مجله حدیث و اندیشه
پیاپی 12 (پاییز و زمستان 1390)

Morality in Nahj al-Balaghah and [other] teachings of Imam Ali (A.S) encompasses a collection of insights, values, inclinations, methods, acts and speeches, that the man’s life will not be systematized in a human way with faith unless they are organized in different fields. In Nahj al-Balaghah and Imam Ali’s [other] teachings the word ‘justice’ was used in five meanings: To put everything in its true place and that everything be put this way, fairness, to regard the rights of others, to satisfy one having a just claim (e.g. by giving him his due), and moderation. These two things (i.e. morality and justice) are the two fundamental pillars of a human and faithful life in all fields; and in Nahj al-Balaghah and in the [other] teachings of Imam Ali (A.S) the relation between morality and justice is a concomitant one and that these two are interrelated to such an extent that neither of them can separately be seen and materialized (i.e. morality without justice and viceversa). Imam Ali’s tendency for justice is of the same kind of his tendency formorality and vice-versa. In order to explain this relation, four basic facts in Nahj al-Balaghah and Imam Ali’s [other] teachings have been discussed:materialization of justice program through morality, orientation of the government, commitment to morality in progress of the justice program, and safeguarding the morality in the strained circumstances of justice materialization.

Modern scholarship has accepted the ‘backgrowth of isnāds’ in the earlyhadith tradition, but this phenomenon did not occur without controversyamong classical Muslim scholars. Hadithcritics were aware that materialwas being pushed back to the Prophet, a phenomenon they approachedthrough the lens of ziyāda (addition). By examining works devoted to criticizinghadith narrations (‘ilal) from the 3rd/9th to the 8th/14th centuries,we will see that the original non-Prophetic versions of many hadiths survivedalongside their Prophetic counterparts well into the 5th/11thcentury. More importantly, certain hadith scholars from the 3rd/9th to the7th/13th centuries believed that Prophetic reports in the canonical hadithcollections were actually statements of other early Muslims. The positionof these critics, however, was marginalized in the 5th/11th century, whenmainstream Sunni jurists chose to accept the Prophetic versions categorically. Although the jurists’ position became dominant in Sunni Islam,criticism of the backgrowth of isnāds has continued in the work of selecthadith scholars until today.

The exegeses are mainly written in the two methods of “tartībī” (in serial order) and “mawḍū’ī” (in thematic order). The tartībī order has two kinds: according to the order of the chapters and verses of the current Qur’an, and according to the chronological revelation order of the chapters and verses. The first account of the latter kind is about Imam Ali (A.S). Bayan al- Ma’ādhī ‘alā ḥasab tartīb al-nuzūl by ‘Abd al-Qādir Mullah Huwaysh Āl Ghādī, and Tafsīr al-hadīth tartīb al-suwar ḥasab al-nuzūl by Muhammad ‘Izzah Durūzah, and Pā bipāyi wahy by Mahdi Bazargan are among exegeses written later by Muslim scholars following the same method. The latest exegesis of this kind is Ma‘ārij al-Tafakkur wa Daqā’iq al- Tadabbur written by ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Ḥabankah al-Maydānī and was published in 15 volumes in 2000. This exegesis just contains the Meccan chapters. The author, however, initiates compiling his commentary on the first Medinite chapter (i.e. Surat al-Baqarah) at the end of volume 15 and writes a brief exegesis, but his life fails him to complete his task. This exegesis has an approach mainly based on ijtihad and intellect. The author, however, in his reflective analytical exegesis has applied many other methods including commentary on the Qur’an by the Qur’an, narrative jurisprudential scholarly method, explaining historical events, question and answer, criticizing the exegetes, mentioning the opinions of the exegetes, etc that contribute to presentation of a nearly good and perfect exegesis. Some new researchers have also started such a movement so that it cannot be said that this method has been an innovation of such orientalists as Noldeke and Belachere. The Exegesis of Ma‘ārij al-Tafakkur wa Daqā’iq al-Tadabbur has been investigated in this essay.

From the beginning of their history the Shi‘a have had a remarkable role in explaining the divine revelation (i.e. the Qur’an) and have had numerous compilations in the field of exegesis. One of the exegeses penned eloquently in Arabic in the current century is Tafsīr Min Waḥy al-Qur’ān by ‘Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Faḍlullāh, the Lebanese leading truth-seeking campaigner and standardbearer. He deems the Qur’an as Divine Message for the man to let him reach his favorable goal both in individual and social life. Faḍlullāh thus approaches the Qur’anic verses in a socio-educational way and then interprets them. He mentions that the method and the aim of the Holy Qur’an is to establish a faithful conscious community. This characteristic can be noticed in the entire exegesis.Since the author has a guiding approach in his book, he seldom takes advantage of traditions. He has a special attention to Al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al- Qur’ān. He does not maintain that the Qur’an exclusively is for the culture and time of revelation, rather he holds that the aim of its revelation is to help human beings attain perfection.Throughout his exegesis Faḍlullāh attempts to make the reader understand that the Qur’an is the ‘Book of Life’; a book that teaches him how to live (a pure life). Therefore, considering the fact that this exegesis has a social approach, the author’s viewpoint is a realistic social one. He does not intend to offer just a brief commentary on the verses and explain the revelation atmosphere, the analysis of verses and the diacritics, rather applying ijtihād and reason he deals with subjects discussed in the modern society. Even from the Qur’anic stories he extracts many educational and social points. Like his eminent teacher, Ayatollah Khoei, the author pays attention to problems of Qur’anic sciences on which there always have been disagreement among the scholars of the Qur’anic sciences, and decisively expresses his opinions by reasoning.

Abrogation means the expiry of a thing, to temporally end a law, agreement, etc. Islam considers the other divine religions as abrogated and strongly emphasizes on it. This saying is supported by countless verses [of the Qur’an] and traditions. Some individuals believe that the previous religions have not been abrogated and that it is lawful to follow them. They thus have fallen in the abyss of pluralism. Their reasons, however, are totally baseless and unacceptable. Islamic teachings that support the idea of abrogation can be classified as the following Readiness for and expectation of the People of the Book for the emergence of Islam; Inviting the People of the Book to Islam and adducing evidence and reasons to prove its legitimacy; Reproaching the People of the Book in case they disobey Islam; The promise that Islam is victorious over all other religions; The prophets were not pluralists.

This article has been written with an emphasis on the Qur’anic verses and the traditions with the purpose of explaining the barriers created against the hearts preventing one from perfection and causing him, day after day, to be away from the way of transcendence. In this line the most important barriers causing one to be away from conceiving the realities have been discussed from the Qur’anic point of view. Considering the existing indication that heart introduced in the Qur’anic verses and the traditions is regarded as a means of acquiring knowledge. Therefore, the Qur’an highly emphasizes that it (i.e. the heart) should be preserved. This article comes to this strategic point in ethics, religious education and heart purification that one can remove from his heart such barriers as ignorance, arrogance, showing off, worldliness, [committing] sins, long wishes, etc. that cause hard-heartedness, swerving of heart, blindness ofheart (i.e. inwardly blindness), sealing of heart, rustiness of heart, and finally, death of one’s heart. This task will be possible by constant remembrance of God, taking a lesson of the ancients, abstaining from committing sins, studying moral books and the traditions quoted from the Infallibles and finally, by remembering one’s [oncoming] death.

Traditions constitute a major part of Islamic knowledge and thought. Distinguishing the genuine traditions from the fabricated ones is performed by religious scholars and on the basis of legitimate fundamentals. Whereas ‘wilāyah’ is the most important problem of the Muslims, great scholars have always been determined to make this problem clear among Islamic traditions Taking into account many fundamentals, Allamah ‘Abd al-Hussein Amini pays attention to and studies the Sunni traditions. His attention to the Sunnitraditions motivated us to cast a glance at his hadith fundamentals, and approaches while treating the Sunni traditions. Allamah Amini classifies the Sunni traditions in several groups. Only those traditions are authentic in his eyes that praise the Commander of the Faithful, include a quotation about his [high] position, and reproach the adversaries of the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet’s household). Taking the reason, conformity with beliefs, thoughts and verdicts of the scholars among companions into account Allamah Amini judges about Sunni hadiths. In Allamah’s viewpoint traditions that lack coordination with historical events are also rejected. The article concludes with Allamah Amini’s viewpoint about the Six Books.

One of the concerns of the believers is the preservation and security of their faith in the End of Time. A period that has been described in the traditions as being with hardships and affliction. The prerequisite of a faithful lie in the End of Time is to know the obligations, duties and the values highly emphasized by the Infallible Imams. In Nahj al-Balaghah, by making use of the knowledge of the Imam, and with the purpose of foretelling the future, Imam Ali (A.S) mentions some cases of altered values of that era. No doubtthe sentences and phrases of Nahj al-Balaghah in this field help us know the deviations and blunders in an era with ups and downs. In this article some instances of metamorphosed values in the End of Time will be studied.

Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) that is counted among prolific Sunni scholars has entered the field of fabricated hadiths with the purpose of purifying, criticizing and summarizing the book “al- Mawḍū‘āt” by Ibn al-Jawzī (507- 597/1113-1200). Transmitting the ṭarīq (narrations intermediaries) of the author of the main source is among the characteristics of Suyūṭī’s work that has contributed to the summarization of the isnāds (chain of transmitters). Putting hadiths of different sections together and omitting some of the traditions cause the researcher to conclude that making use of the book al-Mawḍū‘āt is an easier task. The reliance of Suyūṭī upon Dhahabī and Ibn Ḥajar has resulted in the removal of the charge of fabrication from certain traditions and hadith transmitters. While criticizing the texts confirmed by the Shi‘a Suyūṭī has occasionally emphasized upon the rejection, however he has defended the claim that certain cases had not been fabricated. But regarding the ascription of ghuluww (extremism) and rafḍ (repudiation) one cannot differentiate between Suyūṭī and other critics.