Imam Ali ΄s Studies

Abstract Based on some hadith and historical texts, in a few cases of meting out jurisprudentially fixed punishments (ḥudūd) to exaggerators in veneration of the Muslim Prophet and his family (ghulāt), apostates, and infidels, Imam Ali (PBUH) ordered that some criminal individuals be burned, and at times he personally exerted the punishment. Shiite and Sunni sources have disagreements over some details and themes of, and facts related to the hadiths. Hadiths about burning of human beings in Imam Ali (PBUH)’s conduct include both immolation and cremation, but being choked to death by smoke from the fire should also be considered due to confusions in the texts of the hadiths. In the present study, an attempt has been made to extract all the relevant hadiths from the historical and hadith sources, and to examine and analyze their documentation. To this aim, all those hadiths with their different chain of narrators will be quoted and then critiqued

Abstract One of the definitive conditions for the validity of hadith among Sunnis is the narrator's justice. One of the things that impairs the narrator's justice is opposition to the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.), with Ali (a.s.) as their leader. Among Ahl al-Sunnah, the "Sahihayn" ones have the highest credibility and their narrations are accepted without the need for investigation. The question is whether this condition of the justice of the narrator - which ensures the authenticity of the narration - has been met in these two books? Fairness and research and even the confession of some Sunni scholars indicate the absence of this condition in the "Sahihayn narrators". One of them is that they trust some of the "Nasebis" and have narrated hadiths from them in the "Sahihayn", which can weaken the foundations of absolute trust in them. The current research, which is based on the descriptive-analytical method, has attempted to investigate this matter and, relying on Sunni sources, has introduced a number of "Nasebi narrators" in "Sahihayn hadiths".

Abstract According to organizational justice literature review, up to now subordinates always consider as perceptual and Supremes as perceived. Nevertheless, isn’t it possible that Supremes evaluate subordinates behaviors in terms of fairness? One of the most important issues to introduce a new concept, is to prove that it matters. The target of this paper is to provide rational evidences based on commentary of statements of Imam Ali in Nahj al-Balaghah about Supremes justice perception, by implication-research study to extract Normative and behavioral implications of this concept. By defining justice as "to give a person his or her due" and accepting rights of Supremes, and then subordinates power and motivations for violating Supremes rights, thus Supremes justice perception maters too. Research findings show, by entering this concept to body of organizational justice literature a paradigmatic Revolution will occur. According to this new viewpoint justice is not a blessing giving to subordinates by Supremes. but justice surrounding all the active players in organization, and emerging by role-playing of all contributors in a social interaction and became a dominate atmosphere in which neither Supremes could escape from their responsibility for that nor subordinates is considered so powerless that have no influence on that.

Abstract One of the essential theological topics is the discussion of the monotheism and oneness of God, which has always attracted the attention of thinkers. The Islamic religious texts have presented the highest ideas whose primary pillars are rooted in the Quran and explained by Imam Ali (AS) in Nahj al-Balāghah. With a library, documentary, and analytic-descriptive method, the present study aimed to express and analyse the issue of denial of attributes from God in the first sermon of Nahj al-Balāghah and its meanings and various possibilities. The result indicated that the only justifiable sense of rejection of features from God in this sermon, especially regarding the arguments of Ali (AS), is a denial of characteristics from the essence stage and oneness monotheism and associated with personal unity of God is superior to singleness and numerical monotheism.

Abstract This study is in line with the role of religious forces and tribal elites in the events of Islamic history in the first century AH, and analyzes YazidibnShajarehRahawi and his role in the instability of the Caliphate of Imam Ali (AS) and the stabilization of the Umayyads. Yazid was a supporter of Uthman. During the caliphate of Imam Ali (AS), he went from Kufa to Syria and accompanied Mu'awiyah in the battle of Tiffin. He was also considered one of the religious leaders and political figures of Syria. The commander was in charge of plundering Mecca and taking allegiance to Mu'awiyah. The research method is a historical study based on data collection, analysis, and description and with the method of libraries and Islamic sources. How did Yazid play a role in the instability of Imam Ali (AS) and the stability of Mu'awiyah in Mecca? What were the effective factors in this success? What was the role and position of Mu'awiyah and Imam Ali (AS)? This study clarifies: Yazid's position and his orientation in confronting Imam Ali (AS) in Mecca, caused the instability of his rule and the stability of Mu'awiyah. The main strategy of Imam Ali (AS) in this case was to repel the conspiracy of Mu'awiyah based on the three important categories of jihad, preserving the divine sanctuary, and establishing the truth. Other factors in Rahawi's relative success include the role of the Quraysh and other opponents of the Imam, the mismanagement of Qosamibn Abbas, and the adaptability of the people.

Abstract Among the sensitive issues which stand out in Nahj al-Balagha, and, in spite of their sensitivity, are less paid attention to are the factors in betrayal that people consider justifiable against the ruler of Islamic society. Discussed in Nahj al-Balagha from different aspects, the factors, if not identified and removed from the direction in which society moves, will cause a great damage to the configuration of the Islamic system and people’s circumstances. Having an accurate understanding of those factors makes one prevent crisis outbreak and decadence of Islamic society in the age of the occultation of the Infallible, through precise recognition of the jurisconsult guardian (valī-yyifaqīh) as deputy the infallible Imam. Moral factors such as disharmony between words and action, political factors such as susceptibility to corrupt rulers and perverted social groups, and material factors pivoting on worldliness has been among the most important factors in people’s betrayal of the Islamic ruler. Initial data were collected with the library research method and processed and codified in an analytic-descriptive way.

Abstract According to Halliday's theory, one of the characteristics of the text is to have coherence, therefore, by giving importance to the beginning-end structure and marking and unmarking of each paragraph, it determines the author's method and performance in inducing his intended message.  Based on the mentioned theory, by examining the grammatical, lexical and linking relationship of a text, a comprehensive analysis of how its different clauses are coherent and interconnected is obtained. This research has examined the jihad sermon of Imam Ali (a.s.) based on the meta-textual approach (Halliday's role-oriented approach) in a descriptive-analytical way. The results show that most of the clauses of the mentioned sermon have a compound beginning, and especially its expression with such a beginning was a suitable point for inducing the message and validates the coherence of the text. Also, other types of cohesion such as intra-textual reference, substitution, deletion, lexical cohesion, especially synonymous expressions, and also link cohesion are prominent elements of this text. The examination of this sermon from Nahj al-Balaghah based on Halliday's theory, further identifies its value and importance in both religious and literary contexts.

Abstract Ahmad Ibn Ali Tabresi (D.588AH), in his book Al-Ihtijaj, has narrated a long hadith about the questions of a Zandiq(heretic) from the Amir al-Mu'mininAli (pbuh)regarding the alleged contradictions of the Qur'an. Among the answers attributed to the Amir al-Mu'minin(pbuh), Has been claimed the big distortion of the Qur'an, including the omission of more than one third of the Qur'an from the third verse of Surah An-Nisa'and the forging in Qur'an. Before Tabresi, Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Babawayh (D.381AH) and Muhammad ibn Mas'udAyyashi narrated a shorter versionof thishadith which did not mention the distortion of the Qur'an. Mirza Hussein Nouri (D.1320AH) has considered the reason for this difference as the selectionof Ibn Babawayh. In this article, by examining the structure and text of the three versionof Tabresi, Ibn Babawayhand Ayyashi, this view has been rejected. The heterogeneous structure, textual anxieties, late words and literature, theological and historical errors, and other evidences show that the additions inTabresi'sversionare the result of late forgery. Furthermore, an examination of the text and isnads of the older versionof thishadithreveals its processing in the sunni sphere.

Abstract According to Shiite narrations, the most important issue raised by God in the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) ascension is Imam Ali's wardship. Both Shiite and Sunni interpretations consider verses 5 – 18 in Sura al-Najm as to the ascension, while in Shiite interpretations, the relation between these verses with Imam Ali's (AS) guardianship is not explained. This research is based on semantic coherence of the divine verses 1-23 of Sura al-Najm with the assumption that the arrangement of these Quranic verses is done according to divine revelation. Accordingly, the ascension of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is considered as a great mission to reveal one of the great verses of God the Almighty. During revelation of these divine verses, a star-shaped light descends and appears in Imam Ali's (AS) house, which designates that his position of caliphate and wardship is rooted in the higher realms. However, instead of adhering to this fact, a group of Muslims tried to fabricate it as unreal statements regarding Imam Ali's (AS) guardianship instead of joining this call of God. Meanwhile, numerous Shiite hadiths confirm this recitation of the first verses of Sura al-Najm.

Abstract Analysis of Imam Ali (PBUH)’s speeches and works shows that he as the ruler of Islamic society placed a unique emphasis on social ethos and its changes and transformations. The present article tries to answer the question of what impact social ethos has on the development or decline of Islamic and human societies from the point of view of Imam Ali (PBUH). To this aim, after theoretical provisions, the methods of historical and documentary studies and content analysis were used. The research results showed that in the method for social development in Imam Ali’ (PBUH)’s government, traditions and social ethos play a central role. Social system’s watching out for and monitoring of improper social ethos of hypocrisy, distrust, laziness, flattery, and extravagance were key to social development and reproduction of social capital in the reign of Imam Ali (PBUH). On the other hand, lack of proper social ethos not only brings on distrust but also destroys the possibility of cooperation, participation, and other social interactions. Lack of social participation and mutual trust, in turn, destroys the possibility of any social development, replacing it with hypocrisy, flattery, sloth, and violence in society.

Abstract تقابل یا تضاد یکی از مهم‌ترین رویکردهای نظری در بررسی مسائل اجتماعی به شمار می‌رود. لوئیس آلفرد کوزر یکی از سرشناس‌ترین نظریه‌پردازان جامعه‌شناسی به حساب می‌آید که تاثیر بسزایی در بسط و توسعه نظریه تقابل داشته و این نظریه را در لایه‌های سلبی و ایجابی آن، بازآفرینی کرده است. کوزر در کتاب خود «نظریه تقابل‌های اجتماعی»، رفتار و تعامل انسان‌ها، گروه‌ها و احزاب سیاسی را در شانزده نظریه واکاوی کرده است. این نظریه بستری مناسب برای خوانش متون مختلف از منظر جامعه­شناختیبه شمار می‌رود؛ از این‌روی، پژوهش پیش رو، با بهره‌گیری از روش توصیفی-تحلیلی و با تکیه بر نظریه تقابل‌های اجتماعی کوزر، به بازخوانی و تحلیل نامه‌های امام علی (ع) به معاویه برآمده است تا درون‌مایه و محتوای پنهان و عمیق این نامه‌ها را در ضمن تقابل­های اجتماعیبه تجزیه و تحلیلبگذارد و افق‌های نویی فراروی پژوهشگران قرار دهد. پژوهش حاضر با خوانش و تحلیل نامه‌های امام (ع) به معاویه بر اساس نظریه تقابل اجتماعی کوزر، به این نتیجه دست یافته که متن‌ نامه‌های نهج البلاغه، بستری بسیار مناسب جهت خوانش‌ جامعه‌شناختی بر اساس نظریه تقابل به دست می‌دهند؛ چراکه از گفتمان جدلی بهره می‌گیرند و می‌توان از تقابل‌های فراوانی همچون تقابل و ایدئولوژی، تقابل خالص و ناخالص، تقابل و انگیزش ناگهانی خصمانه، نظریه در تعقیب دشمنان و غیره در بطن نامه‌ها سخن گفت.