فهرست مطالب dr. muḤammad mahdĪ ruknĪ yazdĪ

Different opinions have been expressed about the purpose of Imam Hussein (A.S.) uprising and martyrdom in ‘Ashūrā. The author, referring to Imam's words, describes his goal as a great forbidding the evil, which is the conversion of the Islamic caliphate into a hereditary monarchy by Muā'wiyah. Then Yazīd asked the Imam to allegiance to stabilize his government. Obviously, the Imam did not swear allegiance to such a libertine person, and the dispute led to jihad. The inequality of the two corps and the tragedies that had occurred for Prophet's grandson turned the event into a great and sad tragedy that had affected ages. We know that one of the attributes of God is "Shakūr", which means gratitude to the devoted servants. In the sad event of ‘Ashūrā, in addition to the reward of the hereafter, which is dedicated to the martyrs, the grateful God has also commemorated the name of these patient and sincere people in the world, as their name is said every day and night in the meetings with moaning and wailing so people do not forget ever them.

The author, based on the verse 78 of Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt that God mentions the good name of the prophets, states the sense of benefaction in human nature and he knows it as the good works motive such as endowment of property and the establishment of charity institutions that its effects remain after death. Desire to preserve the good name and enjoy the reward of good deed, are conscientious reasons and inner reception on the survival of the soul after the death of the body because if human assumed himself nothing after death, he paid no attention to good or evil reputation while everybody wants to stay well-honed and praised after death and enjoy the rewards of their good deeds.

Two Islamic tenets of the Creator of the world are absolute justice and the Best of creators. On the other hand, devastating incidents such as floods and earthquakes seem to be incompatible with those tenets. The article is written in response to this misconception and shows that these incidents are natural and inevitable and are in line with one of the definite Divine precedents, i.e., human trial, in order to reveal what conduct man would show in any situation and incident.
If we have a panoramic look – and not a close-up glance – at the world incidents, we would see that, as implied from the verses of the Qur’an, what we call evil is not only necessary, but is also good in the overall world order; or if it is evil for some, its goodness is generally more than its evil, like the positive and negative poles in an electric circuit.
The real evil comes from Satan and the misleading self, which is “moral evil”, leading families and the society to destruction and worst of all, it is the injustice that the arrogant powers do to other countries with their belligerence, rather than the rare incidents like earthquakes.

Her Holiness Fāṭima (A.S.) has a high status not only among the Shī‘as but also with the Sunnīs. In this writing, with reliance on the Sunnī sources, the revelation occasion of some of the verses, such as mubāhila, taṭhīr, and Sūrat al-Kawthar about Ḥaḍrat Zahrā and Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) has been studied and her spiritual station and grandeur to God has been emphasized.

This writing is based on traditions that are all mentioned in the Sunnī’s Ṣaḥīḥs and Musnads (anthologies of traditions) under the verse 12 of Sūrat al-Mā’ida and elaborates on the fact that after the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), there will come twelve chieftains and guardians, just like the Chieftains of Banī Isrā’īl, the last of whom is Imam al-Mahdī (Aj.).
What draws more attention in this research is that some of their scholars have tried to compare twelve of the caliphs with the Abbasid caliphs but of no avail. Deliberation and truth-seeking prove the truth of the Shī‘a belief in this respect.

The Qur’ān is an All-Wise Book that contains the primary and secondary principles of not only the life of the Muslims but that of the humanity as well. The fundamentals of the defense and strategy against enemies’ contingent invasions is one of those principles. In this article, the verse 60 of Sūrat al-Anfāl (that orders to provide for defense equipment) is studied from the viewpoint of ‘Allama Tabataba’i. This verse addresses the general public, who, when necessary, should spare no effort in uplifting the military power of the Muslim troops.

Once in a while, the antagonists of Islam hurt the feelings and religious emotions of the Muslims by a coordinated plot. Some time ago, they displayed shameful insolence towards the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) by showing a disgusting and offensive film on the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.).In response to this insult and inspired by Sūrat al-Masad, the writer of the present article states that there is a total similarity between the motives of Abū Lahab in the early days of Islam and those of the producers of this film; with the difference that the enmity of Abū Lahab and his wife happens in the age of Paganism, whereas the enmity of these insulters is taking place in an era in which its statesmen claim supporting human rights and respecting religious sanctities.

The questions brought up about death and afterlife are popular among the public. In this writing (as a personal account), with an obvious reasoning, the writer arrives at the conclusion that the true answer is to be obtained through the school of Revelation; because death is an incident that is never repeated nor testable. Purpose of life, purposefulness of creation, the coming to life of the dead, and man’s synthetic identity of body and soul are the subjects dealt with in this article. Finally, it is concluded that according to the Qur’ān and the traditions of the Infallible Imams (A.S.), death is the beginning of a new and eternal life.

War is a bitter reality, which has taken place throughout human history. Islam has used it as a last option for destroying idolatry and spreading Monotheism rather than conquering and dominating over weak nations. The present article mainly addresses this assumption. Making reference to Qur’anic verses and reliable legal sources, the writer has proved the above hypothesis and achieved the following points: 1. Peaceful call to the doctrines of Islam prior to the beginning of war has been the basic principle in the Apostle of Allah (S.A.W.)’s sīra (practical way of life), the acceptance of which would have prevented the outbreak of war. 2. Observance of human rights and moral instruction in battle fields has been the sīra of the Prophet (S.A.W.) and his rightful successors, something which is not observed even in today’s wars. 3. The philosophy of war and “Jihād (holy struggle) in the way of Allah”, as appears in the Qur’an, besides eliminating polytheism, is to spread around Monotheism, to liberate the oppressed, and to suppress the seditions of those who have broken their pacts.

A miraculous (karāma) act in Islamic culture and ideology, especially in Shī‘ism, is possible; accordingly, the writer proceeds to prove its possibility by giving two historical examples and one contemporary one from reliable sources. Although in view of some rationalists, miraculous act, which is an extra-ordinary event, is regarded as contrary to the law of causality, it is to be noted that there are spiritual and non-material causes in this respect, confirmed by new researches, which can cause unusual events. In the meantime, it is mentioned from the pathological perspective that many a time the exaggerations and misrepresentations imposed on a miraculous act would throw doubt on the very act itself.

Concentrating on a number of the verses of the Quran, the writer has figured out that one of the patterns for expression and argumentation in the Quran is comparing two issues whose good and evil are not clear. These verses come along with allegories and, sometimes, interrogations; and, while retaining the rhetorical excellence and lingual eloquence, they have strong and acceptable argument to deliver the divine message.

An uncertainty concerning Mahdism is the birth of Imam Mahdī (A.S.). Drawing upon the old reliable sources, the author proves that announcing the birth of that blessed child by Imam Ḥasan ‘Askarī (A.S.) to some of the devoted Shī‘as is a definite historical event; except that the Almighty Allah by His discretion keeps him behind the curtain of occultation until his reappearance time arrives by the will of the Exalted Allah and justice spreads all over the world by the Imam (A.S.). It is also noteworthy that those who claim to have seen that holy Imam are to be denied, as the few pious men who have seen him have never revealed it.

The supreme leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, announced in a message the current year (1388/2009) as the year of Revision to Pattern of Consumption. This sublime message is adopted from the verses of the Quran and the traditions of the Infallible Imams (A.S.). In this article, the writer touches upon and gives a brief explanation about this issue with reference to the Revelation and the words of the Infallible Imams (A.S.), stressing that observance of justice and moderation in consumption is the moral and social corollary of this matter, as the scholars of ethics have always advised people in this crucial respect; and in the present time, i.e., the age of mechanized way of life, the government's macro-management plays an essential role in its realization.