نشریه مطالعات قرآنی نامه جامعه
پیاپی 134 (تابستان 1399)

In the meaning of divine wisdom, there are differences of opinion between Muslim theologians and philosophers. The purpose of this article is to explicate and examine Martyr Motahari’s criticism of Allameh Tabatabaei’s definition of Divine Wisdom. Allameh, in a precise statement, considers the essence of God’s action to be the same as wisdom and the criterion of all wisdoms, from which wisdom for others’ actions is deduced. The drawbacks to this perspective pointed out by Martyr Motahari include the invalidation of wisdom for God, the nullification of the Qur’anic arguments using wisdom, and the transference from wise wisdom to theologians’ wisdom, and then its negation. However, considering wisdom in the sense of the purposefulness of God’s actions, there is no distance between God’s action and its ultimate cause, or wisdom. According to Allameh’s view, God’s action is not subject to any laws. Wisdom is, therefore, provable for God. Furthermore, the ultimate cause of God’s action is in essence, the Essence of God, and bringing creatures to their perfection is the consequential purpose. Qur’anic arguments also take into account the assumption of purposelessness and then reject it. On several occasions, Allameh has elucidated the meaning of wisdom in God, in a different way from how the Mu’tazilite theologians define it, and his expression has embraced the removal of the alleged deficiency. The common point between the two views is that, fundamentally, any system other than the existing best system is not even a hypothesis.

Khums is among the consequential and practical issues that has long led jurists to explore it. The major unresolved dispute in Fariqain’s jurisprudence is the perception of the sentence, “the booty that you may acquire”. The knowledge of jurisprudence and the interpretation of the Qur’an, has established a solid relationship with semantics for the purpose of grasping the semantics of the Qur’anic terminology, for the accurate comprehension of the meanings of the Qur’anic terms has a direct effect on understanding decrees. The topic of the present research is the semantics of booty in the verse of Khums from the perspective of Islamic denominations. This article, using the descriptiveanalytical method, collecting information from jurisprudential and narrative sources by library technique and referring to Fariqain’s words, has investigated the meaning of the word booty in the verse. By criticizing Sunni arguments on the restriction of Khums to war spoils, it is inferred that booty in this verse is used in the general sense, that is, any sort of profit. In Sunni sources, in addition to war spoils, Rekaz (mineral resources), property hidden in the ground, and treasures are also introduced as instances of booty. Therefore, the restriction of the concept of “booty” to war spoils disappears.

One of the ways to understand the Qur’an is to have a correct knowledge of the semantics of its vocabulary. The present article deals with the semantics of the word, Lesan (tongue), in the Qur’an with a new semantic method using collocation in order to explicate its meaning in relation to its collocates. In this research, the Qur’an and commentaries have been used to adapt the basic (lexical) meanings and the semantics of Lesan. According to the findings of this article, “Lesan” in some verses is a part of the body and in some others, is the verb of this organ, that is, “speaking” and this speech has two types: positive and negative. Some verses refer to the Prophet’s (PBUH) Arabic words and language. His language is Arabic and of the positive type of speech and it is required to conform to the culture of that nation. Thus, considering the “ethnic tongue” to be the “ethnic culture” as a requirement for the meaning of Lesan is acceptable. In conclusion, except for the expression of “ethnic tongue” which lexically means “ethnic language” and in collocation, “ethnic culture”, the lexical meaning and the meaning derived from collocations are compatible in other uses of Lesan.

Just as God Almighty, in the Qur’an, introduces the reward of the true believers as paradise and its blessings, in some other verses He promises them to attain “Falah” (prosperity). However, achieving Falah has requirements and conditions that, until all of them are fulfilled, one should not expect prosperity. Based on the present research, which has been written using the descriptive-analytical and library methods, Falah has a fundamental requirement, which is to believe in: the Unseen; God; Prophecy; Heavenly books, angels; Imamate and Resurrection. Thus, unbelievers will not benefit from Falah. In addition to believing in these matters, performing devotional duties, abstaining from prohibitions, piety, Jihad, steadfastness in the battlefield, remembrance of God, patience, repentance, fulfillment of the covenant, abstaining from usury and paying Zakat, etc. are also deemed to be among the required conditions and behaviors for attaining prosperity. Accordingly, if all these conditions are observed in a person, prosperity will be realized for him as well. Therefore, apart from the unbelievers, those believers who perform only part of their devotional duties and do not have the adequate abstinence from prohibitions will not be prosperous. Yet, denying prosperity to them does not mean denying them being in Heaven, for they may also join the inhabitants of Heaven as a result of their faith and doing some good deeds.

One of the significant questions that has been followed by different answers on the part of jurists and commentators is whether a Qur’anic term can carry several meanings simultaneously. The theory of “the possibility and occurrence of polysemy in the Qur’an” is among the available views on this issue. One of the reasons for agreeing with this theory is the narratives concerning “outward and inward “. The inward of the Qur’an has been the subject of debate since the time of the Prophet (PBUH) and then among the Qur’anic intellectuals, but the focus of this research is the theory that has been put forward among the words of Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani about the relationship between “polysemy” and “outward and inward”. Using verses and narratives, this article explores the “polysemous relationship between the verses of the Qur’an” and the narratives on “inward and outward” and by examining Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani’s theory, it considers the narratives regarding the inward and esoteric interpretation to be in direct connection with the polysemy of the Qur’an and different from narratives on aspects of the Qur’an. Nevertheless, Ayatollah Fazel has considered the “inward” the same as “aspects and meanings” and has interpreted it according to the multiplicity of understandings of the audience and the commentators of the Qur’an.

One of the significant sources of Qur’an interpretation is narratives which can perform different functions in interpretation. Accordingly, Lady Amin has used numerous narratives in a variety of fields in Makhzan al-’Irfan interpretation. This article which has been conducted using the descriptive-analytical method, by examining the place and function of narratives in Makhzan al-’Irfan interpretation, while characterizing the narrative approach of this interpretation, illuminates the significance and the way of using narratives in Qur’an interpretation and helps to regulate the use of narratives in interpretation. Lady Amin, like other Shiite commentators, strongly believes in the authenticity of Ahl al-Bayt’s (AS) narratives in the interpretation of the Qur’an and considers the interpretation of the Qur’an to be in need of them. According to her, narratives are influential in interpreting the Qur’an in various ways, the most important of which are: stating the meaning of the term, explicating the intent, mentioning the instance, details and synopsis, explaining the inward, and stating the occasions of revelation and the cause.