فصلنامه تحقیقات کلامی
پیاپی 6 (پاییز 1393)

While the Kufan and Qomi Mu¡addiths and Mu¡addith-Mutakallims accepted the idea of previous life for Ahl ul-Bayt (p.b.u.t) and all humans, the Baghdadi theologians including Sheikh Mufid, Sayyed MurtaÃa and Sheikh Ùusi, have taken a negative position in this subject. The current essay attempts to tackles the theoretical causes of this giving up. One can acquire these causes from what these theologians themselves explicitly or implicitly expressed. This essay shows that taking an allegorical interpreting approach to narrations, belief in non-authenticity of Khabare Wa¡ed (individual narration), considering human soul as accident and not being based on itself, falsification of belief extremism, falsification of reincarnation which is demanded by the belief in previous life, and non-remembering the events of the previous life are amongst the bases and reasons lead the Baghdadis to reject the previous life.

The speech and acts of the Infallibles (p.b.u.t.) contains the deepest knowledge of the universe. The current research attempts to assess one of the important Islamic Kal³mi issues, that is, the concept of the divine will and providence in Imam Reza’s (p.b.u.h.) speeches and the structural correlation visible in the narrations narrated of him. Using the self-evident principles in rational reasoning, Imam Reza (p.b.u.h.) talked about the creation of will and considered it as God’s act. He also proved that the divine will is neither the same as His Nature nor equal to His Knowledge. In some speeches in the discussions of divinity, by offering strong arguments, he closed any way to fallacy and heresy in the Kal³mi issues of religion, and, by offering the guidance-giving life-style of Ahl ul-Bayt (p.b.u.t.), prepared the way for the servants to God’s nearness.

Shahid MuÚahhari has an exact viewpoint about the “Argument from Design”. His significant emphasis is that only by seeing the agent cause one cannot result the being of God through the current design in the universe and even through the current causality in it; because design as such is resulted both from final cause and agent cause, and by merely realization of the agent cause the design could not completely fulfilled. By explaining important issues in this regard, he attempts to give an acceptable utterance of this argument so that it would be possible to talk about it as a scholarly and rational argument. Ayatullah Jawadi Amoli also has suitable points to complete the argument. In the present essay, firstly the dimensions of MuÚahhari’s point of view in rational explaining of the argument from the design is explained and, then, by offering some cases of the views of Ayatullah Jawadi, it will be attempted to answer some criticisms to this argument from this approach.

To know and assess the Shi’a’s behaviors and relations in interaction with Imams (p.b.u.t.) is a necessary approach to an exact knowledge of their beliefs and the Purified Imams’ (p.b.u.t.) life-style. It is necessary to examine this significant matter in various ideological, cultural and social realms. In this essay, the beliefs and belief relations of the Shi’a towards the Twelve Imams are examined. Furthermore, the different kinds of the Shi’a’s belief relations with Imams are introduced and this question is answered that the Shi’a how had benefitted the Imams’ high spiritual position, and whether the Shi’a’s relations with Imams were appropriate to their divine place. The effort of the presence era Shi’a to recognize Imams, to defend the foundation of Imamah and the infallible leaders and to grasp to the spiritual position of the Purified Imams are among the most important axes of the Shi’a relations in belief field. Despite of different behaviors of Shi’a in some cases, the course of their knowledge and behavior advancement in interaction with Imams is visible.

MufaÃÃal ibn ‘Umar is one of the Great Shi’i figures in the second/eighth century which many narrations narrated by him in the Imamiyyah Hadith sources. Some has attributed him to the “MufawwiÃah” circle and even considered ham as the founder of this circle. To examine MufaÃÃal’s character and the correctness or incorrectness of the attribution of Tafwià to him, not only clarifies some part of the history of the Kalºmi School of Kufa, but also opens a window for us to know the extremism-accused circle in the Kufan atmosphere of the second/eighth century. The analysis of the available historical data about MufaÃÃal and as well as the history of the Tafwià circle formation shows that in no way one can count him as one of the founders or dependants to this circle. In a more exact word, the available information about MufaÃÃal does not prove any tafwiÃi thought by him.

On the basis of some narrated and rational evidences, some Imami scholars have negated the right for legislation from the Imams (p.b.u.t) and limited their function to preach the Shariah. These evidences includes affairs like the early verses of the Surah al-Najm, the verses and narrations indicating the clarification of all commandments in the Divine Book, the demonstrations indicating the perfection of religion in the Prophet (p.b.u.h) era, narrations reveal the dictation of the commandments by the Prophet (p.b.u.h) to Imam ‘Ali (p.b.u.h), the narration from the Imams (p.b.u.t) that they do not say anything on their behalf, and other demonstrations that leave no way for the Imams (p.b.u.t) to legislate. The current writing had examined the most important arguments to negate this authority from the viewpoint of some thinker and finally proves their inefficacy.

Although “Religious Experience” is a new term, it possesses a vast background in Islamic culture. The Muslim thinkers’ discussions about the conditions of disclosure such as inspiration and revelation can be counted as the best foundation for this topic in Islamic thought. Ghaz³li is one of those whom have experienced experience-like events and had vast discussions in the religious experience field. There has been offered, in this essay, an explanation and analysis of Ghaz³li’s viewpoints about religious experience; the place of “humanity” as the belonging and “being” as the belonged and the “veil” between humanity and being is also clarified. As well as the means and preliminaries that one needs for the Disclosure have been explained. From the viewpoints of Ghaz³li, the religious experiences are sometimes something like inspiration and sometimes prophetic revelation. The experience of the sight of God in the afterlife is also a significant matter that Ghaz³li had explored its possibility by both kal³mi and mystical approaches.