معرفت

Translated by Sayyed Rahim Rastitabar

The Realm and Leading Role of Fear and Hope in Life

Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi

Fear and hope are two crucial and key elements in human life. In Islamic religious doctrines, both fear of being treated with Allah's anger and hope to His great mercy have been taken into consideration and the necessity of following moderation in fear and hope has been highlighted. By making use of some Qur'anic verses and some Traditions (hadiths), the author examines evidence that there is immoderation in fear and hope. Thus, he poses Divine deception (Istedraj). Accordingly, if one has extreme hope to the Allah's mercy, it results in safety feeling of divine punishment and after being saturated with worldly pleasures; he will be stopped from being the Servant of Allah and the Hereafter. On the other hand, if one has great fear, he disappointed at the Divine mercy. The degrees of Fear and hope vary proportional to the degrees of being in different Servants.

Keywords:fear, hope, Friends of Allah, Divine deception (Istedraj), degrees of fear and hope, Divine Mercy, deed

The Ways out of Seditions in Islamic Society in Imam Ali's View, with an Emphasis on Events after Iran's Tenth Round of Presidential Election

Musen Muhammadi Alamuti

The condition of the sedition refers to the political and social conditions with a definite set of features wherein it is difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, and it is necessary to consider the ways out. Since Imam Ali's period of Imamate is one of the periods in political history of Islam that is most illustrative and informative for Islamic society's facing heavy and overwhelming seditions, the present article uses a historical-analytical method to study the ways out of seditions in Islamic society in Imam Ali's view.

The main goal of the present study is to explain the ways out of seditions with an approach of transiting safely through the conditions of today's Islamic society and the seditions after the tenth round of Iranian presidential elections. Accordingly, the following points are introduced and analyzed as the findings of the present study: observing piety; reinforcing insight; recognizing the centers of sedition and revealing their nature; perseverance; avoiding [irrational] emotions in times of sedition; relying on principles and standards instead of the part of individuals and personages; avoiding division and disunion; and referring to the just Imam and the righteous leader in times of sedition.

Keywords:sedition, doubt, insight, leadership, Islamic society, Iran’s tenth presidential elections

The Role of Velayat-e Faqih in Preserving of the Islamic Persian Culture on the Tobacco Movement

Reza Ramazan-Nargesi

This paper has viewed the tobacco movement from a cultural perspective and considered the role of velayat-e faqih in the movement. Firstly, it has examined how effective are cultural elements in creating an excitement and a popular rising, and secondly it has investigated the role of velayat-e faqih in preserving of the Islamic Persian Culture.

The author has collected the materials of the subject matter through library research and historical evidence and documents. Then, he has concluded from them according to rules and principles in societies.

When England carried out a cultural invasion against the Persian culture by one of its company, all the religious elites turned against it, but they couldn’t handle it. After they appealed to velayat-e-faqih and religious authorities and all of them obeyed them, they could overcome the cultural invasion. This is the most important finding in this study.

Keywords:Tobacco Movement, reference group, Western culture, Islamic Persian culture, absolute authority of the qualified Faqih (Wilayat al-Faqih)

Practical Ways of Islamizing Universities with and Approach to Views of Teachers of Islamic Knowledge

Sayfullah Fazlullahi/ Muhammad Taqi Haj Ibrahimi

The present study aims at recognizing and classification of ways to Islamize universities based on views by teachers of Islamic knowledge in Islamic Azad University of Qom. The research method, while documentary, is a descriptive survey. The sample population includes 40 teachers of Islamic knowledge in Islamic Azad University of Qom in the first semester of year 1388-89. The data-gathering device is a questionnaire containing 15 ways (parameters) in the 5-degrees spectrum of Lickhert, and the descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.

The findings showed the following ways as the most practical ones for Islamizing universities in order of priority and importance:

1. Employing directors who are committed to Islamic principles, pious, and sensitive to Islamic bases and values in short and long terms;

2. A fundamental revising in the structure of educational and research system;

3. Delineating the clear standards of an Islamic university;

4. Restructuring cultural system of universities with a value approach;

5. Reinforcing and strengthening the unity of seminary and university;

6. Promoting the level of intellectual independence and scientific self-esteem of thinkers and experts;

7. Careful selection and organization of faculty members of universities;

8. Planning for naturalization of the humanities

Keywords:to Islamize, universities, approaches, teachers of Islamic knowledge

Religion and Rationality in Max Weber's Philosophy of Society and its Criticism

Abbas Yazdani

ٰThis paper examines the origin of religious attitude and its relation to rationality in Max Weber's sociology of religion. Weber's approach to religion is a social psychological approach in which the rational and emotional bases and their relation to social factors are concerned. One of the most influential aspects of his discussion of religion is rationality and its relation to religious attitude. But what does rationality mean in Weber's sociology of religion. What are the features of the rationality? Is his rationality a complete and non-problematic kind of rationality? Is his analysis of religion is accurate and out of problem? These are the questions which this paper undertakes to answer.

In this paper, Weber's analysis of religion and the origin of religious attitude will be assessed.

Keywords: Rationality, Religion, Max Weber, socio-psychological approach, Sociology of religion.

Rule-governed Society and Freedom: a Review of Durkheim's View

Amanullah Fasihi

The present article is aiming at analyzing Durkheim's theory on rule-governed nature of society and human's freedom. This is one of the major discussions on social order. Solving the abovementioned issue would have important practical and scientific results. The present article deals with a review of Durkheim's view. The method used is documentary and textual analysis: extracting Durkheim's view from his own works and analyzing them thereupon.

Regarding this issue, three views are considered:

1) The rule-governed the society would result in a complete negation of human's free will, just as the rules governing the nature;

2) The rule-governed society is not similar to the rule-governed nature in negating human's free will; rather, it limits human's free will in the framework of social rules;

3) Society's being rule-governed does not even limit human's free will, because his free will is an element of the final cause.

For Durkheim, social compulsion has been considered sometimes as a necessity and certainty, and sometimes as limitation. Accordingly, the rule-governed society and human's freedom may not exist simultaneously. What causes Durkheim not to be able to reconcile society's being rule-governed with human's freedom is his incorrect perception of society's nature, human's true nature, and the principle of causality. 

Keywords: society, law, freedom, order, free-will, compulsion, causal principle, necessity and certainty. 

The Concept and Characteristics of Power

 Murtada Maddahi

Power has certain characteristics that contribute to creating an opportunity for those
who use it. Some hold that power in itself is not an aim, but a means to attaining
economy. Others think that power is a pleasant status towards which mans ambition
urges man to have accesssto it. Accordingly, power and execrising authority are an
aim, and even economy and the like can be the cost for gaining control. Marx thinks
that power is a means, but Russell thinks it is an aim. The present article introduces a
definition of power according to the political studies, and then discusses the
characteristics of power and some of the questions connected with the concept of
power. The author makes use of the resources available in libraries, and after
explaining the meaning of power, he deals with the various views about the main
questions and comments on them.

Keywords:power, hegemony, influence, authority, sources of power, characteristics of
power.

The Classification of the Knowledge in the Ghazali’s Thought

Mohmmad-Ali Mirali

One of the central subjects which is the identifier in every civilization is the classification of knowledge. Every civilization which can classify knowledge, presenting an independent and coherent classification of it will be able to protect its cultural identity against the influence of other civilizations. Certainly, the classification of knowledge is the duty of the thinkers in every society. Imam Abou Hamed Mohammad al-Ghazali, one of the Islamic famous thinkers, has dealt with the classification of knowledge in his various books.

This paper seeks to explain Ghazali’s view on this classification of knowledge by a documental approach. Considering the hierarchy of knowledge and different unveiling of it, he classifies knowledge. According his classification, knowledge can be divided into ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’ sciences. Then, he divides the religious knowledge into the science of transaction and the science of unveiling. For Ghazali, The science of unveiling is on top of other sciences; it is intuitive knowledge and no one can acquire this knowledge by his sense.

To Ghazali, Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) is the best knowledge among the sciences of transaction and it is the focus of all sciences of transaction.

Keywords: science of unveiling, science of transaction, Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh), politics, philosophical sciences