PAZHUHESH-DINI (RELIGIOUS STUDY)
Year:2011 | Volume:- | Issue:21(SUPPLEMENT)|Papers Count:14

Hadith-e Tajalli (the hadih denoting that God is manifested in different forms in the Resurrection) is among the authentic narrations of Sunni Muslims. This hadith which is related to two significant doctrinal issues, i.e. the Unity and the Resurrection, has become a pretext for those who believe in religious pluralism. It has also been cited as a proof for doctrinal principles by the great speculative Gnostics. For example, Ibn-e Arabi, the developer of speculative Gnosticism, frequently cites this hadith in his two major works, i.e. Fotouhat-e Makk-e and Fosous al-Hekam, and considers it as a proof for different manifestations of Divine Essence so that the perception of each individual about God corresponds with one of the manifestations of Divine Essence. The content of this hadith, especially interpreting it in this way, conflicts with Islamic teachings and intellectual proofs. Hence, Sunni hadith scholars have attempted to offer an acceptable explanation for this hadith.

In Sadra Philosophy, body has the two aspects of actuality and potentiality and the outcome of potentiality is matter. Existence of potentiality paves the way for motion and motion creates time. Therefore, motion and time are interdependent in the material world. Sadra believes since matter is nonexistent in the Hereafter, time and motion are nonexistent as well. He further believes that although the Hereafter is both corporal and spiritual, the Otherworldly body is devoid of matter, time and motion. However, a lot of Quranic verses and narrations speak of the existence of motion and time in the Hereafter. There seems to be some kind of contradiction between Sadra's understanding of the Hereafter and the exterior meaning of the Quranic verses and narrations. This contradiction is probed into in the present article.

Gnostics consider the Paradise promised to the common folks the prison of the religious elite. They believe the Paradise of the religious elite is a "spiritual paradise". Ibn-e Arabi has utilized the word al-jannah (paradise) with its literal meaning, i.e. coverage, and believes that nature of man is associated with the Divine Paradise because the Divine Name is manifested in man and in this respect he is the coverer of the Truth. When man knows the Truth about himself, he comes to discover the unity of the Truth and the unity of the world of creation and the perception of this point leads him towards the Paradise and prosperity. At times, Ibn-e Arabi considers the Holy Messenger of Islam as the Paradise. In this sense, entering the Paradise means unity with "the Mohammadan Truth", and the Paradise blessing is the achievement of enormous prosperity which is the outcome of this unity. The salek (traveler towards the Truth) who seeks a true paradise should follow the Messenger of God and should not just depend on his intellect in order not to err in his solouk (journey towards the Truth). The Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) ascension (me'raj) combined the unity of intuition and the unity of existence. Therefore, the Gnostic who combines the unity of intuition and the unity of existence achieves the closest proximity and enormous prosperity and the countenance of a "perfect man" realizes in him. The unity of intuition is the observation of the true unity (einolyaqin (eye of certainty)) that is fulfilled by annihilation of the lover in the beloved, i.e. the lover sees nothing but the beloved. But the unity of existence denotes having knowledge of the fact that all the existence is a single truth (haqqolyaqin). What makes the solouk of a Gnostic similar to the Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) ascension is that a salek first has the knowledge of the truth that has been achieved through contemplation in the Book and the Sunnah (Shari'a). Then he perceives that knowledge through einolyaqin in his spiritual ascension, and it is then that he finds his way to haqqolyaqin.

This article tackles the theories related to the Intermediary (bazakhi) body. First, all the theories concerning this issue are classified into five categories: (1) the theory of earthly body, (2) the theory of Ideal body, (3) the theory of the duality of Intermediary body, (4) the theory of reincarnation of souls, and (5) the theory of the denial of Intermediary body. Then, each one of these theories is analyzed and criticized. Through the next step, the theory extracted from the Islamic traditions is dealt with. Classifying the Islamic traditions related to Intermediary body into four categories, we discuss the mechanism through which these traditions are sorted out as well as their significations. Finally, the theory of time-detached Ideal body is introduced as the theory accepted by reason and tradition.

The Origin and the End (the Resurrection) are two foundations of religious thinking and the Paradise and the Hell are two pillars of every discussion on the End. Theologians, philosophers and Gnostics have explored a lot about the End, especially about the Paradise. Aziz Nasafi, the distinguished scholar of the seventh century AH, has investigated the Paradise and the Hell from traditional, rational and exploratory perspectives. His findings based on the rational method are reviewed in this article. The principles he has utilized to interpret the End are the principles of Peripatetic Philosophy combined with some points from the Illuminative Philosophy.Stressing the abstraction of the soul, the possibility of actualization of the speculative intellect and the practical intellect and detachment of the soul from the body and its attributes, Nasafi interprets the Paradise and the Hell. Using a kind of philosophical outlook, he interprets such concepts as the Paradise and the Hell, the record of deeds, joy and suffering in the Hereafter, the Tuba Tree and the Zaqqum Tree, Houries in the Paradise, the Streams in the Hereafter, and the angel of punishment and the Balance.

Knowing oneself, self-knowledge, is the basis of all human knowledge, and man has always strived to equip himself with this kind of knowledge in order to achieve prosperity and perfection. Self-knowledge is the beginning of a path without traversing which entering other fields of knowledge, especially knowledge of the origin of the existence, is not possible. This article, first, discusses the mechanism of man's acquaintance with his soul from the viewpoint of Allameh Tabatabaee and then it presents a philosophical definition for soul. Next, the proofs of the abstractions of soul from body are presented. Finally, the doubts and objections of the refuters of the immateriality of soul, especially materialists, are discussed and due answers are given from the viewpoint of Allameh Tabatabaee.

The works of Persian literature in verse and prose involve a variety of scientific and religious thoughts and teachings. After the prevalence and acceptance of Islam in Iran until the fourth and fifth centuries (AH) when Persian poetry flourished and matured more than ever before, it is well seen that poetry is interwoven with religion and its rituals. Getting acquainted with the Quranic messages and mastering the language of this Holy book, Persian poets embraced the ideas contained in it, and began to proliferate the Quranic teachings using their tender nature and the language of poetry. The Quranic themes were reflected in the poetry of the fourth and fifth centuries (AH) in the form of translation and expression of the concepts of the Quranic verses. Asadi Tusi's epic-instructive work, Garshasb Nameh, is one of the ancient Iranian literary works which is highly prominent in this respect. This Shiite poet, who was Ferdowsi Toosi's fellow townsman and like him wrote epic poetry, has tackled one of the most basis issues in Islam in Garshasbnameh and that is human death and resurrection. This wise poet has also tackled a number of exigent issues related to Teleology such as the End of Time and the Emergence of Mahdi (a.s.), the intercession of the Prophet in the Hereafter, the Day of Judgment, the Divine Justice in the Gathering Place of Resurrection, the Paradise and the Hell, etc.

The fall of the Abbasid caliphate in 656 AH was not conceivable for many people and the elite in Iran and the Islamic community. The end of this long period of Caliphate was a heavy blow on many beliefs which had been formed in the community. There were different reactions towards these issues in the society too. Meanwhile, the formation of the thoughts rooted in religious, doctrinal beliefs and opportunism of some characters created a new atmosphere the outcome of which was the emergence of some religious sects that commonly emphasized the conclusion of religion and humanity. Influenced by the political, social and religious circumstances of the time, these new religious trends were strengthened day by day and got established in a corner of Iran. The Literalists, Naqshbandiyeh, Naqtaviyeh, Masha'shiyan were just some of these groups. The multiplicity of thoughts based on cosmic Teleology, intensification of deviant beliefs and evasion of political centralization are only some of the outcomes of these groups.This study aims at examining this issue on the basis of the following: 1. What was the impact of the teleology-related religious teachings on the formation of religious sects on the eve of the establishment of the Safavid Dynasty?2. What was the impact of the political, cultural and religious circumstances on the formation of the teleology-based thoughts in Iran and on the eve of the establishment of the Safavid Dynasty?3. Can the establishment of the Safavid Dynasty be considered as one of the outcomes of the cosmic-teleology-based trends formed on the eve of the establishment this dynasty?

The Holy Quran has attached so much importance to the destiny of man in the Resurrection that more than one thousand verses of this heavenly book have been allocated for description of the circumstances of this occasion. Among these verses, some deal with the behavioral reaction of the refuters of the Resurrection–when they observe horrifying scenes–after being exposed to the realities. These verses have been of concern to the interpreters of the Quran and they have spoken about them. However, the idea of the entire circle of interpreters regarding the inability of disbelievers to understand the realities in the Hereafter conflicts with that of Mulla Sadra, a philosopher and interpreter of the Quran. This study has been conducted to investigate this issue.

What is called Zoroastrian Teleology can be investigated under two topics: the conclusion of human soul after the death and the ultimate conclusion of the universe. Either of these topics includes some subtopics. Following death, human soul should pass through such stages as sedush (three nights), heading for chinvad (discriminating) bridge, individual arbitration, and padafrah (chastisement), the steps which will continue until the Resurrection. Nonetheless, the ultimate conclusion of the universe embraces Zoroastrian promises, Resurrection, ultimate human arbitration, and farshgard (renovation). What takes place until the Resurrection is only associated with human soul, but processes related to his ultimate conclusion are physical. Ultimately, following farshgard and creation of the new world, man will always live in peace and prosperity.

No single text has more importance for the history of philosophy than Descartes' Meditations. In the very beginning of the book, i.e. in his dedicatory letter, he claims "I have always thought that two topics, namely God and the soul, are prime examples of subjects for which demonstrative proofs ought to be given with the aid of philosophy rather than theology." But if we scrutinize the principles of Descartes' Philosophy, some points will be revealed as follows: firstly, the immortality of soul can not be demonstrated philosophically, secondly, soul in Descartes' terminology has no meaning other than mind which can not be discussed within any religious discourse, thirdly, life and death in Descartes' philosophy are taken as basically different from what theologians take them, fourthly, in Descartes' philosophy, personal unity deals with body having feeling and imagination rather than with soul.

One of the complicated verses of the Quran is the verse which refers to the Prophet Moses' (a. s.) request to have visitation with God (see al-A'raf, 143). The idea of an Arch prophet's having such an experience is among the challenging issues in monotheistic debates. Has the Prophet Moses really had such a request from God? If so, has he managed to fulfill it?The above-mentioned verse is one of the reasons given by the Sunni Asharites and Karamites to substantiate visitation with God. Although the scholars of these schools do not have a common conception about visitation with God, the existence of such a verse in the Quran makes them insist on the issue of visitation with God. In contrast, the Shiites and Mu'tazilites reject the incarnation theory. Some commentators agree with latter two schools, although they believe that the Quranic expression 'Oh Moses you cannot (bear to) see me' is not related to the Hereafter.Nonetheless, similar to the Quran, the Old Testament-which includes equivocal verses-declines corporeality of God in some expressions while it verifies incarnation theory and humanization of God in some others. In this paper, following a comparative study between Islam and Judaism, an attempt is made to answer the question raised here enumerating transcendence and allegorical verses of the Quran and the Old Testament on the basis of the reactions of commentators from both religions.