فصلنامه مطالعات تفسیری
پیاپی 2 (تابستان 1389)

Moral systems are mostly defined to guarantee the felicity and seeking pleasure of the mankind. However, some moral systems criticize favoring the end results and favor discharging duties, hence falling short of their own moral system.The present paper seeks to consider the moral system of the Holy Quran both with a view to seeking end results and discharging one´s duties, depending on reason and the Will of God. It then compares this system with characteristics of a higher moral system. It also compares moral statements with the intellect, instinct, revelation, worldview, and thehuman beliefs. It clarifies the Islamic standpoint regarding moral relativism, too.At the end, an instance of the Quranic moral system is presented on the basis of the Quranic verses.

What objective solutions are represented by the Quran for meeting the human needs, especially for the contemporary man? This paper focuses on finding out the objective Quranic solutions for the human needs. Divided into two sections, the first section pictures the human needs as viewed by religious scholars and psychologists. Rendering a list of the human needs, it surveys the case of the needs felt by the contemporarymankind. The second section, explicates the objective Quranic solutions for the human needs. Each solution is followed by a short explanation, too. This paper is based on library research methods.

Reconsideration of the intellectual basis and the philosophical assumptions of a thinker or an economic system can lend to determining the main goal in the socioeconomic justice concerned. Therefore, the point of departure in the philosophical analysis concerned has been its philosophical tenets and the intermediary steps in this analysis that reflect the relevant schools conceptions of God and man. Hence, the judgment arrived at about the main goal in economic justice is very much impressed by the intellectual background. Throughout this study, justice is taken as equilibrium and other senses of the term come back to this primary sense due to an ontological analysis. The Imam Ali framework has inferences from Islamic theology, anthropology, and sociology in the realms of the Divine justice, equilibrium of the human conduct, and socioeconomic justice seeks to mould the human mind in this regard.

The Muslim ummah disagree over the case of the Ahl al-Bayt. Hence, the two major denominations of Shia and Sunnite hold two views regarding their status before God and their role in the creation system. These two views are as follows: a) Exaggeratory view that regards them superhuman beings, with some Divine characteristics; and b) Negligentview that regards them on a par with ordinary Muslims and sometimes excommunicates them. Research into hadith sources provides a point between these two extremes in that their status is characterized by their admission of being servants of God, while they are deserved to enjoy such positions as caliphatehood, supremacy, imamate, infallibility, and so on. Religious documents and references prove that such ranks and status are granted to them by God; they are not instinctive or inborn of them, however. A study of the religious sources indicate that the Ahl al- Bayt´s status stands in proportion to people´s needs. The present study provides instances of their real status, with hadiths from both denominations plus the reasons for the standpoints and examples mentioned.

In the verse of Purification, the Holy Quran explicitly uses the term Ahlal-Bayt. Shiite exegetes of the Holy Quran have consent that the concept of the Ahl al-Bayt finds expression in the Five Members of the Cloak (pajtan-e pak). Sunnite exegetes, however, have different views, maintaining that the term includes all the relatives of the ProphetMuhammad. The present paper, drawing on the Nahj al-Balaghah, seeks to delve into Imam Ali´s views on the Ahl al-Bayt. According to him, the Ahl al-Baythave certain characteristics that are identifiable in and applicable exclusively to the case of the personalities of the Five Members of the Cloak.

Hijab is a principle common to all Divine religions. Women´s inclination to being covered is instinctive, hence chastity is regarded as a virtue. It follows that unlustful looks and separation between the man and woman are ways to expand the scope of the culture of chastity. Women´s covering has received brief treatment in the current forms of Judaism and Christianity; however, Islam has expanded this case. Emphasis on wearing chador and burqa’ is recorded as strictest measures taken on women´s seclusion in Judaism and Christianity. However, its mild version has appeared in Islam such that it contributes to the activeness of the women´s community.

Prayer can be viewed from three perspectives: philosophical, empiricist, and mystical, with qualities special of each perspective. God is the endpoint, without any regard for the it is pleasant because it takes place due to God´s permission.Prayers are a function of man´s grasp of the status of God. It can be, in a merchant-like way as a usual mode of communication with God. On a mystical plane, prayer appears on an actual, attributional, and essential manifestation. Actually, man offers his material needs in the light of the pleasure sought in communicating with God; on the attributionalandessential planes, his needs go higher than the material level. The Holy Quran tackles the case of prayers in a number of ways. They are as follows: the value of prayer and a range of the human needs. A mystical interpretation of these verses implies that the human perfection depends on the prayer in that s/he regards mere conversation with God apleasant act and her/his needs are but a function of the conversation.