Interpretive Theological Researches

Abstract Near-death experiences are a term for states that occur to some people at certain times that are similar to a state of death. This issue has been seriously considered with the publication of Raymond Moody's book "Life After Life". Despite extensive scientific, philosophical and psychological research, the nature of these phenomena remains unclear, which highlights the need for research due to their profound effects on the individual and society. Leaving the body, perceptions outside it, and returning to the body are among the components that occur in all these experiences. The present article, with the aim of analyzing the nature of near-death experiences, adopts a theological-interpretive approach and focuses on Islamic teachings regarding the truth of man and the external and internal worlds of existence. The findings show that when the experiencers distance themselves from the physical body, they are in the realm of the soul, their inner senses, and their imagination, and most of them have reviewed scenes from their lifetime or have encountered imaginary and demonic fabricated images. In some cases, they have entered the world of purgatory through the power of imagination and observed the realities of purgatory.

Abstract عصمت انبیاء از ارکان اساسی کلام اسلامی و شرط اعتبار وحی و هدایت الهی است. با این حال، برخی آیات قرآن کریم، به‌ویژه در داستان حضرت موسی(ع) در سوره‌های قصص و شعراء، در نگاه نخست تعابیری را دربر دارند که به‌ظاهر با اصل عصمت ناسازگار می‌نمایند؛ از جمله نسبت «عمل شیطانی»، «ظلم به نفس» و «ضلالت». این تعابیر، در طول تاریخ اندیشه اسلامی، منشأ بروز شبهات و اختلاف دیدگاه‌های کلامی شده‌اند.پژوهش حاضر با رویکردی تحلیلی ـ توصیفی و با بهره‌گیری از روش تحلیل سندی و دلالی، روایت مشهور امام رضا(ع) در تبیین عصمت حضرت موسی(ع) را بررسی می‌کند. در بخش سندی، وضعیت راویان حدیث بر اساس منابع رجالی امامیه ارزیابی می‌شود و در بخش دلالی، با تکیه بر تحلیل لغوی، سیاق آیات و روش تفسیر قرآن به قرآن، دلالت‌های روایت واکاوی می‌گردد. نتایج پژوهش نشان می‌دهد که تعابیر مورد مناقشه، ناظر به معانی غیر اصطلاحی و سیاقی‌اند و هیچ‌گونه دلالتی بر ارتکاب گناه یا خطا از سوی حضرت موسی(ع) ندارند. این روایت، افزون بر رفع تعارض ظاهری آیات با اصل عصمت، الگویی روشمند برای مواجهه با آیات متشابه در کلام اسلامی ارائه می‌دهد.

Abstract The infallibility of the prophets is a fundamental and influential topic in the field of Islamic theology, the nature and scope of which have long been a source of disagreement among scholars and followers of Islamic schools. For this reason, numerous works have been written by theologians and commentators in this field, and various views have been put forward. However, the fundamental question is whether these works are organized based on a systematic, coherent, and uniform approach or not? This study uses a descriptive-analytical method and refers to numerous library sources to evaluate the convergence and divergence of these works. The findings of the study show that the Quranic works on the infallibility of the prophets, despite their fundamental commonalities, have deep "methodological and content differences." On the one hand, Quran scholars are consistent in such matters as citing key verses, emphasizing the infallibility of the divine prophets, and examining common doubts, and even in terms of structure, a kind of repetition of patterns is evident in these works. On the other hand, there are serious gaps in the readings, including different interpretations of the context of the verses, differences in the authenticity of the narrational documents, and the use of heterogeneous interpretive methods. In addition, fundamental differences between Shia and Sunni Quranic scholars in defining the scope and dimensions of infallibility, as well as the limited comparative studies with other religions, have led to the emergence of conflicting readings of the issue of infallibility. Thus, while the core of the discussion is common in all works, methodological and content differences have caused the final conclusions and interpretations to diverge.

Abstract The question of *taʾwīl* in the Qur’an has long been a central issue in Qur’anic sciences and the philosophy of interpretation. Different understandings of the nature of *taʾwīl* have produced diverse, and sometimes conflicting, approaches. In contemporary Shiʿi thought, two major readings stand out. The first is Allameh Tabatabaei’s philosophical–intuitive theory, grounded in Transcendent Philosophy, which understands *taʾwīl* as an objective reality belonging to the higher ontological level of the Qur’an and the Preserved Tablet (*al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ*). Access to this reality is possible only for those firmly rooted in knowledge (*al-rāsikhūn fī al-ʿilm*) through a level of understanding beyond ordinary and acquired cognition. The second is Ayatollah Maʿrifat’s literary–juridical approach, which views *taʾwīl* as a rational process of referring ambiguous verses (*mutashābihāt*) back to clear verses (*muḥkamāt*) on the basis of context, linguistic rules, and common rational understanding.
Using an analytical–comparative method, this study examines the foundations of these two views and argues that Maʿrifat’s critique of Tabatabaei faces a serious methodological challenge, since it evaluates Tabatabaei’s theory from outside its own philosophical–exegetical horizon. For Tabatabaei, *taʾwīl* is not the discovery of the rationales behind legal rulings, but the intuitive disclosure of the ontological reality of the text beyond the level of words. This reading can be properly understood only within the framework of Transcendent Philosophy.
The study also resonates with contemporary philosophical hermeneutics, especially Gadamer’s and Ricoeur’s emphasis on horizons of understanding and the multilayered meaning of texts. Its main contribution is to show that the conflict between the two approaches lies not merely in exegetical method, but in deeper epistemological and ontological differences.

Abstract جریان فکری ـ مذهبی برائتی‌ها به جریانی اطلاق می‌شود که با برجسته‌سازی آموزه تولی و تبری، نگاهی تنگ‌نظرانه به مسئله تقریب مذاهب اسلامی اتخاذ می‌کند. این جریان‌ها با ارائه خوانشی خاص از قرآن کریم، هرگونه حرکت تقریبی میان مذاهب اسلامی را نفی کرده و آن را مغایر با مفاهیم اصیل دینی می‌دانند و گاه به‌صورت آشکار به لعن، نفرین و بی‌احترامی نسبت به خلفا، صحابه و مقدسات اهل‌سنت می‌پردازند. این جریان فکری شیعی برای رفتارها، کنش‌ها و باورهای خود، مجموعه‌ای از استدلال‌های عقلی، قرآنی، روایی، اجتماعی و سیاسی اقامه می‌کند. در عرف مذهبی ـ سیاسی ـ اجتماعی، جریان موسوم به شیرازی‌ها یکی از عناصر اصلی این طیف برائتی به‌شمار می‌آید.این پژوهش با تمرکز بر منابع اصلی جریان شیرازی‌ها و با بهره‌گیری از روش توصیفی ـ تحلیلی و رویکردی انتقادی، در گام نخست به تبیین دیدگاه‌ها و مهم‌ترین استدلال‌های قرآنی این جریان می‌پردازد و سپس به تحلیل و ارزیابی نحوه تفسیر و فهم آنان از آیات قرآن کریم اقدام می‌کند.یافته‌های پژوهش نشان می‌دهد که استدلال‌های قرآنی این جریان با چالش‌های جدی مواجه است؛ از جمله، خروج از سیاق تاریخی آیات و بی‌توجهی به شأن نزول، تعمیم ناروای مفاهیمی چون شرک، کفر و ظلم، ناسازگاری با سیره عملی ائمه اطهار(ع) در تعامل با دیگر مسلمانان، تعارض با مبانی فقه امامیه به‌ویژه در تفکیک میان «اسلام» و «ایمان»، و مخالفت با رویکرد وحدت‌گرایانه علمای برجسته شیعه. افزون بر این، رویکردی ظاهرگرا و اخباری در مواجهه با آیات قرآن، تکیه بر تطبیق‌های مصداقی بدون ملاحظه مصالح عالیه امت اسلامی، دامن‌زدن به تنش‌های مذهبی، وهن تشیع، تضعیف وحدت جهان اسلام، تبدیل لعن به یک کنش اجتماعی و اطلاق مفاهیمی چون «کافر» و «عدو» بر اهل‌سنت، از دیگر پیامدهای قابل انتقاد این قرائت به‌شمار می‌آید

Abstract The seventh verse of Surah Al-Duha (And He found you astray, so guide you) has long been a subject of discussion and opinion among commentators of both sects. The views put forward in the interpretation of this verse cover a wide range. The present study, with a descriptive-analytical approach and using the method of interpreting the Quran by the Quran, has analyzed the verse within the framework of Imam Khamenei's thought. The findings of the study show that the aforementioned interpretations, while having different levels of accuracy and validity, can be combined with each other and none of them negates the other. Among them, the interpretation of "polytheistic misguidance" is unanimously rejected by scholars of both sects; the view of "human's inherent lack of guidance" is also known as a profound interpretation and in line with Imam Khamenei's approach; And lower interpretations such as “lost in childhood” or “unfamiliarity with trade” are acceptable as historical layers of the meaning of the verse, throughout the higher levels. But what is presented as the deepest and highest semantic layer of the verse from the perspective of Imam Khamenei is the concept of “inner resurrection.” This theory refers to the state of the Prophet before his mission, who, while possessing a pure nature and rich human themes, lacked access to deep knowledge and the direct path of revelation. This existential loss awaiting guidance, led to a great resurrection within the Prophet with the divine mission; a resurrection that awakened all the deposited themes and became the prelude to a fundamental transformation in human society. This interpretation, which is documented by citing verses from Surahs Al-Alaq and An-Najm, is in complete harmony with the principle of infallibility and previous interpretations at lower levels, and presents a comprehensive, profound, and authentic meaning of the verse.