مجله تحقیقات علوم قرآن و حدیث
سال هجدهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 52، زمستان 1400)

The interpretive tradition has witnessed innovation and growth in its approaches over the centuries. The unanswered questions have led to the pursuit of new approaches to understanding the Qur’an until today. The structural approach to the interpretation of Qur’anic chapters, which considers each Surah a coherent text with a systematic connection between its components, is one of the emerging approaches in the field of Qur’anic interpretation that still needs to strengthen and refine its theoretical foundations. This article critically analyzes the barriers of this approach in the theoretical field, challenging the validity and acceptability of this approach. Lack of cultural and linguistic evidence of the revelation of the Qur’an, inconsistency of the order of Qur’anic verses with the order of revelation, non-confiscation of the Qur’anic order, and lack of Qur’anic and narrative support are among the most important obstacles to the structural interpretation approach. The result of this analysis suggests that some of these obstacles are not specific to the structural approach to the interpretation of the Qur’an. Rather, they have targeted all interpretive approaches. This analysis also makes it clear that the structural approach to the interpretation of the Qur’an, although in some issues such as the confinement of the order of Surahs needs to strengthen its principles and further explain and promote these principles, in general in its theoretical field is strong and defensible.

Objectification of religious lifestyle in accordance with Islamic culture is based on accurate understanding of the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith. The issue of the present study is how to draw the cultural pattern of laughing and making laugh based on these teachings? According to the comparative findings of the research, these two sources have provided a model based on spirituality, rationality and socialization, whose attitudinal requirements are belief in divine action in human laughing, and belief in the necessity of human action compatible with religious culture. The tendency of this issue is to value laughing and making laugh in line with religious culture and vice versa. In addition, its active requirements are prohibition of laughing at sacred things, recognizing one’s social status, audience knowledge, avoiding the abundance and habit of joking, action in public, not using ugly and false words, minimal action of laughter with spiritual attachment, and laughing through solving problems. As a result, it is proved that 1) the approach of the Qur’an and Hadith to laughing and making laugh is not one-dimensional, i.e. they do not value it separately from other parts of the lifestyle; Rather, just like crying, they consider it desirable, valuable, and purposeful, 2) the realism and possible consequences of laughing in the model received from this culture should be considered, and 3) this culture offers practical norms that can be implemented in private and public space.

This paper aims to explain the concept of supernatural in the definition of miracle that is a report from Allamah Tabātabā’ī’s view on the nature of miracle, eliminating some apparent conflicts in his expression. In this regard, by modeling the method of Al-Mīzān’s author based on a comprehensive analysis of Qur’anic verses, a new explanation of the key Qur’anic concepts used in this discussion such as soul, spirit, kingdom and the connection between them is presented and clarified. As a result, in one hand, miracle never violate the laws of nature and the problem of the inconsistency of cause and effect, which has caused the emergence of a contradiction in the discussion of Allamah, is solved by introducing a material factor in the soul of the Prophet (PBUH) as the cause of the miracle; On the other hand, the existence of material and abstract relations is emphasized in a macro and general way in all phenomena; that is, all phenomena have an outward or material level, or the creative level according to Qur’anic interpretation. At the same time and in connection with this level, they benefit from the esoteric or abstract aspect, or the heavenly level according to the Qur’anic interpretation. These two levels interact with each other throughout the existence while the difficult philosophical issue is to explain this connection and global interaction; Miracles, therefore, will not be discussed as an exception to the principle of consistency; for in the miracle, the heavenly aspect of the chosen man influences other phenomena’s heavenly aspect, and at the evident level, man’s material soul affects the nature of things.

Among the common interpretations of the Qur’anic phrase “Ashiddā’ ‘ala al-Kuffār”, which relies on the views of some commentators, is “to use violence, atrocity, cruelty, etc. against the infidels”. This perception can lead to prescribing violent behaviors documented by the Qur’an, while accepting prescribing violence to non-believers is not easy and needs serious consideration. This article, by studying the interpretations in different centuries, critically analyzes such reading and finally, by relying on lexical analysis and other Qur’anic and rational implications, seeks to provide an accurate interpretation for the verse. Analyzing the word “shidda” and similar words indicates that it shares no common meaning with the words that bear violence-related concepts. In addition, Qur’anic and theological evidence may be used to criticize the views of the commentators, including the descriptions of the Prophet in the Qur’an and his pacifism, the universality of Islam, and the necessity of interacting with infidels for the purpose of guidance. The result of reviewing such matters will lead to a more correct interpretation. Consequently, the word “Ashiddā’” is defined as “stability” and beyond; Believers are steadfast, strong and impermeable against disbelievers, meaning that they are resistant, not aggressive. This interpretation is also consistent with the content of the rest of the verse, which is a parable mentioned in the Bible: a seed that sprouts and its strength, exuberance, and growth amazes the farmer. If this meaning is conjoined to the concept of “Ashiddā’ ‘ala al-Kuffār”, it can explain better the stability, resistance and impermeability of the believers.

Sheikh Sadūq is accused of his in-disciplined influence from Shiite masters, so that some mention his use of Sunni masters as the reason for entering incorrect narrations into Shiite hadith sources. Based on a descriptive-analytical method, this research intends to show how Sheikh Sadūq uses his masters’ views, explaining his criterion in the extent and areas of influencing from his masters. Finding show that Sheikh Sadūq was influenced by Shiite masters in rijāl, belief, interpretation, lexicography, comprehending hadith, hadith criticism, and history. However, he used to be disciplined in his influence and was critical to their views. He also refrained of accepting any narration from Sunni masters, quoting them in order to prove the legitimacy of Shiite thought, the confession of the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (AS), and the unity between Shi'as and Sunnis, while reflecting his critical views. Sadūq’s enough knowledge of Sunni jurisprudence caused him not to issue fatwas affected by Sunni masters. In non-jurisprudential issues, his reference to Sunni narrations was either in confirmation of Shiite narrations and beliefs or only in less important issues. Moreover, his Sunni masters did not play a role in transmitting narrations such as Sahw al-Nabī (prophet’s errors), distorting the Qur’an, and the seven letters.

Roman Jacobsen, one of the founders of the Prague School of Role-Oriented Linguistics, believes that every linguistic construct has a purpose that must be explained in terms of its communication objectives, and that linguistic constructs are based on the centrality of each of the six pillars of the message: speaker, listener, message, message context, communication tool, and message components, which have six functions: emotional, persuasive, literary, referential, empathetic, and cryptic. The Ashbāh Sermon consists of a collection of referential sentences that have been delivered for educational purposes; Commentators disagree about the name of this sermon. This paper aims to understand the reason for naming this sermon and the effect of verbal communication process on this naming, assuming that the naming is in fact the perceptual limitation of human beings and Imam’s knowledge to this matter. The research method is descriptive-analytical with a linguistic approach, in the light of which the elements of the messages of this sermon based on Roman Jacobsen’s theory are examined in order to answer the question of “which feature of verbal communication is used by Imam (AS) to create this perception in the audience of human perceptual limitations?” Finally, it is proved that Imam (AS) by using the possibility of truth and falsity of reference messages, succeeded in creating a conscience understanding of human perceptual limitations in the audience.

Among the ways to verify the authenticity of hadiths attributed to Imams (AS) is evaluating their sanads (chain of transmitters). At this stage, ridjāl scholars sometimes could not recognize a narrator’s religious sect and thus have called him/her majhūl (unknown) or muhmal (incognito). Knowing the beliefs of such narrators, in addition to validating the sanad, has a great impact on the use of their narrations by jurists, theologians, commentators, historians, etc. The present study, which is done by the descriptive-analytical method based on library sources, has examined those narrations that the rijāl scholars have called some of their transmitters unknown or incognito. It seeks to recognize the sect of such narrators through their sayings. It tries to achieve their sect by analyzing their narrations. In conclusion, some criteria can be useful to recognize them, including: “the method of citing the Imam (as) in narrating”, “reflection on the beliefs of the narrator in narrating”, “the orientation of the narrator in narrating”, “paying attention to the method  of Questioning the Imam”, “comparing the content of the narration with the jurisprudential ruling or Shiite theological teachings”, “comparing the Imam’s answer to the question of the unknown or incognito narrator with the known one”, and “the method of narrator in mentioning the Imam”.