The Means and Ways of Religious Knowledge from the Perspective of Allameh Majlisi

The means of religious knowledge is one of the central topics in epistemology. Examining Allameh Majlisi's views on the means of knowledge can reveal some aspects of this area of knowledge in the past eras. Using library and documentary method, the present research has examined the means and ways of knowledge in the statements made by Allameh Majlisi's about narrations and has extracted some propositions appropriate to his epistemological knowledge. In his works, Allameh Majlisi has considered sense, intellect, intuition, revelation, inspiration, hadith and religious authority as the means of religious knowledge. He regards sense as an important means in acquiring knowledge and does not consider it infallible. Contrary to some people's beliefs, he considers reason as granting knowledge. He considers intuition as a mean for acquiring knowledge and in some cases, introduces it as belonging to the hereafter. In the view of Allama Majlisi, revelation is the most important means of knowledge. In his view, inspiration and revelation are reliable sources of divine knowledge. Hadith is also a means that has granted knowledge to the Imams after the death of the Prophet. He has considered disrespecting the authority of the Imams in religion as one of the causes of deviation.