Journal of Contemporary Islamic Studies
Volume:5 Issue: 2, Summer-Autumn 2023

The plan of Hypocrites to murder the Revered Prophet, while returning from the war of Tabūk, is well known as the incident of “‘Aqaba” and various historical, narrative, and interpretive sources have attempted to reread it. In addition, in the interpretation ascribed to Imām ‘Askarī, there is a lengthy narration mixed with different occasions and themes –narrated from the Revered Prophet –which offers a unique reading of ‘Aqaba incident. In this narration, the story of angels’ prostration for Adam and his disobedience are pointed out. By implementing the method of determining the date based on an analysis of the text and source, the present article focuses on the micro-narrative of Adam story, examines the accuracy of its ascription to the Revered Prophet, and tries to figure out the approximate time of the issuance of this narration. Exploring the theories related to the Adam story shows their time to be after the Prophetic time. Moreover, analyzing the source of the narration indicates its layers wherein the first layer belongs to the second half of the third century as well as the fourth century, and the second layer to the sixth century. Indications suggesting the differentiation between the layers of the book as well as the text of the narration being mixed with Shī‘a distinctive themes (which are contemporary with the powerful era of Ṭabaristān Shī‘as) justify the probability that the narration of ‘Aqaba belongs to the sixth century and that its narrative milieu is Ṭabaristān.

The theory of “Ethical Leadership” is one of the new notions which earnestly found its way into the management literature at the last decades of the twentieth century. According to this theory, besides the significance of enforcing ethical laws for the society or the organizations, scientists hold the demonstration of ethical behaviors by the leader of the society in the personal and social relations as well as the transfer of these norms to the common people via various ways play the main role in the realization of social ethics and the advancement of sublime goals. Because in Islam it is necessary to know, analyze, and explicate the elements of “ethical leadership,” the present article attempts to investigate the elements of the aforesaid theory in the governmental conduct of Imām Alī (a) with a descriptive-analytical approach. Moreover, for this goal it tries to provide a suitable and evidence-based model which can be analyzed and assessed based on the leadership theories in the knowledge of management. Therefore, the goal of this research is to analyze the elements of this theory and compare them with the approach of Imām Alī (a). To do so, via a narrative approach with the pivotal role of Nahj al-Balāgha, the elements of “ethical leadership” in the talks and behavior of Imām are extracted and analyzed; and with the provision of tangible instances of his life, it is shown these elements can be operational. The obtained results show that the aforesaid elements contain all the personal, ideological, relational, managerial, etc. indexes both in personal and social dimensions and can efficiently act as a model for leading the society. There can be seen, of course, ideological differences in some aspects like in self-control. Thus, despite noticeable similarities, these differences accentuate the discrepancy of this theory with the political and governmental thought and teachings of Imām ‘Alī (a).

The contemporary achievements of linguistics indicate that in addition to conveying reflective themes, language represents cognitive themes and induces mental themes. Accordingly, cognitive semanticists have conducted studies in this regard and have given in some theories. One of these theories is George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory. Our study set out to examine the conceptualizations of the abstract concepts existing in the Repentance Chapter based on the container metaphor – as one of the source domains of ontological metaphors – via a descriptive-analytical approach. Our analysis of the obtained cases demonstrated that each of the abstract concepts is formed based on the conditions of the verse – i.e., the theme and objective of the verse is formed based on the container or the inside matter – and the conceptualizations are not accidental at all. For instance, with regard to the abstract concept of fitna, we see that the conceptualization is based on both the container and the inside matter (object/material), which is a small example of the infinite knowledge and wisdom of the sublime God. Likewise, the conceptualizations in other verses are totally related to the requirements and station of the theme and purpose of the verse. The frequencies obtained from the Repentance chapter reveal that the conceptualizations based on the container are more than the conceptualizations based on the inside matter. The reason for this is the emphasis on the precise selection of the source domain and its relationship with the verse theme and purpose.

One of the Shī‘a teachings discussed in the Twelver Shī‘a narrations and the qur’ānic commentaries is ṭīnat (nature). This teaching suggests the difference of the humans in creation and discusses the ties of faith and disbelief with the human’s ṭīnat. At the first glance, this teaching is about the inherent human blissfulness and wretchedness as well as the rejection of his freedom in bringing about his own destiny (and so suggests a type of predestination). Many Twelver Shī‘a narration transmitters and exegetes have explicated the contents of these narrations and have tried to solve their problems. The question examined in this study regards the solution of Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī for the problems of ṭīnat narrations and its evaluation. In his Tafsīr al-mīzān, Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī presents a comprehensive plan based on the principles of Ṣadrian theosophy to provide a content analysis of this teaching. Taking ṭīnat as a worldly matter that makes the human body, which in turn bases the human soul, he deems the effect of ṭīnat on the human blissfulness and wretchedness at an essential requirement level and does not deem it as requiring predestination. We will ultimately show that Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī’s analysis is mostly a philosophical one, which is not so congruent with the semantic network of the narrations related to ṭīnat.

The “coupling system of the qur’ānic chapters” theory is one of the new efforts in the qur’ānic sciences domain to prove the existence of order in the Qur’ān. In this theory, it is suggested that the examination of the Qur’ān’s order be moved up from verses to chapters; thus, an extensive and obligatory relationship between the two neighboring chapters has been taken into account. As a fundamental research project, this article this study adopts a descriptive-analytical method to introduce the coupling system of the qur’ānic chapters and prove the effectiveness of this theory in understanding the Qur’ān in the two chapters of the Qur’ān 55 and 56 through depiction of various content relations and different verbal and semantical relationships between these two coupled chapters. The promotion of the research on the order of the Qur’ān from verses and excerpts to chapters and discourse – via practical implementation – has greatly helped understanding the role of suchlike studies in better grasp of the two chapters. A case-by-case reflection in the intertextual relationships between the two coupled chapters (Qur’ān 55 and 56) based on the interpretive opinions of ‘Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī can be an appropriate way to respond the question “what reasonable evidences exist for the coupled system of chapters in the two intended chapters?” Investigations show that relations such as common beginning and ending of the two chapters, common or nearly common statements and themes, content relations, etc., enhance the hypothesis on the symmetrical structure of these two chapters. The majority of the connections of these two chapters are common issues that have been examined in each of these two chapters from different perspectives such that they complement each other.

Qur’anic scholars who disbelieve the Qur’an have long studied its codification and canonization. In his recent hypothesis, Gabriel Said Reynolds generalizes New Testament’s modern research methods and applies them to Qur’an. Thus he focuses on Qur’an’s “doublets”, and considers Qur’an’s present codex as a result of the later redaction of a written text provided from two previous Meccan and Medinan written material. This article- which is the outcome of analyzing Reynolds’ article, two of his speeches and a series of scientific correspondences with him - explains his hypothesis and research method, clarifies his methodological mistakes and violation of his own scientific criteria and falsifies the validity of his idea. This study questions Reynods’ presuppositions and foundations of his view, and discusses the incompatibility of Qur’an and New Testament and thus the invalidity of generalizing the research methods of New Testament and applying them to Qur’an, and the intentionality of repetition in the expressive style of Qur'an and considering repetition as one of Qur’an’s features. This article also shows that Qur’an is oral and readable and transmitted from one heart to another heart through permitted recitations, discloses the scientific flaws of Reynolds’ proposal resulted from neglecting Muslim Qur’anic scholars’ views, and explains the inaccuracy of his evidences due to interpretational misunderstandings; and shows the necessity of inspecting the idea.

According to the teachings of the Abrahamic religions in general and Islam in particular, history is ultimately described as an evolved issue. Nonetheless, if this is accepted, the question arises as to whether the evolution of history occurs over time or all at once. This article examines the works of Martyr Muṭahharī, the Iranian revolutionary philosopher and scholar, with a descriptive-analytical method and tries to answer this question from his point of view. In the first part, the foundations of Martyr Muṭahharī’s view to the evolution of the course of history are explained. Then, while expressing the components of realism in the interpretation of history, some problems that are raised against the evolution of history are answered from his point of view. These include human’s right-seeking nature, human’s utilitarianism, and the legacy of the prophets. Muṭahharī has taken a philosophical approach to commenting on the course of history, which seems to be more relevant to the question of the evolution of history. Emphasizing the legitimacy of the history process and ruling the principle of causality on historical events, he communicates between the past, the present, and the future of history, and thus provides a meaningful basis for historical continuity.

The Qur’ān distortion or nondistortion is one of the old discussions of qur’ānic sciences that has been debated since the time of the Prophet’s (s) Companions. The Shī‘a and Sunnī exegetes have favored the freedom of the Qur’ān from distortion in the introductory discussions of their commentaries in the light of this basic point. In addition to the Muslim thinkers’ viewpoints and opinions, the orientalists have examined the Qur’ān from various angles, too, and one of their research domains is the topic of the Qur’ān and its distortion/ non-distortion, and it forms an important part of their qur’ānic studies. The examination of the orientalists’ approach to the distortion/ non-distortion of the Qur’ān and the reaction of Muslim thinkers in their evaluation and criticism of the orientalists’ viewpoints is a novel horizon in the way to face the existing orientalist stances. The study at hand collected data via library research and analyzed the collected data via analytical-critical approach. The results showed that the existing grounds in the historical narrations that seemingly imply the occurrence of additive and reductive distortion are invalid in terms of their chains of transmission, content, and Islamic principles. The origin of most of the proposed theories is the lack of a correct understanding of the relationship between verses, which leads to the doubt that the qur’ānic text suffers from disunity as a result of distortion.

Binary opposition is a key element in structuralism. Structuralists view human thinking as formed on the basis of binary oppositions. Binary opposition is the most significant component to consider in the analysis and investigation of various phenomena. One of the prominent features of binary opposition is that, despite appearing contrary to habit and reason, it provides the audience with a familiar taste and brings enormous enjoyment. This theoretical research has been conducted using the descriptive-analytical method and utilizing library resources. It focuses on Diwan Sana'i (Sana'i’s poems) published by Negah Publishing Co., 1941, and Hadiqat Al Haqiqa (The Walled Garden of Truth) published by the University of Tehran Press, 2007.

A particularity of philosophical confrontations in Sana'i's poetry is the transcendence of the earthly material world and the confrontation with superior truths. Sana'i has defined many of these philosophical themes, which may seem contrasting, as coexisting. From this perspective, his poetry contains numerous linguistic and philosophical oppositions and contradictions. Among these themes, "Lāhut" (divinity or heavenly world) and "Nāsut" (the earthly world) have the highest frequency, while "Doon" (Low) and "Bālā" (High) have the lowest frequency.

"Christianity" is one of the religions closest to Islam historically. In the Qur'an, the followers of Christ are mentioned or addressed both in specific words and also under general titles along with followers of other religions. Due to the abundance of mentions of Christians in the Qur'an, gaining accurate knowledge of this people from the perspective of the Qur'an is necessary for Islamic society. The Quran takes a realistic and friendly approach to portray the followers and disciples of Jesus, which can serve as a model for communication with them in the present time. Gathering affirmative verses about the followers of Jesus helps to reconsider the pattern of communication with them, and from this perspective, it becomes a window to understanding the unity of religions and achieving world peace. This descriptive-analytical study aims to collect and systematize the Qur'anic verses about Christians in the first place, and then, with the help of Quran commentators, it points out the reasons for naming, interpretations, and addressing of "Christians" in the Qur'an as Nasārā, to state that although the followers of Christ have been criticized and rebuked in some verses, in many cases, they have been praised according to the verses of the Qur'an. Also, based on the findings of this study, it was found that in those verses that refer to the distortion of the word of God, there was no criticism of Christians.

«Muhammad Nasīruddin al-Albāni« is one of the prominent and influential hadith scholars of »Salafism«. He has written extensive books in various fields of the Islamic sciences, especially hadith sciences. His works have been widely published in Islamic countries. The hadith of »al-Dharir« [the blind] has a Sahih [authentic] chain of transmission in Sunni sources. In this hadith, two Ziyadât [additions] have been mentioned under the title of the addition of «Hammad bin Salamah» and the addition of «Uthman bin Hunaif», which have been weakened both by «Albani» in his book «Al-Tawassul, Anwa'uhu wa Akhamuh».These weaknesses, in general, are Sanad-based [documental].The method of collecting materials in this study is library sources and the research method is descriptive and analytical.After the investigations, it was found that the first addition can be strengthened by proving the trustworthiness of «Hammad bin Salamah» and the non-contradiction of his addition with the narration of «Shu'bah», and the second addition by proving the acceptability of the narration of «Shabib», who is one of the narrators of the chain of hadith.Albani, objects to the hadith of the blind, which contains the addition of «Uthman bin Hunaif», based on the narrations of «Hayâ' [shyness] of Uthman», while various researches have shown that Albani's claims about this hadith are incorrect.

Expanding Quranic principles in human relations is considered among the fundamental necessities in an Islamic society. The importance of explaining these principles seems of much more significance in cases moral damage is likely to occur. Being formed in stressful relationships, Divorce is one of the most challenging events in family life which affects women morally more as the sensitive party of this relation. This study, through a descriptive-analytical method, tries to analyze the Quranic approach toward moral damage suffered by a woman in divorce. It shows that the Holy Quran as a source of jurisprudence, in order to vindicate the rights of women injured in divorce, instructs strategies as legal and moral propositions to compensate moral losses and in addition to meeting their financial needs (including the right to housing, securing women’s financial rights, giving gifts, the right to immunity from abuse), pays attention to meeting the spiritual needs (including the right to security in returning to the common life, waived right to shared housing with man, not having the right to return to the divorcee during iddah and etc.). Although the amount of moral damage imposed on a woman is irreparable, observing each of these propositions and removal of some duties man is responsible for, followed by legal sanctions and protection can to some extent repair the moral damage suffered by the woman and can cause a decrease in the number of divorces in the society.