The Scientific and Ethical Principles of Imam Reza's (P.B.U.H.) Debates

As a tradition with a special status in the Islamic culture, debate entails certain principles1 and basics which must be learnt and observed for being successful in this issue. These principles can be divided into two scientific and ethical classes: scientific principles refer to those skills and sciences with which a debater needs to be provided before starting a debate; as these skills and sciences may help him/her to embark on an effective and successful debate. However, being provided with merely the necessary knowledge and meeting the technical requirements are not enough to be successful in a debate; and the ethics also need to be respected by the debater for being able to affect the opposing party or presumably the audience. This study has tried to elicit and analyze the most practical scientific and ethical principles used by Imam Ridha (AS) in his debates while acknowledging the necessity of observing the scientific and ethical principles in a debate and in response to the question that is there any suitable model to pursue in this regard? In this regard and with the aim of proposing a practical model, the most important principles that the eighth Shiite Imam (AS) used to observe comprising of three scientific principles, including using the best form of disputation, taking advantage of rational demonstration and avoiding fallacy, as well as three ethical principles, including treating people politely, avoiding criticizing people’s personality and avoiding militancy and prejudice, are explained here.