JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE FACULTY OF LETTERS AND HUMANITIES
Year:2001 | Volume:33 | Issue:3-4|Papers Count:26

This essay deals with the value of knowledge as stipulated in Imam Ali's discourse with Kumeil ibn Ziad. In this discourse Ali, based on the people's knowledge, divides them in three categories: Scholar, seeker, and ignorant. Then he proceeds on the superiority of knowledge over wealth on several grounds. Why does Imam deem knowledge as valuable? By quoting a hadith from the Holy Prophet and then the commentary we have demonstrated that the true knowledge is knowing God and maa'ad and moral teachings are the final destiny. Apart from religious sciences, other areas of knowledge bearing a scientific nature that can improve life in this world are also necessary. A comprehensive view of the Koran and sunna and Islamic history bears testimony that not only Islam has no objection to the sciences born out of human thought but it has steadily fostered the sciences and encourages the scientists. The article concludes with Imam Ali's sagacious words on: trusting nobody but God, fearing nothing but guilt, not to shy from admission of ignorance, effort to gain knowledge, and patience.

So far the Shi'ite epics were known to belong to the Timurid and Safavid periods in the history of Persian literature. Yet the collection to be introduced in this article shows that some decades after the composition of the Shahnameh in the 5th century concurrent with the composition of Asadi's Garshasbnameh a poet wrote an epic on Ali ibn abi Talib's battles. This collection both in terms of the history of the epic in Persian letters as well as the Shi'ite history is of paramount importance. It is also valuable for its vocabulary and syntax. The information on Shahrbanoo and her brothers, even as a myth, is novel and unprecedented.

Speaking of the truth is tantamount to speaking of existence and essence, it commences with God and shines through his creation, it looms large in human duty and speech. While human speech and action are quite limited, but Ali radiates light who is an emblem of the truth. He lived his life for the manifestation of truth. Truth shines through in his sayings: utter significance of the truth, the features of those advocating truth, divine rights and popular rights, people's rights and those of the poor, to compensate injustice, the necessity of standing up for the truth, the truth lovers, opposing truth and its consequences, duties of the rulers and their deputies towards truth, and finally asking the Lord for the implementation of the truth.

Social and cultural pathology in sociology are deployed when there is no complete social compatibility across the society. Hence this concept is applied against social equilibrium. Some sociologists like Emile Durkheim associated social health with social solidarity. They believe that social evolution is predicated on social solidarity. The more there is social solidarity, the more are the individuals inclined to interact and this would lead to increased social interaction. The lesser the social solidarity, the lesser would social interaction tend to be. On the other hand, sociologists decm the social system as a general entity where all components function towards the survival of the system as a whole. The links among the components would create a dynamic linkage between the components and the system. Religion is one of the components of a given social system which contains social and ethical values and renders social coherence. Through maintaining a dynamic linkage among the individuals and constructing common values and beliefs religion provides social unity. Therefore, religion socially bears an effect.

The present article includes an introduction to the received hadiths on Imam Mahdi as well as 40 hadiths from Imam Ali on Mahdi vis-a-vis the Sunni hadiths and on the following 12 issues: Mahdi's pedigree, the finality of Mahdi's appearance, Mahdi's profile, the necessity of Mahdi's presence, the promise of the just rule, indications before the appearance, Mahdi's disciples, Christ's descent from heaven and performing mass prayer led by Mahdi in Jerusalem, just rule or the time for peace and the end to unrest, duration of his rule.

A study of the speech patterns in the recent decades has been the focus of attention for the linguists. One of the central issues in this article is discourse analysis. While there have been invaluable studies conducted on the moral, spiritual and social aspects of the Nahj-ul-Balagheh which bears the khutbas and the wise words of Imam Ali, yet there has been little linguistic research done on the book. Therefore, the present work is a small beginning to perform discourse analysis of one of the Khutbas.

This article deals with a few injunctions of Imam Ali in Nahj-ul-Balagheh. Imam Ali has issued injunctions on the following.a. Imam Ali issued orders for the ruler on economic and financial matters.b. He set up an agenda for the army.c. He spoke on the legal and social rights of the public.d. He ordered on developing the country.e. He ordered on the ruler's behavior towards his subjects.Furthermore, Imam Ali struck out the social stratification and specified the following attributes for the ruler. Piety, observance of the divine rules in the Holy Book and sunnat of the Holy Prophet, forgiving the people's flaws. In the Malek Ashtar treatise he has also issued useful instructions on the selection of the Jury as well as the scribes, government clerks. In the ninth chapter he recommended fine treatment of the merchants and craftsman.

This article engages with a synoptic account of Nahj-ul-Balagha and its literary standing and then with Imam Ali's personality in terms of eloquence as seen by some Arab literary celebrities. Then it proceeds with an account of Jehad. Afterwards this writer pursues three matters. First a summary of the thematics of the Jehad khutba with a glance on its rhetorical subtleties. Second, the esthetic and rhetorical aspects are engaged with in a more exhaustive manner. At this point the connection between form and meaning in the text as well as the rhythm in Imam Ali's discourse are alluded to. Third, to demonstrate the superb quality of Imam Ali's discourse some of his speech is compared to a khutba of a famous Arab orator.

The Sunni poets who composed their works in Persian either embraced Shi'ism after sufficient deliberation in the history of Shi'ism and the great figures therein or found interest in the ideology. Attar Neishaburi is a prime example of the former albeit on the strength of his early works they viewed him as a Sunni. This paper engages with his works in chronological order which betrays the fact that first he was a Sunni and then converted to Islam in the course of time. This articles also tries to prove that contrary to the views of some scholars the Mazharolajayeb mathnawi was composed by Attar.

Discourse means the process of the production and regulation of a given text, whether written or oral, by the addressor and the addressee's comprehension. Discourse analysis is in fact textual analysis. Given that discourse is predicated on foreground, discourse analysis is in fact an investigation of the background to the discourse. A study of the extratextual and intratextual factors renders a better understanding of a text. The present article examines Ali's discourse in Nahj -ul- Balagheh. The important features in Ali's discourse are justice, mundane values, government, piety, study of man etc.... An important characteristic of this article is the distinction between the discourse of Ali and the Prophet with an emphasis on piety, otherworldliness, and Ali's special interest in the government and the human beings.

Imam Ali's views and thoughts greatly bear the imprint of the Holy Koran. The abundance of the Koranic intertexts in Ali's words has greatly to do with his rearing in the Ka'aba and observing the revelations to the Prophet as well as his collecting of the Koran. This great impact of the holy book can be at once seen in his words and interpretations and in his thoughts. The great range of the Koranic influence exists to the extent that not only Nahj-ul-Balagheh and Ali's words cannot be interpreted without paying due attention to the Koranic subtleties, but Ali's interpretations of the mysteries of the holy book would also shed light on the Koranic truth. Therefore, Ali's Nahj-ul-Balgheh is deemed at times as the authentic reading of the Koran's socio-ethical matters and would equally satisfy those interested in the semantics of the text as well as the readers who are merely satisfied with literal interpretation. This article attempts to demonstrate the range of Imam Ali's impression of God's words in Nahj-ul-Badagheh.

As the title suggests this article is about determinism and fate in Rumi's Mathnawi. The writer attempts to study Rumi's criteria in evaluating determinism and fate separately. Then the writer proceeds with presenting his impression based on some excerpts from Rumi's works.

The methodology of research on diverse creatures deployed in Nahj-ul-Balaghe betrays Ali's objective interpretation of the realities and the empirical. This article is on the account of the peacock, vampire, and the locust as well as the social and psychological approach in Nahj-ul-Balaghe.

Apart from the close kinship between Ali and the esteemed Prophet, he is known as the genuine spiritual child of Islam. Since childhood Ali was brought up under the Prophet's guardianship who loved him dearly. Relying on the valid Ferigheen sources this article deals with the attributes and glories of Ali and his high standing in the eyes of the Prophet. Along the way it also engages with notions such as the fraternity between the Prophet and Ali, Mohammad's Prophet hood according to the Holy Koran, the Prophet's successor, the Prophet's strong love towards Ali, Ali's sacrifices for Islam.

This article proceeds with a study of the legitimacy of government from the Islamic sects' perspective. On the strength of the foundation of Ali's rule the writer views it as a legitimate form of government and any opposition would be considered as against Sharia. Then he moves along with the sahabeh's rebellion against Ali's government. The article also investigates Ali's mode of engagement with his opponents where in political struggles he never gave up his principles and acted against the Holy Koran and sunna. Further details are to be found in the original article at length.

In this article the writer after an introduction to referencing and citing examples of referencing to Nahj-ul-Balaghe in the syntactical sources especially in Sharhe Razi Bar Kafeh discusses one of these references that challenges a relatively absolute syntactical rule. Presenting the views of the commentators of Nahj-ul-Balaghe as well as other probabilities and criticizing them in the light of the linguistic theories and arguing on determining the merits of some aspects are the other features of this article.

Najaf Ashraf which is the burial place of Ali has had an eventful history. In addition to being a place of pilgrimage it has also functioned as the powerhouse of Islamic learning. This article attempts to investigate the growth mechanism of the city and its evolution (with an emphasis on the historical and geographical background).

The provision of the ways and means for check and balance on the behavior of the authorities and the people's welcoming of command for good and forbid of wrong in connection with the government managers and employees would guarantee the health and duration of the Islamic Republic of Iran and would facilitate their serving the people, dutifulness, efficiency, and further dynamism. It would also prevent the profiteers, and the infiltration of the enemies and the corrupt elements into the government. Furthermore, it would hold in check the grounds for the occurrence of any deviation. The present article also engages with the notion of standing up for the truth and the nature of the Islamic government and the related matters from Ali's perspective. Further down the road the position, impact and the proper procedure of command for good and forbid of wrong along with an account of its fruits and practical effectiveness through relying on Ali's words are also presented. Among the issues discussed in the present article are the value of public control on government administrators in the executive, judiciary, and legislative branches, the necessity of accountability to the nation, the significance of the authorities' response to criticism and providing the ways and means for public control.

Of the matters that attracted this writer's attention during his years of studying the socio-economic, political and cultural aspects of the great Khorasan in the past, is the free and unimpeded activities of the Alavids during the regin of the two powerful dynasties, that is, the Samanids and Ghaznavids. They were ardent supporters of the Sunni Faith. Through a perusal of Sa'alebi's works, the great man of letters in Khorasan in the 11th and 12th centuries, this article attempts to cover briefly the views of this group in general. This study can acquaint the reader with the people's reception of Shi'ism in the coming centuries.

After introduction and background, the present article engages with the mosques' function. The analysis of the spatial distribution of mosques was carried out along with a comparison of the mosques with the educational centers in the east and west of the city and the location mode of the mosques and their density on the map of the city. The article sheds light on the fact that the construction of the educational centers and mosques in the east and west of Mashhad is closely tied to a host of factors such as the historical background, the people's economic output, urban development in some parts of the city in line with the comprehensive plan as well as the location of the government departments. Hence in some parts the mosques outnumber the educational centers or vice versa.

Despite his many journeys near and afar, Ibn Arabi apparently did not travel to Persia. Yet he was well acquainted with Persian mysticism and Persian mystics even during his life time and paid due attention to his teachings. In fact a majority of Sadruddin Qunawi's students (Ibn Arabi's student and the great teacher of his school) are from Persia and native speakers of Persian. Muayeddin Jandi, Saiduddin Forghani, Iraqi are among them. Nuruddin Abdolrahaman Jami, the great Persian mystical poet in the sixteenth century made the greatest contribution to the spread of Ibn Arabi's teachings. Through his works such as Nafahat-ul-Ons, Selselat-ul-Zehab, Ashat-ul-Lomaat ... he provided a thorough account of Ibn Arabi's views. The present article engages with the lasting presence of Ibn Arabi's teachings in Persia from his time to the present and Jami's great contribution as a catalyst in the transfer of his teachings.

The notion of Velayat is an important issue that thinkers and mystics have engaged with in the study of man. On the strength of creed and the views of the impeccables they have made profound statements. Hakim Hadj Mulla Hadi Sabzevari, a renowned thirteenth century thinker and mystic is a celebrity who has dealt with the notion of Velayat in his works. By following the Shi'ite belief and Sharia and utilizing the Hokmi reasoning, and mystic instinct, holy verses and hadith he has expounded the position and limits of Velayat. He maintains that the Vali is the perfect man and manifestation of the divine names and atiributes, Vali is the medium of the bless descended to this world, all creatures on the face of the earth depend on him and the world revolves around him. The stature of the Prophets is predicated on their ranking in terms of velayat. The Prophet of Islam stands higher than all prophets because the perimeter of velayat and vali circumscribe them all. Accordingly, the standing of the people of the house is high above the entire prophets.

The writer attempts to introduce Amoli, one of the committed Shi'ite Persian poets in the seventh century hegira. Due to the absence of his poetry collection, Mulana. Kashi Amoti has remained out of the limelight. Nor is there much information on him in the references on literary history or in the biography of the poets. During his research on the Shi'ite poets the writer came across the poems by him that were noteworthy at once in terms of form and subject. After further scrutiny the writer embarked on collecting his poems in the anthologies and manuscripts in Iran and abroad. After spending a great deal of time he managed to accumulate some information on the poet as well as the bulk of his poetry scattered in several manuscripts, The writer hopes to present the collection to the lovers of the people of the house and the literature lovers alike.

The supremacy of Amir Moamenan Ali is an issue that has been long debated among Muslim theologians. The dissertation "Tafzil of Amir Moamenan" written by the great theologian Sheikh Mofid also engages with this issue that represents the firm belief of a majority of the Shi'ite theologians in the supremacy of Ali over all except for the Prophet. A majority of the Mu'tazalites in Baghdad also vouch for the supremacy of Ali over the rest of the Prophet's disciples. Out of discretion the Abbasid Caliphate supported the idea of the superiority of the Mafzool over Fazil. But Ma'moon, being the most knowledgeable Abbasid Caliph through debate sessions supported Ali's superiority and proved it. Sheikh Mofid's dissertation on Tafzil, despite its brevity, depicts the author's wealth and method given that it stakes its claim in 7 chapters on the strength of the public opinion as well as the experts and historical evidence on this issue.