Religions and Mysticism
Year:2017 | Volume:49 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

The doctrine of the chosen people is a fundamental one in the Jewish tradition which has been understood and interpreted differently in each intellectual-religious period. During the prophetic period until Apocrypha and Psudapocrypha era, we frequently find the moral advice for the people to repent of the sins rooted in arrogance caused by belief in chosenness as well as the idea of "rest of the people" and "the righteous". From the advent of Christianity to the Middle Ages, theological debates on the true "chosen people" were more seriously followed. The Kabbalistic view of the exiled people of Israel, with a cosmic mission to save the world and the mankind, is a turning point in the approach to the question of the election of the people. In modern ages, there are more critical contemplations on the doctrine itself. Reflections range from denial to supposedly rational defending of the doctrine of election. Secular intellectuals usually deny the ancient belief of their people, and religious pluralists try to justify it rationally with the result completely different from the original. The meaning of chosenness and the chosen people have changed along with changes in related debates.

Sadr al-din Qunavi, and consequently, Shams al-din Fanari, believe that according to the rule of the Unit, the Common Being, is the first issuance of God. In Qunavi’s point of view, the first issuance of God, is the Common Being and essential grace that is interpreted as the self-disclosure of current in the truths of contingents; from the First Intellect to the first matter. In other words, in view of Qunavi, the first issuance of God, is the Common Being in the truths of entities and what has come into being the truths of entities and is common the Common Being between the First Intellect and other entities, and in a sense, is the truth of being-made, belong to the Being. The largest concentration of Imam Khomeini, in his iinterpretations on Misbah al-Uns is the interpretation of Qunavi’s Miftah al-Ghayb, in explaining the system degrees of Being, is according to the First Issuance or as he put it, Absolute Providence. Imam believes that the First Issuance, it is no plurality and it is plurality in afterwards that it is the same determinations of the First Issuance. However, according to Imam, the First Issuance has the credit of unity and vanishing plurality in its nature and the credit of plurality and appearance in the manifestations. Imam solves the problem of the Divine Knowledge of details tthrough the First Issuance and also, contrary to Qunavi and Fanari, does not accept being-made of Being, because he believes that the First Issuance or the Common Being, is the pure connection and the pure connection has not judgment and therefore can not be something made that, in this case, forgathers the principality of Being and being-made of quiddity together.

Throughout the history of civilization and historical developments, religions have played an essential role. Today the interfaith dialogue has taken on extra significance whereas the religions are actually different and divers and many conflicts and quarrels have done in the name of religion on the other hand. How we can provide a model for principles and guidelines of interfaith dialogue. In recent years, some theories and views have been presented about the method and policy of interfaith dialogue and some opportunities were given to apply them regarding promotion of mutual understanding, respect, tolerance and cooperation. However, the presented solutions remain far from ideal aims. This article will explore some methods of dialogue including triple paradigms of John Hick, Martin Buber's philosophy of dialogue and theory of antiphony by Koyama. Then it will discuss the method of dialogue based on mystical contemplation. In my view, the final presented method could be more secure way of dialogue between religions compared with other ones. The article tries to introduce and present the best useful method, policy and practice of interfaith dialogue by investigating and analyzing these four methods.

During the Arabic Renaissance, modernists’ view moved from the static traditions to progressive ideas. The religion’s revival approach was replaced by reformation. Given the developments in modern Muslim societies, particularly about women, and domination of religious attitudes in norms and laws of societies, the comparative-analytical study of the evolutions of the contemporary thinkers’ views in Islamic world, emphasizing the review of Egypt religious thinkers in the twentieth century and analyzing their approaches is an attempt to answer the following questions. What is the relationship between religious intellectuals' view regarding the gender and contemporary world developments? Can it directly affect women lives in Muslim societies according to religious norms and culture? The study findings and the conceptual model derived from hermeneutic analysis of Qasem Amin and Nazireh Zein Al-din views, as religious modernists, can adapt to modern developmental components regarding women. In some cases, the use of their ideas leads to appropriate provision for gender development in Muslim societies.

The feminine mysticism is a phenomenon that has flourished in Christianity more widespread than the other Abrahamic religions and the female’s purely sects and institutions appeared in it. It became the shelter for female Christian mystics. Mechthild of Magdeburg is one of these female mystics that preferred the mystical journey against the home, family, property and marriage and first be a beguine in the beguinage and last entered to the convent as a nun. She wrote the book named flowing light of the godhead that reflects her mystical, philosophic, religious and moral opinions and sights; the work that herself was knowing as her intuition’s outcome. Her viewpoints have feminine literature and sometimes are feministic. Mechthild was seeing her date’s clerical of the church needy for reform and criticized that with sharp words that be followed her disfavor. By descriptive study of experiential, cognitional and ideological items, beside her biography, this paper attempts to know her thoughts and mystical journey.

The developing of Wahhabism in Islamic domains, especially in Egypt, has been one of the most important concerns of Al-Azhar scholars since the past. The Sheikh ofal-Azhar has been following different approaches to counteracting Wahhabism based on time constraints. Meanwhile, the role of Abdul Halim Mahmoud is very significant. In contrast to Wahhabism, his approach was positive so focused on strengthening the Sufism as a rival of the Salafism. Abdul Halim Mahmoud tried to restrain Wahhabism through promoting Sufism by showing the great Sufis as a model in a All-understandable and attractive format. In addition, the publication of Sufi teachings in various ways, especially in the era known as Imam Akbar al-Azhar, Played an important role in expanding and deepening the spiritual, moral and flexible culture of Sufism and minimizing the impact of Wahhabism, its harsh approach, and its takfiri culture. The facts that caused the attraction of the people to the culture and customs of Sufism, such as pilgrimage, recourse and celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the Guardians of God, Awliya, which was the opposite of Wahhabism, increased so the culture of society which secured it from the danger of Wahhabism.

Mostamli’s "Sharhe al-Ta’arrof" is one of the first Sufia mystical works in Persian literature. Its theological dimension overshadows the mystical one. Despite the high position of this work among the important Sufi texts, its basis dogmas and theological aspects has not been yet investigated fully and considerably. In this paper, we have shown that the author's Theological perspective and his Method of reasoning, contrary to prima faci, are not conformed to the foundations and beliefs of Ash' arites. A variety of textual texts, reflections on the geography of the book and dominance of the belief in the theological foundations and the theological views of Matoridites, among the Transoxiana's scholars, confirm that in the compilation of his book, Mostamli, in spite of being an independent author, has been influenced more from Matoridites than Ash’arites.