Applications of Shiite Scholars Ajvabes in Social Historic Studies of Iran

The long tradition of Ajvabe writing dates back to Imams period. This tradition was transferred to Shiite scholars in the period of occultation of Imam Mahdi (ATF). Through ajvabes, Shiite scholars (mojtahids) answered a variety of questions in religious, economic, and legal fields as well as contemporarily novel questions. So Shiite Ajvabes are considered as rich and reliable documents for religious education. Ajvabes, besides their religious importance, contain valuable data regarding social history of their people as the themes of these Ajvabes show the interactions among various groups of people and their intellectual, legal, economic needs in that age. In this paper, we aim at analyzing the contents of such Ajvabes and evaluating their potentials for obtaining socio-historical information. We also show that the contents of such Ajvabes reveal some aspects of social lives of their contemporary age that are essential for social historiography.