chain of transmission, and the content compatibility of a narration with the specific beliefs of the Sunnis.

The book Asrar al-Shahadah by Mullah Agha Fazel Darbandi is one of the works that has had a great impact on the reporting of Karbala incident since its writing and has attracted a lot of attention due to its author, special expression and virtuous content. The issue of the present research, which has been carried out with a critical analytical approach, is the study and critique of the approaches, distortions and outstanding narrative reports by Darbandi, which arose from his book for the first time and became the basis of quoting narrations for Shiite scholars in the last century. The way Darbandi deals with Ashura narrations and his tremendous impact on the understanding of writers and especially preachers of Ashura, doubles the importance of reviewing his work. Based on the findings, the narrations of Asrar al-Shahadah, as well as its justifications and additions are sometimes inconsistent with tradition, reason, custom, certain events or other historical narrations, and hence they cause the dignity of the infallible Imam (AS) or his family to be tarnished in such a way that the vulgarity of the text makes  Darbandi's reports unfounded.

Apostasy, meaning disbelief after faith, is one of the most controversial jurisprudential and legal issues and is divided into national and natural, each of which has a different ruling. There are different views about natural apostates in jurisprudential sources. Findings of the present research, using main and specialized sources based on descriptive-analytical method, show that all punishments are Ta‘zirs (offenses at the discretion of the judge), except those that according to authentic texts are Hodud (offenses fixed by the Quran or Hadith), such as adultery, sodomy, drinking alcohol, etc. The main issue in this research is accepting the repentance of the natural apostate in absolute terms, and the three sentences of execution, separation from wife and iddah of death (the waiting period after the death of husband), and the inheritance of heirs are overturned by the repentance of the natural apostate. In the meantime, we can refer to the views of Shahid Thani in Masalek and Lomah, Ghazi Ibn Barraj and Ibn Jonayd. One of the innovations of this research is the principle of Ta‘ziri nature of punishments and the lack of fixed punishments for all Ta‘zirs.

The most prominent historical period in terms of coinage with themes and topics related to respect, devotion and affiliation with Imam Ali ibn Musa ‌ al-Reza (AS) is the era of the successors of Nader Shah Afshar (1160-1210 AH). This study, using library resources and descriptive-analytical method, seeks to investigate the frequency of the minting of coins in the name of Imam Reza (AS) during the reign of Nader Shah, which had never been so widespread before him. The findings of the study indicate that Nader Shah's successors, who were active in Khorasan, centered in Mashhad, because they were aware of the spiritual influence of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (AS) among the Iranian people, especially in Khorasan, tried to show their devotion to the Imam in order to increase their own popularity. Hence, the minting of coins in the name of Imam Reza (AS) flourished more than before in the era of Nader Shah's successors to the extent that other claimants to power who were at a lower level at that time also engraved the blessed name of the Imam on their coins. It shows that the themes and slogans written on the coins reflect the worldview and the religious, moral and political beliefs of the community in which the coins were prevalent

In today's world, there are many doubts and questions about religion, and raising the issue of the inefficiency of religion in society is the purpose of some of these discussions. Explaining the social functions of religion is a response to the above doubts. Imami theologians have long tried to dispel these doubts and prove the social functions of religion by stating the benefits of the advent of prophets and the effects of religion on human life.The present research, using a library study method, seeks to address the question: What are the social functions of religion from the perspective of the Imamis? Early theologians of the Imamiyyah, while discussing the benefits of the advent of prophets or the effects of faith, have generally answered the question, but contemporary Imami theologians, by expressing the functions of various sciences such as psychology, sociology, etc. for human social life, have enumerated examples of social functions for man. After examining the examples and proofs in Imami sources, it can be said that this group of thinkers believe in the maximum function of religion in human society.

Mullah Abd al-Wahed ibn Ali Shushtari, a jurist, fundamentalist and scholar of rational and narrative Shiite sciences, lived in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries AH. Despite his fame in his time, in some books he is known only as the master of the third martyr, Ghazi Nurollah Shushtari, to the extent that one of his most important works is attributed to the Ghazi. During his life, he traveled to different cities of Iran, including Shiraz, Isfahan and Ardabil, in order to acquire knowledge from scholars such as Khajeh Jamal al-Din Mahmud Shirazi, Aghajan Shirwani and Mir Abolfath Sharfeh. Mullah's scholarly status was at a level where he was chosen as the Crown Prince's master by his contemporary scholars, but he resigned due to the unfavorable political situation. Among his students, in addition to Ghazi Nurollah and the Crown Prince of Safavid, we can mention Mirza Makhdum Sharifi and Afzal al-Din Torkeh. Mullah had several works, among which the manuscripts of Sharh Mokhtasar al-Osul, Sharh Tahzib al-Osul and al-Taklif fi Zaman al-Ghaybah are left in the National Library, the Library of Astan Quds and the Library of Ayatollah Golpayegani. The power of reasoning, wise judgment and mastery over the views of Sunni fundamentalists are some of outstanding features in the mentioned works.