Iranian Journal for the Quranic Sciences and Tradition
Year:2023 | Volume:56 | Issue:1|Papers Count:12

One of the requirements of hadith knowledge is to consider the method of examining hadith on issues that may be compared to other Islamic schools of thought. Given the difference between the leaders of Islamic religions, the foundations of each of them in sciences such as hadith are different. To dynamite written debates and interactions between religions, it is very important to know hadith and rijāl rules from each side. Mir Hamed Hossein highlighted this ability in his book “Abaqāt al-'Anwār” and explained how a claim can be proven by looking at a hadith narrated by both Shiites and Sunnis. This article, based on a descriptive-analytical method, aims to study the details of his approach to proving the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) in dealing with non-Shiite sects with the aid of the hadith of guardianship. Findings show the effectiveness of his method of scholarly interaction with non-Shiite Islamic sects.

Kamāl al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Razzāq Kāshānī (d. 736) was a mystic and commentator in the 8th century, from whom several works in the field of Quranic interpretation are available today. His mystical approach influenced his interpretive approaches and led him to write a commentary unique in its time, entitled Haqā’q al-Ta’wīl fī Daqā’q al-Tanzīl. This commentary is considered valid, although its theoretical foundations have not yet been recognized. Therefore, this article analyzes and explains the main theoretical foundations of ‘Abd al-Razzāq, including the following: The belief in the expressive miracles of the Qur'an, the use of tropes in the Qur'an, the interdependence of verses in expressing their meanings, the need to interpret verses, the validity of different readings of the Qur'an, and the need to deal with the reasons for the revelation of verses are important interpretive foundations of ‘Abdul Razzāq. His work consists of lexical, literary, and interpretive details. By emphasizing trope and interpretation through the Sufi mystical approach, he dealt with the formation of interpretations about figurative meanings and symbolic concepts in some verses.

The tradition of “’Iʻrifū Allāh bi Allāh” is a difficult (mushkil) hadith that has been considered by philosophers, mystics, and hadith scholars. Some tried to draw the meaning and impact of this narration in the system of Islamic knowledge by using sanad criticisms, while some by explaining and interpreting hadith with different approaches. Accepting the apparent meaning of this hadith requires circle and chain, and as it appears from logical and philosophical findings, circle and chain are vicious and invalid. Therefore, this hadith is a difficult one. This study, using the library method of collecting data, extracting the narrative, and presenting it to other texts, concludes that the existence of the difference between the versions of Kulainī and Sadūq of Mahāsin, with the existing version of Mahāsin al-Barqī and the changes occurred in the sanads, shows the complexity of the sanad. It shows also the ambiguity of the content and makes scholars provide a solution to solve the content and sanad problems of this hadith. Unlike similar studies, this research does not explain the opinions of philosophers and mystics but tries to provide a solution from the perspective of hadith knowledge. Traditionists present six meanings of the hadith to reduce its difficulty. However, looking at the concept of hadith through traditions of the same family and the same topic and presenting the text of the hadith to other hadiths, are a key to better understanding the hadith, and the criticism and review of the views raised in the explanation of this narration. Presenting and preferring the theory of negative and retributive theology and knowing God according to the negation of attributes, is one of the other achievements of this study, with the approach of explaining hadiths by other hadiths.

The language of the Qur'an was criticized specially by orientalists. They had previously proposed the idea of adapting the Qur’an from the Testaments and other holy books. Regarding language, some western scientists believe that the Arabic language of the Qur’an also is not original. Alphonse Mingana (1881-1937) at the beginning of the 20th century considered the Qur’an to be merely an adaptation of the Holy Bible. He claimed the Syriac language played an important role in the foundations of Islam and the vocabulary and grammar of the Arabic language of the Qur'an originated from Syriac. Christoph Luxenberg also referred to the Aramaic language of the Qur’an in his book entitled “Siro-Aramaic Reading of the Qur’an,” published at the beginning of the 21st century. This paper analyses the works of Arab linguists concerning the history and the origin of the Arabic language. It also evaluates archaeological and epigraphic works in this regard. It concludes that the Arabic language existed before the advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, and of course, the Holy Qur'an caused the advancement and evolution of this language.

Despite the unanimity of Quranic commentators and lexicographers on the semantic meaning of "Ḥanīf," there is a great disagreement between Islamic scholars and thinkers on the one hand and between lexicographers of Semitic languages and Orientalists on the other. In the works and writings of lexicographers and scholars who are not commentators, there are different and contradictory opinions, all of which show the complexity of the meaning of the word. The aim of this study is to gather the different views of the above thinkers, discover the origin of this difference and explain it scientifically using the theories of historical semantics. The results show that the meaning of the word "hanīf" in the view of Muslim scholars influenced by the new Qur’anic meaning differs from that of the Jāhilī, Jews and Christians. After the semantic optimization by the Qur'an, this word has found a completely different path of meaning among Muslims than the ordinary meaning in the age of ignorance (Jāhilīyyah), Judaism and Christianity.

ʽAlī b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. ̓Abān al-Kulaynī al-Rāzī, known as “ʽAllān al-Kulaynī,” is one of the Imāmī narrators living in the age of Minor Occultation. Among the early Rijāl scholars, Najāshī was the only one who mentioned Allān’s biography in his autobiographical book and authenticated him. Shaykh al-Kulaynī narrated dozens of narrations from him in al-Kāfī, who is introduced by Najāshī as Kulainī’s uncle. A significant part of these narratives is included in al-Kāfī’s “Book of al-Ḥujjah” (“Kitab al-Ḥujjah”). Since Kulaynī collected the narratives of his book from earlier written sources, the question arises as to which book was his written source in narrating them. Since one of the criteria emphasized by early Imāmī hadīth scholars is quoting from reliable books, this paper aims to evaluate this hypothesis by collecting these narratives and analyzing them. Their Isnād-cum-matn evidence confirm that Shaykh al-Kulaynī narrated them from the book of ʽAllān al-Kulaynī, i.e. the “Kitāb ̓Akhbār al-Qāim”.

In Islam, revelation is the cornerstone and source of all religious teachings. Most Muslims believe that the Quran's wording and meaning come from God, but some contemporary thinkers such as Muhammad Mujtahid Shabestari believe that revelation came from the subconscious mind of the Prophet (pbuh) and was subsequently incorporated into the Quran. He presents new definitions of divine revelation, word and saying and believes that the word and meaning of the Quran originated from the Prophet (PBUH). Since the basis of religious teachings and the source of all Islamic knowledge is revelation, considering the teachings of the Quran as definitive proof depends on one's attitude towards revelation. Shabestari considers the Quran as a product of revelation, not revelation itself. This paper examines his views and arguments using the analytical-critical method and critiques them using rational and narrative criteria. It concludes that Shabestari's evidence is unable to support his claims, since the words and meaning of the Quran come from God.

The hadith scholars have always presented their understanding and documents of hadith through applying the rules of understanding. However, they have not expounded their foundations of understanding. Since the scholarship on “methods of discovering the foundations of Hadith understanding” is not available, this study applies the descriptive-analytical method to present the methods of discovering the foundations of Hadith understanding through the works of Hadith scholars, Hadith researchers, and Hadith citators. These methods are as follows: the researcher’s reference to his foundation, concern, and reflection of understanding the hadith, attention to the researcher’s means, attention to the researcher’s decisions and documents, attention to and concern for the researcher’s explanation and interpretation of the hadith, attention to the behavior and language of the person who refers to the hadith, and familiarity with the sects' opinions and beliefs by referring to the books of nations (milal) and sects (nihal).

The word “sarīm” in the verse “fa 'asbahat ka al-sarīm” (Q. Qalam:20) is a word that the Persian and Latin translators, as well as the commentators, have not given the same meaning, such as night, dark night, barren black, barren, burnt and dark, razed to the ground, abandoned and deserted, and harvested and picked. Two narratives were also mentioned, one of which became the basis for some commentators and translators. In this study, the analytical method and historical-comparative linguistics are used to determine the causes of the different meanings of this word and to present the correct meaning. The study of the Semitic lexical sources and the course of the commentaries and the analysis of the narratives show that the lexicographers and commentators did not accurately determine the meaning of the word. The abundance of word meanings in the sources used by the commentators and translators is involved in this matter. According to the original meaning of this word, namely: cutting and cutting off the fruit of the tree, the suggested meaning is “to pick." The Jāhilī literature, the lexicons, the evidence of the Semitic languages and the context also confirm this.

The greater derivation always occurs in the language. It is a form of relation between the words of “languages”. The Holy Qur’an is not exempt from this linguistic rule, so as a divine source of language and as a divine language, it provides an obvious opportunity to study all kinds of linguistic processes. The study of the greater derivation in the language of the Quran relates to various topics attributed to this divine book, including Quranic derivations, variant readings, and extensions in interpretive forms. This article examines the contexts of the greater derivation and some of its examples in Quranic and Arabic roots and words. The aim is to examine similar Quranic phrases with the greater derivation as well as the development of words and their meanings. The main question concerns the nature and occurrence of this derivation in the Quran and the verbal and semantic connections of the roots of this type of derivation. It uses the descriptive library method through explanations and references mentioned in the text or in the margins of the sources. The results show that the gradual changes of the meaning correspond to the gradual changes of the word. This goes back to the human body and nature and affects the development of reading and comprehension.

There are at least two known approaches and one unknown approach regarding the basic problem of the self: 1. the approach of "self-knowledge"," 2. the approach of "self-hostility"," 3. the approach of "self-criterion" The latter is explained by the title of "Self-hoodness" in this article in an analytical way. The main objective of this article is to understand the above verse more deeply, because based on its literal meaning and context, as well as other verses and traditions, it can be interpreted on the basis of self-interest. 1- The requirement of the word is that the companionship with the soul is not only in the care and preservation, but also to be taken as a criterion. 2. The context of the verse shows that the self here has an individual and personal meaning that stands before others. 3. Other verses of the Quran that consider self-sustainability as a criterion and also describe the heart as the safe haven of God support the interpretation that the verse “'Alaikum 'Anfusakam” can be explained on the basis of self-hoodness. The traditions that recommend taking the self as the criterion are further evidence for interpreting the verse on the basis of self-hoodness.

This article deals with the role of the hadith scholars of the Qazvin region in the creation of Sadouq's hadith works, the identification of the sheikhs of Sadouq who were originally from Qazvin, and the elaboration of their traditions and opinions. Sadouq utilised the hadith heritage of this region while learning from hadith scholars from Qazvin who lived in Ray, Balkh, and Qom. The results of this study show that the least use of the news from this region is found in the jurisprudential books of Sadouq. However, the books of ‘ilal al-Sharā’i' and Ma'ānī al-Akhbār contain more narrations by narrators from Qazvin. Among the hadith scholars from Qazvin, Hamza al-‘Alawī has more quotations in Sadouq's books. Sadouq’s quotations from these scholars provide us with important and sometimes unique rijāl and historical information about them, especially in identifying their shaykhs. This study also identifies more than 150 narratives of Sadouq transmitted by sheikhs from Qazvin and the role of these narratives in the formation of Sadouq's narrative and intellectual system.