نشریه مطالعات قرآنی نامه جامعه
پیاپی 130 (تابستان 1398)

The creation of human as Ahsan al-Khaliqin raises the question of other beings. In seeking to answer this question and identify these creatures based on verses and narratives, we realize that before Adam a variety of creatures existed, such as angels, Iblees, Jinn and Nasnas. In this descriptive-analytical research, the existence of pre-Adamites is proved by investigating the verses, narratives and interpretive-narrative sources. Accordingly, there is a consensus on the creation of some creatures prior to Adam, and yet a disagreement about some others. Some scholars, relying on narratives, have denied the existence of Nasnas before the creation of Adam. In this article, the existence of Nasnas is confirmed by examining the views of lexicographers and scrutinizing the narratives quoted in commentaries on the issue of Adam’s creation. Moreover, while proving the creation of various elements and creatures before Adam, the existence of several worlds and people before Adam is confirmed referring to narratives. Hence, as the current generation of Adam’s descendants is not the first generation of humans, it will not be the last one either.

Belief issues are the foundation of human’s thinking, and all his beliefs, thoughts, and manners are formed based upon his beliefs. It is on this basis that the condition of acceptance in discussions of belief is to rely on arguments, reasoning, certainty, and knowledge. Focusing on the identicalness of the Divine Essence and attributes in the thought of sages (hakims) and using philosophical sources and the library method, the present paper attempts to scrutinize monotheism in attributes from the viewpoint of sages such as Avicenna, Mulla Sadra, and Shaykh al-Ishraq. This research indicates that the correct view of how the Almighty Necessary being is characterized by true attributes such as science, power, life, etc. is that first, the Almighty Necessary being, in the level of Essence, possesses all the attributes of perfection; second, these attributes do not lead to plurality and composition of the Essence, but each of them is identical with the Essence and all of His Essence; and third, each of these attributes are identical with each other.

The belief in Mahdism is common to divine religions. All the Infallibles, from the Prophet (PBUH) to the eleventh Imam (AS), have elucidated Mahdism and prepared the Shiites for the period of absence while making them familiar with Mahdavi teachings. In this study, the discussion of Mahdism in the words of Imam Reza (AS) has been analyzed using the narrative-descriptive method and the Shiite narrative sources. The ideas of Mahdism were explained in the era of Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (AS), but during Imam Reza’s (AS) era, the current of Mahdism was diverted by the Waqifiyyah and deviant cults. Therefore, Imam Reza (AS) attempted to restore Mahdism and Mahdavi knowledge to their proper course and to preserve them. In this article, Imam Reza’s (AS) narratives on Mahdism are typologized and validated in terms of document and content. The topics discussed in these narratives include the introduction of the personality of Hazrat Hujjat (AS), the events of the apocalypse and the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS), and their narrators are reliable Shiites scholars, able to convey the concepts and thought of Mahdism to the Shiite community.

Sunnis’ original books contain much about Hazrat Khadijah’s (SA) personality, beliefs and conduct. Reliable books such as the Two Sahihs and historical and interpretive books have all spoken about this great lady of Islam. Using Sunni sources, this descriptive-analytical research attempts to analyze and scientifically explain, without bias, particular aspects of this lady’s life, which have gone unnoticed by scholars so that while taking a small step in introducing Hazrat Khadijah’s (SA) true position and accomplishments, the neglect of an influential figure in Islamic history will be stopped. Hazrat Khadijah (SA) holds such a position in Islam that various Islamic schools, cults and sects have failed to ignore her virtues. Still, there are cases where this valuable personality of the Muslim world is neglected. Although these cases are sometimes free from personal ideas and prejudice, they partly arise from a biased attitude towards her, which is mainly due to disregarding or sometimes raising the status of other wives of the Prophet (PBUH).

The foreign words of the Qur’an are those non-Arabic words that have been used with changes in the Qur’an. Different theories have been put forward regarding the foreign vocabulary of the Qur’an. The presence or absence of foreign vocabulary and integrating these two theories are among the existing perspectives in this regard. In addition to early and late Islamic scholars who have explicitly or implicitly addressed this issue, a number of orientalists have commented on that in their books. They have suggested the incompatibility of these words with the Arabic language of the Qur’an in order to arrive at the conclusion that the Qur’an is not revelated. In this article, by examining the viewpoints of some Islamic scholars and orientalists, we deal with explaining the correct theory and resolving the apparent contradiction between the existence of these words and the description of the “manifest Arabic”. An examination of this topic reveals that it has its roots in the same orientalists’ “view of the Qur’an being an adaptation”, which introduces non-revelatory sources for the Qur’an, including ignorant manners and culture teachings of the other heavenly religions, specifically the Torah and the Bible, and which faces serious criticism.

Belief in the universal government of the Savior is among the interreligious beliefs. In the Holy Qur’an, the last divine book, special emphasis is placed on the oppressed as the most significant forces in preparing for the formation and continuation of the universal government of Baqiyyat Allah (SA). Belief in the global rule of Imam Mahdi (SA) will give a new and promising outlook to human beings around the world, including Palestine, Nigeria, Syria, Yemen, Iran, etc., who, as the apocalyptic oppressed, have been under the most severe pressure from the arrogant front for many years. In the present article, using the descriptive-analytical method, the responsibilities of the oppressed, who have the most influence on reaching this bright horizon in the cultural confrontation of the apocalypse, have been elucidated. Patience and endurance, self-awareness, mobilization of the public will, fighting against anti-cultures in the realm of Mahdism, pure obedience to the Imam and helping him to run the government, and creating motivational power to reach a common horizon which is the universal government of Imam Mahdi (SA), are among what the oppressed can do to attain a divine government.