فصلنامه علوم حدیث
سال یازدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 39، بهار 1385)

Esoteric interpretation of the holy Quran is a method which is regarded in different types and schools of tafsir such as philosophical interpretation, Gnostic interpretation and work interpretation. The most important question in this field which demands an answer is that if there is any linguistic or logical relation between exoteric meaning of the holy Quran with what is rendered as esoteric meaning or not? Negative response to this question will bring about the theory of symbolism in the holy Quran. If this theory comes true then the reliability of esoteric interpretation will not be ponderable with semantic analysis. Some theoricians believe that hadiths which are concerned with tafsir and those which deal with esoteric interpretation of the holy Quran back up the theory of symbolism in the holy Quran. In this article, the author briefly investigates purport of narrations concerned with interpretation and revelation and esoteric and exoteric meaning and categorizing these narrations, he rejects the theory of symbolism in the holy Quran and proves that there is a linguistic relation between apparent and hidden meaning.

The author in this text deals with the criticism of hadith and views it from Islamic scholars and Orientalists points of view. Mentioning the differences between Islamic hadith studies (Isnad) and Orientalists (text), he explains the method used by both groups. Then he studies Ibn al-Jawzi's Categories of Hadith forgers and points to seven groups of hadith forgers which are dealt with by Ibn al-Jawzi in the introduction of his book al-Mudu`at.

The best way to get familiar with the holy Prophet and infallible Imams, peace and blessings be upon them, is to use their sayings. To benefit from their speeches, we should pay attention to the effective factors in understanding hadith. One of these factors is to know the reasons which causes the issuance of hadith from infallible Imams, peace be upon them.
Many of the hadiths are connected with events and circumstances which took place during the life of the holy Prophet and infallible Imams, peace and blessings be upon them. The circumstances leading to the issuance of these hadith are called "reasons for issuance" which are of high importance in understanding hadith.
Therefore, it is necessary to get more familiar with reasons for issuance of hadith so that prevent from misunderstanding hadiths.
The author comes up with this issue in two parts. The first part is concerned with general discussions such as definition, importance, and related benefits. The second part investigates the reasons for issuance of some hadiths.

Presentation of Hadith to the holy Quran is one of the issues which is discussed in the field of hadith authenticity. Hadith scholars, according to narrations from infallible Imams, peace be upon them, do not accept narrations contrary to what the holy Quran says. This paper deals with purport of the holy Quran and views it from two perspectives: inner and outer meaning.

In al-Kashf wa al-Bayan known as Thalabi's commentary, there is a hadith concerning purport of Muqattaah-Letters ascribed to Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him. This hadith which is also found in some Shiite tafsir texts, deals with Muqattaah-Letters utilizing written form or visual effect of the holy Quran. Considering the necessity of criticism of tafsir-oriented hadiths, which is accepted by all scholars of tafsir, and relying on linguistics and orthographers approach, the author evaluates this hadith and concludes that calligraphy and alphabet are the fruit of human innovation and invention and can not be used as a base for interpreting the holy Quran thus this hadith is unreliable and could not be issued by an infallible Imam. The author believes that this research paper can be used as an example for hadith criticism of this type.

This paper investigates hadith in Gnostic school of thought which are employed in a different way.In the first part of this paper, the author discusses hadith in theoretical field of Gnosticism therein hadith has a special position. Gnostics believe that hadith, like the holy Quran, has outer and inner meaning. Some believe that understanding hadith depends on human capacity. Gnostics while authenticating haith, rely on direct hearing and disregarding the document of hadith. In the second part of this paper, the author discusses hadith in practical field of Gnosticism. He believes that Gnostics follow certainty which they obtain during observation.

The author of the present paper first renders a history of Oriental studies in the field of Hadith and then introduces those Orientalists who have worked in this field and views their works. She categorizes their field of hadith scholarship in their works into four categories. translation indexing investigation and verification research The last section of this paper deals with the Orientalists schools of thought.

Qadi Numan, Ismailite jurisprudent and traditionist, is Kuleini and Saduq's contemporary and because of this, his works of hadith are highly regarded. Based on the Ahl al-Bayt hadith, he has compiled a book on jurisprudence in details. Unfortunately a small part of it is available now. Qadi Numan in al-Idah mentions the names of the previous books and relates hadith from them. Some of these works are of reliable books of Shiah which are not available now. The present paper is a survey of the most important written sources of al-Idah.

The present paper first gives a brief history of Islamic Journals which have so far been published in Turkey. In the first section, the author renders an introduction to the style of Journal of Hadith Studies and characteristics of its articles. He also introduces the editor-in-chief of Journal of Hadith Studies. In the second section he points to the articles and presents abstracts of them.