JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES
Year:2002 | Volume:11 | Issue:40|Papers Count:10

Throughout history, human beings have pondered about God Almighty in different ways and terms, all of which are various manifestations of His eternal existence. One of the strangest characteristics attributed to God is His corporality; different thinkers who have attributed this characteristic to Him did not have the same motives and their beliefs were not of the same nature. In this article, first an attempt is made to give a brief history of the concept of God and its different manifestations, which in general reflect its positive evolution. Next, the approach of Moslem thinkers to this concept is surveyed briefly and the reader is reminded of the fact that this attribute never enjoyed common consensus among Islamic thinkers and theologians. The reader is also reminded that the views of the great Western philosopher, Spinoza, in this regard are surprising, and they deserve special scrutiny, since definitely he could not have the same motives in attributing this quality to God Almighty as the illiterate and ignorant people who were of the same belief. The last part of the paper is devoted to a relatively detailed study of some of Spinozas possible reasons in this regard, and finally his views are critically analyzed and illuminated.

One of the necessities of the Greater Pilgrimage (Hajje Tamato) is the offering of sacrifice in Mina. The haji must sacrifice an animal for Gods sake. Today, due to the large number of pilgrims, the absence of the needy from the place where offerings are made, and lack of facilities, the meat of hundreds of thousands of sacrifices is wasted and not consumed. The question rais,ed is whether sacrifice is necessary at the present time or not? Does the offering of a sacrifice have only one purpose, or does it have other purposes as well? The present study takes into consideration the reasons put forth by both sides of the argument, and suggests a practical solution to the problem. It is hoped that with the adoption of reasonable and logical methods, the pilgrimage would take place as gloriously as possible, and the present undesirable conditions of sacrament would be improved.

The manuscript of "Izah-ol Mokhalefat Sunnite Le Nasse Ketab Va Sunnite" (An Explanation of the Opposition of Tradition with the Divine Decree and Tradition) by Allameh Helli (726 A.H.) has not been published yet. The author of this manuscript has compared the theological foundations of Sunnites with the Holy Koran and pointed out the places where these foundations contradict the Holy Koran; for this reason, some experts of Islam have considered it as a book of theological reasoning and interpretation. The manuscripts start with the 21Z" verse of the Chapter Cow (i.e. Baghara) and finish at the end of the Chapter Family of Imran (i.e. Ale Imran). The author of this manuscript has adopted the method of interpretation according to the order of the chapters and has not deal with ambiguities in detail. This interpretation is in a sense the first comparative interpretation and hence it deserves special attention.

One of the beautiful aspects of religion which is discussed in all religions is praying. Praying leads to the spiritual maturity of people, and to their closeness to God.is afactor for the promotion of mankind and approaching God. The importance of praying has been discussed in all religions. However, the attraction, beauty and completeness of Shiite, supplications, and especially those of Hadrat Ali is so obvious that no comments or discussions are required. This study shows that the Nahjul Balagha is reminiscent of what may be found in the holy Koran and traditions, and this shows the close relationship of Hadrat Ali with the source of divine revelation.

Simultaneously with immense developments in different branches of human knowledge, Islamic theology, too, has improved and has taken up new issues and problems. One of the new issues addressed in theology is related to revelation and the possible impacts of the culture of the time on it. In the present article an attempt is made to study the possible impact of culture on revelation. First, the origins of this question are mentioned, and after raising the question, two approaches to the issue at hand are dealt with in relative detail. The positive approach to the question is dealth with at the beginning, because this perspective is not in line with Islamic teachings or beliefs. The last part of the article is devoted to the negative approach in relative detail, because it is believed that revelation definitely can not be affected by the pertinent culture of the time.

In this article the legal nature of contractual passive solidarity and its effects are determined. Contractual solidarity is divided into two kinds: passive and active. In passive solidarity, according to the contract every co-debtor is obliged to pay the total amount of debt; and in active solidarity, every creditor is entitled to recourse the debtor and collect the total credit Solidarity, whether active or passive, is based on three fundamental characteristics: unity of object, plurality of lines (bonds), and mutual representation. Each of these characteristics has special effects.

The misrepresentational hadith is one type of problematic and less credible hadith which, more or less, has made its way to the Six Sunni Sehah (reliable traditions) and other collections of hadith. Considering the large number of misrepresentational hadiths that have entered the said books, the present writer, in this short article, only cites three examples from each of the Six Sehah, in the order of the year of demise of the compilers of these collections. Finally it should be mentioned that the defence Sunni scholars have made of the above -mentioned books (i.e. the Six Sehah) is critically examined throughout the paper.

Knowledge of the personality of women from the Islamic point of view is a very important matter in our times. In this regard the personality of women can be introduced by adopting a comprehensive approach and by relying on religious laws. The results of the present research on the true nature of women from the Islamic perspective indicated that: 1) Man and woman as different sexes of the same species both have the potential capacity of reaching intellectual maturity. 2) Islamic religious laws emphasize the humane aspect of self -realization and from this point of view both sexes guarantee the continuity of human generations. 3) In Koranic culture, it is possible for both man and woman to attain spiritual values. 4) In the holy Koran, there is no difference between man and woman, and both share a common human substance. 5) The true nature and spiritual substance of women as well as men is purity; and in the verses of the holy Koran it is mentioned that Satan is the enemy of human beings, and not just men. If we study the early history of Islam, we willfind out that at the time of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.), women regained a high social status; and Islam caused many blessings and brought many advantages for women. Unfortunately, the period of dignity, development and progress of women didnt last for a long time and their situation changed. This article is the result of an attempt to explain the reasons and factors why the status of women declined. In order to clarifY the point at hand, reference is made to some of the relevant personalities and their opinions, and thoughts are presented so that the readers themselves can pass judgement on their personalities and deeds.

No doubt, in-depth knowledge and cognizance of the hadiths of the Prophet and the infallible Imams play a crucial role in understanding the Islamic faith. However, understanding those which appear to coutradict each other, or that have been manipulated is difficult. According to the infallible Imams, such traditions should be checked against and compared with one another. Hence, it remains absolutely necessary to cross-examine them so that they would clarify each other, and so that we could find out their relations with regard to their specificity, abrogation, and their literal and figurative expressions. Additionally, fabricated traditions would hence be recognized for what they were. In the present study, the hadiths which stress comparison of traditions are elucidated with a view toward learning how to compare and cross-check them. It is argued that incompatible and vague traditions must first be checked against the Quran and then against one another, so that their (un) reliability and content would be clarified. It is evident that the task of comparison of traditions is possible for all hadith scholars, and is very useful.

This paper presents the model that Plantinga gives to indicate that theistic beliefs have warrant. This means that theistic beliefs: a- are produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly; b- function properly in the kind of cognitive environment for which they have been designed; c- are aimed at the production of true belief; and d- have succeeded in reaching their goals. Plantinga is of the opinion that, if theistic beliefs are true, then it seems likely that they do have warrant; that is, theistic beliefs are produced by cognitive faculties which have the latter conditions. And if this is true, then there is, indeed, such a person as God and He has of course intended that we should be able to be aware of His presence.