فصلنامه سراج منیر
پیاپی 10 (بهار 1392)

The scholars and interpreters of the Quran have provided different meanings for interpretation. Some have focused on defining and explaining the terms, words and collocations, while others have attempted to decipher and gain insight into the purpose of God woven into the words. Disregarding the lacks inherent in those definitions and explanations, it is necessary to discuss the means that could takes us toward those aims. This research has shown that knowing Arab literature, poetry and words does not suffice for interpreting the Quran and those who have employed such means have been subject to errors and slips. It is also discussed that referring to the words and Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) is the prerequisite of interpreting the Quran, and this has been substantiated by various evidence from the Quran and Hadith.

The sacred religion of Islam is founded on human nature. The issue of God's ancient covenant with humanity that has been discussed several times in the Quran, also refers to this innateness. It is worth noting that all rules of Islam, including obligational rules that are based on the determination and authorization of free will on human beings, and conventional rules that are God’s ordinance in the everyday life of humans, are corresponding to the good and evil. This means that if someone abides by a religious law and prescript, it will be to his advantage, and if a person abstains from Haram (forbidden) deeds, he will free himself from the evil in this world and the afterlife. It also goes for conventional rules. If a person gets married according to religious principles and fathers a child, it will work to his advantage, but if he follows the temptation of the despotic soul and follows the path of Sheitan (Satan) and fathers a child, he will get corrupted. This also goes for taqiyya (prudent dissimulation) as one of the Islamic rules. If someone is obligated to do taqiyya, and fails to do so, he will damage himself and his faith, and if he follows that rule, it will work to his advantage and he will save himself and his faith from the evil. This article has attempted to elaborate on taqiyya as one of the rules of Islam and discuss the philosophy behind it to some extent, then discuss the role of Masouman (The Immaculate Imams) (pbut), especially Imam Reza, in explaining this important Divine rule.

Some of Sunni commentators and theologians have tried to find Quranic documentation for events that happened after the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). One of these documentations is the 69th verse of Surah al-Nesā, along with the 6th and 7th verses of Surah al-Hamd, which, according to Sunni commentators, holds an important place in the discussions of regency (caliphate), using it to substantiate Abubakr’s caliphate. It seems that disagreement as to the reference of Seddiq (veracious, pious) which has been formed because of contrary citations, has been the basis of disagreement on this verse, and clarification of the reference of this word will do away with such differences of opinion. This article has inspected and analyzed Sunni and Shi’ite documents and analyses, and has shown that the Sunni narrations as to Abubakr being the Seddiq—even based on the words of the people from their own sources—is weak and unprovable and is thus of no scientific value.

Family is a human society in its smallest scale, the relationship between members of which derives from a blood and emotional connection, each having a specific role. Such roles create relationships that have certain obligations, duties and rights. The roles of partner, father, mother, and child exist in a family, and thus create relationship rights for those who assume the roles. Administering and maintaining those right in the family insures the order and discipline in it as a part of the society, and getting to know moral codes and instructions for the family and abiding by them will keep the passion and kindness in the family fresh and strong and again reinforces its order and strength. This research attempts to clarify and discuss the rights and morals in the family as a system and has adopted a descriptive-library method for collecting data.

Surah is the most important division in divisions of the Quran into different parts because God has invited and challenged all human beings to cite one Surah like those of the Quran, but there has been no mention of such a challenge for division ranks below Surah. The division of the Quran is not of a human origin, but was created according to the Will of God and the command of the Angle of Revelation which marked the start of every new section in the Quran by a Bism-i Allah al-rahman al-rahim (“In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”), and the contemporaries of such Divine revelations, especially the Quran scribes, were familiar with such divisions. This raises the question as to the features of the Surah which God has chosen to challenge the defiant to cite one like. Why is it that one or a few verses from the Quran might be copied by the words of man, but citing a Surah, even as short as Kowasr which is of only three verses, is out of man’s reach? Is the arrangement of verses in a Surah done according to a certain wisdom and to a certain purpose? If yes, what is the wisdom behind the structure of Surahs? Why it that the division of the Quran into a hundred and fourteen Surahs is not topic-based and according to the common structure of scientific books? For example, why is it that faith-related Surahs focusing on Divine Unity, prophecy (prophethood), resurrection, etc. are not placed in the beginning and separated from Quranic stories, instruction and other subjects? This article attempts to answer such questions using a descriptive method. Every Surah contains a Divine wisdom which guides human beings in the path of accomplishment and perfection. It is impossible for a Surah to have such an inherent wisdom and for its verses not to be arranged in way to serve and advance that wisdom. Therefore, a Surah is a coherent, purposeful collection. God, knowing the talents, potentials and characteristics of human beings, has offered us a comprehensive program to prosperity and achievement. Therefore, His words are addressee-oriented and guiding, words that man can never produce alike because of the limitations of the knowledge he has of himself, his God and the path that leads to Him.

Using documented analysis, the current research first illustrates the damages of digital media and then provides strategies for immunizing the society against them based on Quranic verses. Findings of the research showed that the damages of the modern media can be inspected and analyzed from personal (psychological), social, cultural, political and economic aspects. Among the main strategies extracted from the Quran for blocking those damages are piety, social interactions and spiritualism in the personal aspect, marriage, abstaining from rumor-spreading in media with a focus on realism, and enjoining the good and forbidding the evil in the social aspect, anticipating and preparing for cultural invasions, management based on values, and prohibiting Satanism in the cultural aspect, emphasizing the true identity of the self, fighting hegemony, and learning from the past in the political aspect, and adjusting consumption behavior and refraining from extravagance in the economic aspect.

Fear is an emotional reaction which is rooted in a person’s interpretation of situations that seem threatening to his health. The source and perception of threats and dangers can be physical or psychological. Fear triggers the person’s defense mechanism and acts as a warning signal of probable or looming physical or psychological damage. Therefore, fear is a God-given gift and plays a significant role in a person’s life, safeguarding human beings. From the Quranic perspective the most important part of the emotional aspect of fear is the source. This means that if the source is a real threat that might harm a person’s health or undermine his goals, then the fear is acceptable, but if it is rooted in a unreal factor and does not threaten a person’s happiness and well-being, it is unacceptable. From such a perspective, the Quran cites different types of fear emotions and provides valuable strategies to manage each.