ماهنامه معرفت
سال بیستم شماره 5 (پیاپی 164، شهریور 1390)

Professor Misbāh believes that man's perfection is exemplified in the intrinsic value which conforms to "drawing to Allah". However, since "nearness" has several meanings and none can be the intended meaning, he believes that "nearness" has at least three meanings: temporal-spatial", "existential", and "axiological". The axiological meaning itself is divided into three kinds: "honorific and hypothetical", "assimilative", and "gnostic and monotheistic". Based on the analyses provided by this eminent professor, "nearness" in its axiological meaning corresponds to the gnostic and monotheistic meaning which may account for intrinsic value and man's perfection. According to what is inferred from the verses and traditions, the meaning of man's perfection and also nearness to God as already stated, a gnostic and monotheistic meaning, and this is a fact which the professor himself has made explicit in his different works.

Different Islamic sectsrefer to the Quran as the most important source of religion to prove the legitimacy of their beliefs and doctrines. For example, some Sunni writers rely onthe verse no. 40 of Sura "Repentance" (that is, the verse of the cave) to prove the precedence of Abu Bakr's character and caliphate. To prove their view, they focus their argument on the expression "he was the second of the two" considering, Abu Bakr as the second person nextto the holy Prophet (May the blessings and peace of God be upon him and his progeny) in that journey and on the expression" when he said to his companion: Grieve not, surely Allah is with us". Providing a sound interpretation for this holy verse, and a critical analysis of Sunni's proofs and reasons, the author concludes that the stated holy verse is devoid of any indication of Abu Bakr's precedence.

What are theobstacles that cause the process of thinking to deviate from its correct way and prevent man from getting at the truth? Although this issue is considered as one of the basic issues of logic, the present paper tries to investigate the obstacles of sound thinking in the Quranic verses and find the Quranic view on the issue. Taking into account the fact that the glorious Qur’an seeks to guide man towards high levels of perfection and take him to the high position of a perfect man, its life-giving doctrines can, without doubt, pave the way for identifying the obstacles of sound thinking, which indeed are a part of the main obstacles in the way of human perfection. In this paper, the writer tries to investigate and explain the main obstacles of sound thinking in the light of the divine verses and provide the readers with a clear idea using a documentary and analytical method and an ad hoc examination of the verses of Qur’an and some Quran reliable commentaries.

The narrative style is the way of writing a story or narration. The narrative style of the Quran is the only one of its kind; it is neither like the one commonly used by the Arabs nor like that used in Arabic poetry and prose. The method of the Qur’an is most attractive, it uses such devices as footnotes, repetition, inflection, and surprise. The present paper aims at investigating parts of the narrative and artistic methods of Qur’anic stories. The research uses a library survey method, and the kind of data analysis is thematic research. The main research findings are as follow: 1- the use of narrative and artistic devices in the stories of the Qur’an has an important role in the exhibiting magnificence and impression of the concepts of the stories. It also greatly encourages the audience to make them interested in the words of God more enthusiastically and attentively. 2- The use of narrative devices by the Qur’an contributes to achieving man's guidance and education, and this corresponds to the ultimate goal of sending down the Qur’an, i.e. guiding man through the true path.

One of the clues which helps the commentator to understand the real meaning of the Qur’anic verses and differentiate the sound interpretation from the unsound ones is being acquainted with" the time and place of the revelation of Qur’an". Therefore, inattention to ‘the time and place of the revelation’ of the Qur’an causes the content of some verses to be allegorical or ambiguous. It is necessary to explain the role which the time and place of the revelation of Quran has in the Quranic commentary and determine the realms of their application in understanding the meaning of Qur’anic verses. The time and place of the revelation of Quran is considered as an effective means of understanding the meaning and significance of Qur’anic words, overall meaning of the contents of Suras (chapters), and real meanings of verses. This clue clarifies the way of finding out the meanings of the concepts of the verses and points to the way of understanding the reason of revelation by affirming or refuting the traditions about the occasions of revelation.

God has sent down the Qur’an to guide man. One of the means to achieve guidance through Qur’an is the access to lucid, unambiguous, and very accessible translation. One of the strategies for the access to a translation of this kind is analyzing and criticizing the current Qur’an commentaries. The present paper investigates the various translations of the verbs "کاد/یکاد", لایکاد" " and " لم یکاد " by different translators such as Mojtabavi, Makārim, Foolādvand, Khorramshāhi, Garmāroodi, Safavi, Rezāii Esfahāni, Ostād Wali, and Karim Zamāni. These translators have translated the verb ""کادas" was" about to and verb "یکاد" as " is about to". In addition to the stated translations, Mr. Foolādvand and Mr. Karim Zamāni have translated the verb " "کادas"was almost" and the verb "یکاد" as" is almost". Mr. Safavi is the only translator who has not managed to convey the meaning in his translation of the verb "کادوا" in Sura Jin, verse 19, and the verb "لایکاد" in Sura Ibrahim, verse 17. The research findings show that some of these translators have made a mistake in translating the verbs "لایکاد" and "لم یکاد" as" is not almost/about to, or " is almost/well-nigh". For translating these two verbs, the equivalent "is not able to" is recommended.

Nowadays, the order of merits and abilities in all competitive arenas – political, economical, and social or the like – is considered as the criterion for determining the scale of the development of countries. The development in Islamic countries is a long-term and comprehensive process of social development within the framework of the goals of Islamic laws, and its achievement has several prerequisites. Innovation, which means the way of fostering development in the ideas and using new and creative thoughts to solve current problems, is considered one of the important cultural contexts on the way of achieving Islamic development. The acquaintance with the view of the glorious Qur’an on the issue is without doubt a religious and rational duty. Using a thematic interpretation method and analytical-documentary approach, and referring to different Quran commentaries to investigate such issues as man's nature and innate disposition, man's perfection and freedom according to the glorious Qur’an, the present paper elaborates on the permissibility of fostering innovation in different arenas. Furthermore, inspired by the guidelines of the glorious Qur’an, the paper points out the basic features of the Muslim innovator, including servitude, rationality, patience, teleology, and hard work.

One of the main things which bring tranquility and improve man's chaotic life is having hope for the future. Positivist psychology views that such constructs as hope can protect individuals against the stressful experiences they face in their life. On the other hand, due to the influence of individual's world-view on the orientation and quality of their life, the role of religion cannot be ignored in creating hope. Having explained and analyzed the issue relating to hope and the ways of creating and increasing it according to positivist psychology, the present paper examines this issue from a Quranic point of view in order to bring out the Quranic view of it, explain the similarities and differences between these two fields, and provide the proper techniques for creating and increasing hope among men by stressing the role of adherence to the Qur’anic doctrines. The research findings show that most of these techniques can be found in the Qur’an as well, and that there are many points of similarity between man's findings and divine doctrines about this point.

Iranians advances and achievements in the Qur’anic disciplines of recitation, interpretation and tradition constitute an important part of the cultural Islamic renaissance. The historical survey centered on the geo-scientific centers shows that during the cultural Islamic renaissance, there were at least two major centers, Khorāsān and in Rey, and two minor centers, in Isfahan and in Fars, which were the most important centers of Qur’anic disciplines in Iran in the early centuries of Islam. In the meantime, Khorāsān, which was divided into northern, eastern, western, and central parts, was superior to Rey in training students of Qur’anic disciplines. The present research introduces an account of the quality and number of geo-scientific centers in Iran during the early Islamic centuries, and shows the role and status of Iranians in the cultural Islamic renaissance by studying the role of great Iranian authorities in the fields of recitation, tradition, and interpretation.