فصلنامه اندیشه تقریب
پیاپی 27 (تابستان 1390)

The question of scientific authority of the Ahl-e Bayt (a.s) is a fundamental and major question among Muslims. This question can be assessed in terms of ''principles'' or ''reasons'' (reasoning and quotations), or ''evidence and documents. Principles are the same as prejudgements and principles regarding the topic; after agreeing on the above-mentioned issues, we assess the other topics; e.g. reasons, evidence, and documents. The principles are divided into two sections: general and specific: general principles deal with ''necessity of Marjaiyat'', ''permission to follow someone's scientific authorization'' and ''characteristics of Marja''.

With a comparative approach, the present paper assesses the reasons behind the downfall of Islamic thinking in the world of Islam which resulted in the downfall of Muslim countries according to the viewpoints of Ostad Motahari and Iqbal Lahuri. The author assesses several local and international issues which caused the deviation and fall of Islamic viewpoints. There are several commonalities between the theories of Iqbal and Ostad Motahari. Among them are the presence of the foreigner's reflections in different forms, invasion of colonizers and having non-Islamic understanding of the religious teachings, dogmatism and so forth. In the end, the author explains common positions and strategies in the form of religious reflections, Ijtihad and empowering Islamic for governing Islamic society.

Mixing the bases of imagination (when applying intellect), and failing to conduct assessment and elaboration and employing traditional conventions have led to scientific disputes and creation of ambiguities. To remove this problem, intellect has been divided into different types and defined accordingly. What is meant by intellect in deduction of religious decrees is the reasoning of intellect regarding quotations; which includes natural cognitions, intellectual analysis and intellectual findings and the findings of experimental sciences. By the passage of time, these classifications have added some conditions to intellect based on the developments in the science of Principles of Islamic Laws in order to refine this science. These conditions include: 1- Difference in intellect as ''the reasonof authenticity'' and as ''the reason of issuing a decree''; 2- Difference in intellect as a ''tool'' and as an independent being; 3- Difference in intellect as a ''governor'' and as a 'discoverer''; 4- Difference in intellect as a ''definite cognition'' and ''imaginative cognition'', 5- theoretical intellect and practical intellect.

One of the controversial issues between the Shiites and some of the Sunni scholars including Rashid Redha is the question of Prophet's parents monotheism. The author of 'Tafsir Al-Manar' unlike several of Sunni scholars and the entire Shiite scholars, believes that the Prophet's parents did not believe in God. In order to justify this theory, he refers to weak documents. He also believes that the Ahadith that support the Prophet's parents belief are not compatible with the Quran and the right Ahadith. Nevertheless, the fourfold reasons, i.e. the Quran, traditions, consensus and intellect reject the theory of Al-Manr's author. There are several traditions quoted by the Sunni and Shiite scholars as well as consensus and intellect which support purity and faithfulness of the parents of Prophet and the Prophet's Ijtihad which are referred to in this paper. Not only the Shiites but also many of the Sunni brothers believe that the Prophet's parents and His ancestors up to Adam were never disbelievers; on the contrary, they worshiped God and illegal relationships had no place in their lives.

Main question: What Quranic activities have done the Bahraini Scholars? Other questions: 1- To what extend the Bahraini scholars used the Quran for the sake of Islamic unity? 2- What books have Bahraini author written on the Quran? 3- What name has been introduced by Bahraini parliament for this year? One of the major issues in Islamic unity is the role of the Quran which should be considered before anything. The Bahraini scholars have had special attention to the Quran. This paper assesses the works of seven Bahraini scholars from the 8th century to the present time regarding the Quran. One of the issues explained in this paper is the position of the Quran in Bahrain society and the recent movements in the country. In the cultural and political awakening, the nation of Bahrain needs to be inspired by the Quran and refer to it. This fact is quite clear in the slogans of the the nation and the Bahraini scholars named this year as 'Help of the Quran Year' due to the Quran's contributions and alertness of the society, Muslim unity and solidarity, and the fight against corruption.

Without a doubt, Akhone Khorasani has a special place regarding unity and proximity of the Shiites. After gaining a good academic position in the seminary school of Najafa in jurisprudence and theology fields, he started to fight against tyranny and colonization based on the principles of jurisprudence and theology and due to the situation of his time. These two phenomena automatically directed Akhond towards national-Islamic unity as well as international- Islamic unity. He became well-known for turning the theories of Islamic unity into practice. The following paper intends to explain Akhond Khorasani's role and position regarding the process of Islamic unity and proximity among Islamic sects. It also gives an account regarding his theories and activities on the topic.

The first section of this article explains geographical and historical background and strategic situation of Bahrain. This section deals with the following subjects: Religions and denominations in Bahrain, religious schools and the extent to which people consider religion; trend in cultural developments; impact of culture; family and social relationships; women's social position; literacy and cultural issues in Bahrain's society; major cultural and historical sites; foreign cultural institutions and their activities; mass media: newspaper, TV and radio stations, the press, and the extent to which the state controls them. The author explains developments of Bahrain in the past three decades; during which Sheikh Isa Bin Soleyman claimed power until the time the changes in ruling structure occurred. The paper also deals with the (Legislative, Executive, Judiciary) and how the political developments were formed and how the opposition parties where introduced and finally relation of Bahrain with other countries particularly with Iran-before and after revolution.