Islamic Theology and Religious Studies
Year:2019 | Volume:15 | Issue:56|Papers Count:10

This research examines the problem of the epistemic link between "duty to the extent of ability" and "free will and determinism" and its dimensions in the scientific heritage of interpretation and theology through a historical-comparative approach and an analytical-critical method. Since the discussion of this link has been found in interpretive sources of theological base, this analysis is founded on ten effective commentators' views. The commentators` historical and comparative analysis in the field of "free will and determinism" have given under the five verses of ability. The Mu'tazilites attribute these verses to the denial of determinism and addmission of absolute free will. The early Asharites seek a new conceptualization of ability in order to reconcile verses with a deterministic view. The later Ash'arites, however, accepted moderate deterministic theories. Shiite commentators attribute these verses to the denial of determinism and absolute free will. This study seeks to achieve the distinction between three types of conceptual, confirmatory and interpretive links. With this distinction, the historicotheological challenges can be explained in the interpretation of the verses of ability between the two issues of "Duty to the Extent of Ability" and "Free Will and Determinism"

Religious beliefs form a part of religion and are depended on rational and narrative proofs. Every given spot in epistemic sources of narration would lead to the authenticity of narration. It is, therefore, necessary to study the knowledge-carrying fundamentals of narrative proofs and the views in the field. This research uses a descriptive-analytical method to achieve the purpose. Supporting non reductionist approach of evidence is the most important achievement of this research. According to this approach, the evidence is an independent source of knowledge and may produce knowledge for those learning to make their beliefs reasonable. The narrative proofs pertaining to the pure`s saying deed and confirmation is the most significant and prominent case of the testimony. Therefore, we can emphasize the knowledge-carrying state of the narrative proofs. Even according to the reductionist approach and the denial of knowledge-carrying state of the evidence, one may prove the authenticity of the proof of the validity of the narrative evidence, that in the case, the evidence is merely a carrier of the knowledge derived from revelation and sense which their authenticity has been proved in epistemology.

Believing in a world called "Hurqolia" between the material world and the imaginary world and basing religious beliefs on it by Sheikh Ahmad Ehsayi, the leader of Shaikhiyah, has caused ambiguity in the quality of life of the present Imam. Belief in the horqolian life of the Imam entails an absence higher than the one accepted in the Shiite culture, which includes such distortions as the elemental death of the Imam and the land`s being empty of Hojjat, the absence of the Prophet in this world, and the disturbance in the general communication between the Imam and the Ummah, and on the other hand, denial of the philosophy of Niaybat absolutely that all of them are contrary to the wisdom, traditions and consensus of Muslims. In this paper, by analytical and descriptive method, we criticize this idea and its consequences, and, denying his claimed world, the life of this world has made the presence of the last divine leader Inevitable.

Learning is a dynamic concept that gradually changes from individual learning to organizational learning. Due to the need for organizations to adapt to environmental changes, the concept of organizational learning has become increasingly common. This paper seeks to map out the pattern of learning strategies in Islamic organizations with extracting codes, concepts, and categories from the Holy Qur'an and authentic sources. The research, in terms of the purpose, is a type of developmental-applied research, and is analyzed by grounded theory (data-based). Research findings that act as a system include nineteen main categories in three fields of base strategies, executive strategies, and behavioral strategies.

Among the divisive tools in Islamic society lies in explaining the indicative qualities of God in the Quran. The Salafi flow is one of the sects whose interpretation is different from the others. This flow is divided into groups and sub-groups in a range of extremes. The common aspect of Salafist groups is their being influenced by Ibn Taimiayyah's beliefs. Analysis of his ideas is regarded as one of the ways to understand the Salafi general school. Considering the need to understand the intellectual foundations of this cult and the importance of recognizing the divisive agents of the Islamic world, this research is a documentary and analytical attempt to answer the question: how are the indicative qualities of God explained in Ibn Taimiyyah Salafi Shool and how it may be assessed? As explained in this paper, the above flow does not follow the same way in the field. They deny the validity of reason in understanding these qualities, and oppose ta`wil and majaz. Sometimes they will recognize the attributes of these qualities to God, and sometimes they remain faithful to the appearance of the verses.

Mircea Eliade examined the relationship between man and religion not on the basis of his psychological and sociological life, but on the basis of his intrinsic functioning as a religious being. As viewed by Eliade, the religious identity of man has been existent in pre-modern times and lived in a religious manner with an epistemic and a post-history model of life. With man`s being initiated into the modern world, the alienation and denial of religious identity has occurred by him. This article, using the analytico-descriptive approach, studies Eliade`s view on human being and concluded that Eliade, comparing the structure of the nature of ancient human with that of modern man, has achieved the fact that, firstly, modern man as becoming alienated and missing his religious nature, lacks many valuse and, secondly, there may not be found any meaningful and influential identity or particularity and, thirdly, the way for pre-modern values to return and for the religious identity of modern man to be achieved, would be his reconciliation With religious values and his link with myth.

One of the most notable theorists and supporters of the constitutionalist political system in the constitutional era is Sheikh Isma'il Mahallati. The political philosophy of the late Mahallati may be taken as that defending a theoretical interaction between such new concept as national identity and religion. In the present paper, after a conceptual and theoretical analysis of the two concepts of religion and national identity with an analytico-descriptive method based on documentary and library data, the characteristics of religion and national identity and the ratios these two concepts in the views of Sheikh Isma'il Mahllati have been described. These ratios are observed in such areas as religious rituals with the political dimension of national identity, the aspect of religious rituals with the social dimension of national identity, the organizational dimension of religion with the political dimension of national identity.

Human will is one of the most important characteristics of man. There are different perspectives between theologians and Islamic philosophers in interpreting the human will and its way of being origin for his actions. This paper, using an analytico-descriptive method, has studied Fakhr Razi and Mulla Sadra's views in the field and concluded that human will is a mental quality and its existence is self-evident. Though Fakhr Razi has put forward a number of rational and narrative reasons to prove the claim of human actions` being attributed to the Divine Will and human will`s being of no effect in them, he has denied Asharite great scholars` meaning of the theory of kasb and has given such a new concept to it that, in addition to attributing all things including human actions to God, sees a place for human will in actions also. In this way, we find an incompatibility and ambiguity in his view in the field. Mulla Sadra, however, has viewed the theory of amri baini amrain as the only acceptable explanation for the effect of Divine Will and human will in them. Accordingly, God is the main agent of the human act, and the will of man, though being only the ground for appearance of Divine Will, it is of real effect in these acts also.

Proof of motion is one of the most important and effective arguments in proving God. By adopting the principle of motion in nature, the Islamic scholars have proved the unmoved mover. The present research, using rational and narrated method, analyzes and describes the arguments of the movement and concludes that in addition to the fact that motion has been regarded contractedly and in its particular meaning, it may be regarded extendedly in its general meaning also. Such terms as creation, appearance, movement, change, decline, transfer, touring, descending, ascending, sending, going down, prostration of prayer, stooping down in prayer and tasbih confirm the domain of motion in the possible world. It is, therefore, said of the proof of the movement that there is found movement in the whole of the possible world; the movement comes from the unmoved and unchangeable mover, namely God that is free from limitation and everlasting and those denying the fact must agree with impossible consequences such as vicious circle.

Fakhr Razi is an Ash'ari commentator and theologian who in spite of his being faithful to Asharite theology until the end of his life, in some cases of his beliefs has taken a different way and criticized the Asharite. Such a change of view in Fakhr Razi has originated from his wide and deep study of the others` works. Razi's approximate views to some of theological issues of Shiite is due to finding the truthfulness of the theological opinions of the followers of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) and the weakness of the Ash'arite theological ideas and proofs. Of the most important issues one may refer to the Divine Qualities, free will and determinism, Imamate and guardianship and Mahdaviyyat. This research, useing analytico-descriptive method, has studied some of the most important theological positions of Razi who has taken under the influence of the Shiite teachings.