theology

Open Access Article

1 - A Reflection on the Application of “Positive Theology and Negative Theology” in Persian literary and Mystical Texts
سيده مريم ابوالقاسمي

“Positive theology and negative theology” are common mystical expressions literature, interpretation. These two expressions are categorized as “collocations” in the semiotics of mystical expressions. After Ibn-Arabi, these two terms became more common. Once he offered h More

“Positive theology and negative theology” are common mystical expressions literature, interpretation. These two expressions are categorized as “collocations” in the semiotics of mystical expressions. After Ibn-Arabi, these two terms became more common. Once he offered his theory, belief in “Positive theology and negative theology” found a new path; and later on several mystics and scholars were influenced by his theory and thought. This essay intends to survey the historical record of the function of these two expressions in the Persian poetry, literature and other texts. Stating the value and significance of these two expressions as a controversial topic in different eras, survey of the conceptual transformation and functional domain of these two words are the other goals pursued through this article. Manuscript profile

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2 - Political Theology of Machiavelli; Seeking Metaphysical Bases Political Thought of Machiavelli
مجتبی یاور

The purpose of this study is to find the metaphysical alphabets and suppositions in political thought of Machiavelli; the alphabets which have root in his political thinking and his special status in West Political Thought. In spite of considering Machiavelli thought as More

The purpose of this study is to find the metaphysical alphabets and suppositions in political thought of Machiavelli; the alphabets which have root in his political thinking and his special status in West Political Thought. In spite of considering Machiavelli thought as the pure realism and to give him titles like the founder of political realism, and to bring him to the threshold of Political positivist (the start of New Era) by many thought scholars, this writing is to show that the empirical reflections of Machiavelli about Politics is under effect of categories which are mainly theological remained from past eras and its strings can be seen in his thought too (like other Renaissance Humanists). It is attempted in this article under three subjects, i.e.: the seminal principle, the connection between Fortuna and Virtu and Belief in Deliverer(Saviourism), to make the theological roots of political thought of Machiavelli clear and propose a theological reading from it. Manuscript profile

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3 - Theological Interpretation of Political Affair in Carl Schmite's View
سمیه حمیدی

The european modern age has been considered as contemporary with renaissance so as the issue of seperation of religion and politics is one of its key concepts. This discontinuity predisposed the emergence of modernism view with the axis of human’s self-founded intellect More

The european modern age has been considered as contemporary with renaissance so as the issue of seperation of religion and politics is one of its key concepts. This discontinuity predisposed the emergence of modernism view with the axis of human’s self-founded intellect and the earthly politics project so that it lead to thought production based on the seperation of politics and religion. But in 20 th century, we observe the return of religion to politics field and political theorizing in this field. The beginning of theorizing in political theology can be observed in the views of German intellectual “Karl Schmit”. Through the new interpretation of christian theology, he rejected the thesis of the seperation of theology and politics. the problem of this paper is that what interpretation of political affair, schmit offers based on the theological propositions and what new understanding of religion and its relation with political affairs proposes? Schmit considers religion as the social life foundation and defines political affairs in relation with politics. In his view, the political concepts are the traditional form of theological concepts. Manuscript profile

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4 - Power and the Commune: Priority of Power to Right in Political Philosophy of Spinoza

Baruch Benedict Spinoza’s theoretical constellation formulates a theory of right and law that prepares bases for his special rationalism and humanism that is specific to republican political philosophy. This philosophy of right and law relies on metaphysics of power and More

Baruch Benedict Spinoza’s theoretical constellation formulates a theory of right and law that prepares bases for his special rationalism and humanism that is specific to republican political philosophy. This philosophy of right and law relies on metaphysics of power and prefigures the “Multitude” and the “Commune”. This philosophy of right and law is one of the many unique aspects of Spinoza`s practical philosophy. Spinoza`s theory of right as articulated in his political essays Ethica and Tractatus Politicus is as following: The more right extends, the more power extends and since society or commune produces more power, it produces more right. This unique aspect of practical philosophy of Spinoza relies on some aspects of old theory of right and law. In other words, the right and law theory of Spinoza can be considered one of Spinoza’s bonds with old traditions. The right and law Spinoza theory relies on “power” and considers “Multitude” and “Commune”. Manuscript profile

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5 - "The Self" and "The Other" in Mehdi Bazargan
hamze alemi Saiedalireza Hosseinibeheshti

The desirable relationship between "the self" and "the other" as the encounter of intersubjectivity, is a critical approach to modernity and defends humanity against the domination of Instrumental wisdom. The thinkers of existential philosophy present this, and Martin B More

The desirable relationship between "the self" and "the other" as the encounter of intersubjectivity, is a critical approach to modernity and defends humanity against the domination of Instrumental wisdom. The thinkers of existential philosophy present this, and Martin Buber provides a clear theoretical formulation. It is important that we examine this issue in the Religious Intellectualism, which has a critical point of view to modernism. Mehdi Bazargan, as one of the forerunners of the Religious Intellectualism, addresses the issue of religion and modernity based on his religious anthropology and create an “Iranian Subject” with a “Spiritual approach” that, thus, establishing a fundamental link between religious man and modern concepts. This connection is evident in the form of confrontation of "the self" and "the other" in his thinking. Bazargan places the divine-social man in the center of his thinking, and thus providing the conditions for the "the self" and "the other" favorable attitudes and simultaneously linking religion and modernity. Manuscript profile

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6 - Karl Löwith's Idea of the Theological Implications of Enlightenment Historical-Political Thought in the Context of the German Anti-Enlightenment Tradition and its Critics
b j m t h a a n

From the very beginning of the eighteenth century, the "Enlightenment" became the center of European reflections. Reactions to the Enlightenment have varied. In the first half of the twentieth century in Germany, anti-Enlightenment discourse through thinkers such as H More

From the very beginning of the eighteenth century, the "Enlightenment" became the center of European reflections. Reactions to the Enlightenment have varied. In the first half of the twentieth century in Germany, anti-Enlightenment discourse through thinkers such as Heidegger, Schmitt, Adorno, Horkheimer and Karl Löwith, raised radical criticisms of the Enlightenment in various philosophical, political, and historical fields. In this essay, based on Skinner's approach, we interpret Karl Löwith's idea about the historical-political thought of the Enlightenment. The question of this article is "in what context was Karl Löwith's idea about the theological implications of the Enlightenment historical-political thought formed and what is the author's intention?" It can be said that Löwith's idea originated in the German anti-Enlightenment tradition in the first half of the twentieth century. He sees modern philosophy of history and the concept of progress as a secularized form of the theology of history and the concept of providence. With this claim, Löwith tries to introduce the Enlightenment as illegitimate by proposing theological roots for it. It seems that the consequences of accepting Löwith's idea could challenge the assumptions of modern thought, especially about the concept of "progress", as a secularized theological concept. In the sense that modern thought cannot be considered an independent thought. In contrast, Santo Mazzarino, Hannah Arendt, and Hans Blumenberg have fundamentally criticized Löwith's theoretical-methodological foundations and challenged him. Manuscript profile

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7 - Reason and Custom and Political Reflection in the Shiite School of Baghdad
Ali Dastbaz kemal poladytoulapi

The political theology of the Shi'a theologians and Jurists of the Baghdad school has undergone a transformation compared to its predecessor, the hadith school of Qom. This transformation was answered by the hypothesis that these scholars, by virtue of the Shi'a theolog More

The political theology of the Shi'a theologians and Jurists of the Baghdad school has undergone a transformation compared to its predecessor, the hadith school of Qom. This transformation was answered by the hypothesis that these scholars, by virtue of the Shi'a theological and theological-jurisprudential rationale In connection with the prevailing custom, transcended the approach of lacking the absolute legitimacy to the relative legitimacy of the existing government. The method of this article is based on the interpretation of text and historical analysis and qualitative analysis. The findings show that the Baghdad school, in their theological reason, came to the two categories of "establishing the government" and "the institution of the Imamate" Which, accordingly, elaborated the relevant necessities and conditions with rational reasoning. Then, on the basis of the jurisprudential reason, and in connection with the custom of their time, they gave the relative legitimacy of existing customary governments that can be understood by the signs and implications of permitting cooperation and accepting government offices. Manuscript profile

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8 - Liberal-Democratic Theology and the New Political Science: A Reflection on Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Spinoza Theological-Political Efforts as Pioneers of the New Political Science
Shervin Moghimi Zanjani

The question of “what is the good?” was the main characteristic of the Socratic political philosophy. However, the modern political philosophy had to pass this question and like its enemy (namely revealed theology) present a definite and tangible definition of “the goo More

The question of “what is the good?” was the main characteristic of the Socratic political philosophy. However, the modern political philosophy had to pass this question and like its enemy (namely revealed theology) present a definite and tangible definition of “the good”. In other words, they had to show that philosophy, in addition to being the authoritative source of knowledge, can and must be the basis for promoting human life and a guide for attaining the good in practice. The role of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Spinoza from this point of view is so prominent. It seems that the good they defended, was the true origin of the values of a liberal democratic regime. These philosophers recognized that the necessity of the dogmatic definition of the good necessitates a theological-rhetorical expression to persuade the addresses. Therefore, without comprehending this theological-rhetorical backbone, the values of a liberal democratic regime cannot be understood completely. The modern political philosophy, on other hand, is the forbear of modern political science that its main subject is behavior and action of the citizens in a liberal democratic regime. Therefore, we can say that modern political science cannot be comprehended completely without contemplating on the ambivalent effort of these philosophers: on the one hand, their theological defense of the liberal democratic values, and on the other hand, their defense of a new scientific politics distinguished radically from ancient political knowledge. Manuscript profile

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9 - The Concept of Katechon and the Foundation of Modern Political Thought (A theological-political debate between Hobbes, Schmitt and Agamben)
mostafa ensafi Shoja Ahmadvand

In the twentieth century, with the publication of the works of Max Weber, Schmitt, Löwith, Voegelin, and Blumenberg, there was a great deal of interest in exploring the theological roots of modernity and modern political thought, and many of the leading texts of the ear More

In the twentieth century, with the publication of the works of Max Weber, Schmitt, Löwith, Voegelin, and Blumenberg, there was a great deal of interest in exploring the theological roots of modernity and modern political thought, and many of the leading texts of the early modern period were reinterpreted. This article seeks to highlight the importance of this concept in the history of political thought by addressing the theological foundations of the figure of "Katechon", first mentioned in Paul's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. The main premise of the article is that modern political thought has always been rooted in Christian theology and has sought to legitimize itself by secularizing theological ideas. In the meantime, under the influence of Karl Schmitt and his particular and authoritarian reading of the concept of Katechon, political theology is often seen as blocking the project of liberation, but thinkers such as Agamben interpret the concept of Katechon under the concept of salvation. It paves the way for the democratic formulation of political theology. Manuscript profile

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10 - Theological foundations for the theory of guardianship of the jurist

According to the theological arguments, guardianship and authority in its origin belongs to Allah SWT. He is the creator, the Lord, the Guardian of the whole existence. Therefor authority or guardianship of anyone else is illicit, unless the one that is permitted by Him More

According to the theological arguments, guardianship and authority in its origin belongs to Allah SWT. He is the creator, the Lord, the Guardian of the whole existence. Therefor authority or guardianship of anyone else is illicit, unless the one that is permitted by Him. Having authority over others without His permission is regarded to be unacceptable, false, oppression and transgressing other people’s rights. This guardianship of Allah SWT is manifested as a divine Grace by sending of the prophets and is maintained by the infallible Imams. Since divine Grace is one of the attributes of Allah SWT and His attributes are not subject to alteration, this wise Grace is to be constant at the time of occultation as well. Here the necessity of the guardianship of the jurists as the closest people to the attributes of the infallible Imams and the most trustworthy one’s to handle the tempting position of leadership, in order to protect and continue the course of Imamate and guidance, is comprehended. This also seems to be a necessary Grace from Allah SWT. Manuscript profile

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11 - Molla Mehdi Naraqi initiatives concerning the divine knowledge

It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the issue of Devine knowledge is one of the most important and complicated issues in Islamic theology and philosophy. Islamic theologians and philosophers have engaged in various aspects of this issue, including how to prove and qua More

It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the issue of Devine knowledge is one of the most important and complicated issues in Islamic theology and philosophy. Islamic theologians and philosophers have engaged in various aspects of this issue, including how to prove and quality of that, and present different arguments. Mulla Mahdī Narāqī was one of the great figures who has discussed regarding two above-mentioned aspects of Devine knowledge and innovated new ideas. The quality and argument in favor of Devine knowledge in the view of Narāgī, are the main questions which this paper concentrate on. Analyzing several books of Narāgī, such as Jami' al-Afkār wa Nāqid al-Anzār, we came to following conclusions: First: The correct aspect of proving omniscience upon the "Any unphysical entity is thinker of itself" rule would be that any unphysical entity which stands on its essence has the capacity of perception and thinking. But actuality of thinking is subordinated to actuality of the most powerful interest between thinker and which has been thought, and that would exactly be the presence of its essence in its essence, that is knowledge by presence. Second: for the quality of omniscience, the best view would be that to make the presence of god's essence in its essence the criterion of God's detailed knowledge to all entities, even before as after creation. It is the total presence and all discovering for all entities, in their inclusion and causality. The presence of God in its essence is more powerful than the presence of entities to God. Manuscript profile

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12 - The history of the concept of the articles of faith in Sunni theological tradition

The discussion of the principles of religion or the articles of faith is one of the most important discussions among Muslim thinkers. This important concept of the principles of religion or the articles of faith has its own history among Muslims. The concept of the five More

The discussion of the principles of religion or the articles of faith is one of the most important discussions among Muslim thinkers. This important concept of the principles of religion or the articles of faith has its own history among Muslims. The concept of the five articles of faith in Islam is not extant in Quran or in Hadith but has entered the works of Muslim theologians especially by the works of Mutazilites. In its early stages in the history, the concept of principles of the religion or the articles of faith was used in a general way and referred to the whole theological beliefs but later its usage has narrowed and just referred to some special theological creeds. In this period usually five items were referred to as the five principles of religion. Different theological traditions have their own principles of religion in the way that sometimes seven and even fifteen items were referred to as the principles of religion. Unlike the rationalist Mutazilites, there is no such a concept among Ash'arites or Maturidites. In this article we will survey the history of the changes the concept of the articles of faith experienced in Sunni Kalam tradition Manuscript profile

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13 - The role of the Quran on Science of the theology in the method

Each science has the method or means by which it achieves its goals, There are some sciences of a single method, like philosophy, and some are some other methods. The Science of the theology, which is responsible for explaining religious doctrines and answers to doubts, More

Each science has the method or means by which it achieves its goals, There are some sciences of a single method, like philosophy, and some are some other methods. The Science of the theology, which is responsible for explaining religious doctrines and answers to doubts, Various views have been presented on the one or more methods of theology of theology from different theological religions, For example, the Ahl al-Hadith selected the narrative method and the Mu'tazilites chose the rational method. But referring to the Qur'an shows that to explain religious teachings, we must use different methods. The author in this article will show that must use the science of the theology of all possible methods, example: narrative iIcludes Quran and Traditions, rational includes reason and even definitive philosophical principles, experimental and sensory, intuitive. This claim is in contradiction to the claims of some who regard the science of the theology as certain metaphors as quoted and experimental Manuscript profile

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14 - introduction and research of treatise on the definition of theology in Dawani

Dawani researchers treatis is a commentary on the discussion definition of theology in Sharh Mavaghef.Mir Seyyed Sharif offers five subject.Dawani describe them and draw backs on imports .some bugs have been proposed answeres. According to Dawani believe , the mea More

Dawani researchers treatis is a commentary on the discussion definition of theology in Sharh Mavaghef.Mir Seyyed Sharif offers five subject.Dawani describe them and draw backs on imports .some bugs have been proposed answeres. According to Dawani believe , the meaning of power is the science of knowledges that can able to give them reasons and dismiss doubts. In other words, the theologian someone who confirmation of all beliefs along with the preparation for the rest of means of reasoning and the ways of eliminating the doubts as it was required. Dawani researchers are continuing to review the definition of Taftazani in Almaghased deals.The correction ahead of old manuscripts and tried to be valid.including two versions of contemporary life,a version ooes back to the time of life Manuscript profile

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15 - Criticism in the liberation theology of Iqbal Lahori
Azizollah Salari

Allama Mohammad Iqbal Lahouri (1877-1938) is one of the great philosophers, poets and revivals of the Islamic world, who, with enlightened poetry, as well as his speeches and writings, developed a philosophical and military philosophical plan called "Self Wisdom." With More

Allama Mohammad Iqbal Lahouri (1877-1938) is one of the great philosophers, poets and revivals of the Islamic world, who, with enlightened poetry, as well as his speeches and writings, developed a philosophical and military philosophical plan called "Self Wisdom." With the rejection of the wisdoms of the untapped modern West, he is looking for a realist, profound, visionary, and Qur'anic who is a mixture of Goddess, nature, love, mysticism, wisdom, self-consciousness, epic, neglect, selflessness, thirst, oppression, creativity ... . Is . A view that is collectively a liberation theology They form him. With the understanding and precise understanding of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and with the example of the Mujahideen Orientalist philosopher, Seyyed Jamal al-Din al-Assadabadi, he forswear the divine predestination - which has long been a pretext for stagnation and reconciliation and retrogression - from abstract and Ash'arist interpretations And practically brought a Shi'ite commentary from the school of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS), which is in accordance with the choices of liberty and decisiveness. Thus, the Eastern spirit was blown away by the idolatry, so that the bondage of colonial powers would go away, and to unity, authority and creativity. And the dynamism, design and realization of the aspirations Manuscript profile

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16 - Comparative study of proscription and approval through kalami approach
Masih Mahmoodi sogh hormoz asadikohbad siyamak baharloei

Proscription and approval are two precedent approaches among the Muslim petitioners and clergymen. Approval originates from Sunni principles while proscription has a root in Shiite ones. Since two tribes of shiite and Sunnite have had disputes on the issue of the caliph More

Proscription and approval are two precedent approaches among the Muslim petitioners and clergymen. Approval originates from Sunni principles while proscription has a root in Shiite ones. Since two tribes of shiite and Sunnite have had disputes on the issue of the caliphate of prophet this kind of above -mentioned issues caused a distinction between their approaches more and more. The studies done by researchers in academic centers and religeous schools are often descriptive and merely illustrative. A deep and precide look at both the issue of proscription and approval of kalami functional challenges of these views was the main reason for the study. In this research, in addition to descriping and explaining both categories. The kalami errors of these views are reviewed by examining the comprehensiveness or deficiency of religion from the perspective of approval and also the problem of excommunication and its relation with the proscription has been examined. Bisides the contrast and paradox of the tow approaches, equality and unity of the content of tow views and some of the positive and constructive aspects of the thought of approval have been other findings from the researcher. Manuscript profile

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17 - Analyzing the theory of heavenly forms embodiment of deeds
gholamali sanjari

Amongst the great theologians, there has always been a debate on the connection between the punishment of the hereafter and the actions of this world. Some theologians believe that the connection between the actions of this world and the punishment of the hereafter is c More

Amongst the great theologians, there has always been a debate on the connection between the punishment of the hereafter and the actions of this world. Some theologians believe that the connection between the actions of this world and the punishment of the hereafter is contractual, and on this basis God has created heaven and hell; this group are known as the deniers of the ‘Visualization of Deeds’. The other group of theologians believe that our actions are embodied within us in the hereafter. Followers of this theory believe in the ‘Visualization of Deeds’ and they can be divided into two groups; those that believe the visualization to be in a celestial form and those that believe the visualization to be the essence of the soul. In this research paper, we will analyze the arguments presented by those theologians who accept the visualization of deeds in a celestial form. The result from this research suggests that rational reasoning alone, without the help of some verses of the Holy Quran, authentic narrations and the intuition of the heart, would not be able to prove this theory. Manuscript profile

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18 - Perimethodology of Islamic Theology
hamid reza shakerin

Methodology of sciences and critical studies in this field have obtained special importance in the contemporary world. This case insists peripheral studies concerning the logic and methodology of Islamic theology. The present article is to look at the above mentioned su More

Methodology of sciences and critical studies in this field have obtained special importance in the contemporary world. This case insists peripheral studies concerning the logic and methodology of Islamic theology. The present article is to look at the above mentioned subject from philosophical point of view. Therefore the research is a part of the philosophy of methodology of Islamic theology. This kind of study perform the theoretical framework and foundamental bases for the methods of disciplines, and causes betterment, advancement and cognition of the needs for the subsequent researches. Some of the most important advantages of this kind of study is to aquire the frame of problems of this field, the necessity, importance, and its relation to the other fields of knowledge.. Manuscript profile

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19 - The Religious Approach of Iranian encyclopedia in Facing with Western Islamic Studies: A Comparative Study of the Articles of Shiite Theology, the Declaration of Imamieh, and Iranian Topics in Iranian and Western Encyclopedia
Seyyed Ahmad Hoseinzadeh fereshteh sepehr zohreh mirhoseini Bahram Parvin Gonabadi

There was no purely scientific criterion in Western Islamic studies in the form of an encyclopedia. The aims of post-colonial Western studies, the methodology, and the unbalanced pay-off of religious beliefs in Islam are sympathetic to this claim. After the Islamic Revo More

There was no purely scientific criterion in Western Islamic studies in the form of an encyclopedia. The aims of post-colonial Western studies, the methodology, and the unbalanced pay-off of religious beliefs in Islam are sympathetic to this claim. After the Islamic Revolution, the encyclopedias compiling in Islam aims to offset the shortcomings of Western research by adopting a normative study approach and a defensive and discursive approach, pursuing Shiite and Iranian identity aspirations, such as specifying the type, amount, and citations of entries in Iranian Encycloperias, It went beyond mere encyclopedic standards and included elements such as completeness and belief motives. Investigating the distribution of references, diversity of sources and the quantity of theological entries in the encyclopedia of Islam (as a Western example) in comparison with the Encyclopedia of the World of Islam (as an Iranian example) in terms of attention to Shia intelle.ctual and cultural heritage (specifically Shiite theology and Imamiyyah elements) is significantly different. In the encyclopedia of Islam, theological entries are limited to 404 entries, while in the Encyclopedia of the World of Islam there are 749 entries, and it has concentetated on Shiite theology entries and Iranian topics, independently and extensively. Theological articles in the Encyclopedia of Islam do not refer to any Shiite sources and all references are Sunni sources, while the religious distribution of the sources in the Encyclopedia of the World of Islam does not suffer from this contradiction. Manuscript profile

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20 - The "Bestowal Theology(2)"; The Implications of the Principle of "Bestowal" in divine Attributes and acts
hasan Mohamadi ahmad abadi saeed motaqi far

The principle of "the Donor of a thing must already have it" used in Two Manners for Proving of divine attributes. In one application used for proving of Absolute perfection Attributes and in another used for proving each of the perfection attributes Including All kinds More

The principle of "the Donor of a thing must already have it" used in Two Manners for Proving of divine attributes. In one application used for proving of Absolute perfection Attributes and in another used for proving each of the perfection attributes Including All kinds of Divine knowledge like essential and intuition Knowledge, Knowledge to other one Before Creating, Knowledge to other one after creation, Active Knowledge and intuition Knowledge To another. As it is used in Proving of Attributes like Divine Power, Life, Will, necessity, goodness, righteousness, Simplicity, richness and ownership. This Principle also used for Proving of Basic Statements Related to divine acts Including The principle of "One", Extending existence ,the worlds of Existence, The invention of the universe and the Perfection of creation. This text, By proving the influence of this rule in most important issues of Islamic theology, justified Islamic theology as a "Bestowal theology ". Manuscript profile

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21 - Philoponus and the Development of his Philosophical Thoughts
Farhad Assadi

Philoponus, the neo-Platonic Alexandrian philosopher of later periods, had become so knowledgeable in most sciences of his period that some gave him the nickname of all-knower (‘allamah). However, this was not the only distinctive feature of this thinker of Alexandrian More

Philoponus, the neo-Platonic Alexandrian philosopher of later periods, had become so knowledgeable in most sciences of his period that some gave him the nickname of all-knower (‘allamah). However, this was not the only distinctive feature of this thinker of Alexandrian school. His philosophical thoughts underwent such massive fluctuations that some have praised his courage in criticizing and rejecting the views of his predecessors at the level of a hero and considered him as the forerunner of critical thinking, while some others have introduced him as a coward and greedy thinker who, for fear of his life and love of material things, yielded to the coercions of the Christian-Roman government and gave up his own philosophical achievements. The present paper aims to unveil the secret character of this philosopher with reference to the invaluable works of contemporary researchers and take a step, however small, in providing a profound and correct understanding of the development of philosophical thought in the history of philosophy. One of the cases that the writers highlight in this paper is the quality of the interactions between the Alexandrian school and the powerful Christian government. During this period, the context was provided for the growth and development of a number of philosophers and commentators, such as Philoponus, who disseminated Aristotelian philosophy. However, the most important achievement of this paper is probably an investigation of Philoponus’ critical approach to the views of Aristotle and his predecessors as well as a comparative study of his most important philosophical views during two periods of his academic activities. Here, the authors focus on some of his opposing and sometimes contradictory views which created great debates in their own time and exercised particular impact on the development of philosophical thought, including Islamic philosophy, in different societies. Manuscript profile

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22 - Aristotelian and Avicennan Background of the Principles of Analogical Theology of Thomas Aquinas
Mohammad Mahdi Gorjian Mojtaba Afsharpour

Given its emphasis upon the text of the Holy Scripture, Thomas Aquinas’s theory of analogical theology is one of the most influential and multi-faceted theories regarding the knowledge of God and analysis of His names and attributes. Aquinas’s main purpose in discussing More

Given its emphasis upon the text of the Holy Scripture, Thomas Aquinas’s theory of analogical theology is one of the most influential and multi-faceted theories regarding the knowledge of God and analysis of His names and attributes. Aquinas’s main purpose in discussing this issue in both of his great works, Summa Theologia and Summa Contra Gentiles, was to predicate the perfectional attributes of all creatures, including human beings as the most perfect of them, on God. He believed that this is possible by employing an analogical method of predication as opposed to equivocation and unequivocation. In this way, he attained a knowledge of the names and attributes of the Truth that enabled him to leave the negative theology of the Middle Ages behind and, in this way, avoid the trap of assimilating the Truth to the created. The essential element of Aquinas’s analogical theology is the “principle of the perfections of cause and effect”. The perfections of effect have an apriori supreme presence in the cause. There are two other principles in his works called the “argument of degrees of perfection” and the “principle of the priority of cause to effect”. He insists on attributing all these three principles to Aristotle and Ibn Rushd in order to introduce his own analogical predication as being rooted in Aristotle’s philosophy. However, the truth is that Aristotle never made any explicit reference to any of the claims made by Aquinas. Rather, the idea of God’s being above perfection and pure good, in the sense that Pure Perfection embodies all perfections of finite things, is among Ibn Sina’s achievements and innovations in theological discussions. In fact, Ibn Rushd’s words in this regard explain Ibn Sina’s theories although he wrote them in his commentaries on Aristotle’s words. Manuscript profile

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23 - A Critical Study of Fayyadi’s Formulation of ‘Allamah Tabataba’i’s Argument of the Righteous
Ali Shirvani

The argument of the righteous (burhan-i siddiqin) is the name of a kind of argument in which the middle term is the absolute being or reality itself. ‘Allamah Tabataba’i has a specific interpretation of this argument that has been formulated in different ways. In this p More

The argument of the righteous (burhan-i siddiqin) is the name of a kind of argument in which the middle term is the absolute being or reality itself. ‘Allamah Tabataba’i has a specific interpretation of this argument that has been formulated in different ways. In this paper, the writer explains Fayyadi’s formulation of ‘Allamah Tabataba’i’s argument of the righteous and then criticizes it. Here, the writer also demonstrates that this formulation is in contrast to the surface meaning of ‘Allamah’s words. Moreover, he argues that it has remained essentially unfinished and cannot be considered a successful interpretation of the argument of the righteous. Manuscript profile

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24 - Negative Theology in Qadi Said Qummi
Ensha’allah Rahmati

A study of the roots and history of negative theology in the world of Islam traces the background of this discussion back to Isma‘ilite philosophy. Hence, it is necessary to cast a glance at the views of Isma‘ilite philosophers in this regard. Among the twelve Shi‘ite p More

A study of the roots and history of negative theology in the world of Islam traces the background of this discussion back to Isma‘ilite philosophy. Hence, it is necessary to cast a glance at the views of Isma‘ilite philosophers in this regard. Among the twelve Shi‘ite philosophers, Qadi Said Qummi and his master, Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi, can be considered as the theoreticians of this school of theology. Their approach, in a sense, signifies a revived form of neo-Platonic school, particularly, the one represented by Proclus. Qadi Said Qummi believes in negative theology; however, he cannot be viewed as an advocate of agnosticism. Here, the writer explains his arguments on demonstrating negative theology and, at the same time, illustrates how, based on a theory which can be called an epiphany-oriented theology, he finds a way to exit the dead-end of agnosticism. Manuscript profile

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25 - A Study of the Role of Qur’anic Teachings in Philosophical Theology
Aireza Asadi

Some opponents of philosophy and many Orientalists believe that Islamic Philosophy simply repeats the words and views of Greek philosophers and is not only totally far from Islamic teachings but also sometimes in opposition to them. Through explaining the extent of the More

Some opponents of philosophy and many Orientalists believe that Islamic Philosophy simply repeats the words and views of Greek philosophers and is not only totally far from Islamic teachings but also sometimes in opposition to them. Through explaining the extent of the influence of the Holy Qur’an on a rational and philosophical discussion and a study of the works of Islamic philosophers, this paper aims to demonstrate that they have benefitted from Qur’anic teachings in order to expand and develop philosophical discussions and, particularly, philosophical theology. In other words, it intends to prove that the qualitative and quantitative expansion of philosophical problems, arguments, theories, and principles in the field of philosophical theology is indebted to Qur’anic teachings. This influence is to the extent that it has led to the conceptual and structural evolution of Greek philosophy and differentiates the general approach of Islamic philosophy from Greek philosophy. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

26 - God’s Knowledge of Particulars in the Views of Ibn Sīnā and Thomas Aquinas
Mohammad Mahmoodi Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

One of the fundamental questions in the field of philosophical theology is whether God has the knowledge of particulars. Some philosophers have tried to either demonstrate or deny the divine knowledge of particulars regardless of the term “God”, which is a controversial More

One of the fundamental questions in the field of philosophical theology is whether God has the knowledge of particulars. Some philosophers have tried to either demonstrate or deny the divine knowledge of particulars regardless of the term “God”, which is a controversial issue. In a philosophical tradition that began with Plato and Aristotle and was advocated by Ibn Sīnā, the divine knowledge of particulars is denied. However, within the framework of the same philosophical school, Thomas Aquinas, as a theologian, demonstrates this knowledge for God. In Ibn Sīnā’s view, there is a fundamental difference between quiddity and existence as two different levels of being. The Necessary Being is the cause of granting existence to quiddities and, thus, cannot know them in terms of their particulars, as they lack “existence” in separation from Him. However, Ibn Sīnā does not deny the divine knowledge of particulars through their “existence”. In Aquinas’ theological concept of God, as a personal God, the denial of the divine knowledge of particulars defaces the divine power. Moreover, in case of denying this Knowledge, Man, who is created by God, will be placed at a higher level than their Creator because they can gain the knowledge of particulars. Aquinas, who speaks as a theologian here, ignores the borderline between philosophy and theology and objects to Ibn Sīnā by stating that some universals such as “animal” and “human” cannot function as the distinctive features of a particular such as “Socrates” in comparison to others. The present paper provides a comparative analysis of the views of these two philosophers regarding God’s knowledge of particulars. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

27 - A Study of the Scholastic and Theological Concepts of Gnosticism in Isma'ilism (Imamate and the interpretive and esoteric realm of the Holy Word)
Maryam Naser Tork Aziz’lla h Tavakolli Kafiabad Hadi Heidarinia

Gnosticism was a combination of the manifestation of divine light in man and his coming out of the dark world of matter. In Gnosticism, knowledge is a divine and intuitive thing that does not appear except in the light of a single truth. The influence of Gnostic wisdom More

Gnosticism was a combination of the manifestation of divine light in man and his coming out of the dark world of matter. In Gnosticism, knowledge is a divine and intuitive thing that does not appear except in the light of a single truth. The influence of Gnostic wisdom throughout history has been profound and far-reaching. For example, one of the most important teachings that entered the Shiite currents from Gnosticism is dualism or duplicity, according to which existence is the arena of constant struggle between good and evil. In addition, the humiliation of the body as the place of matter and evil is another major theme of Gnosticism that emerged among the Shiite mystical sects, especially the Isma'ilism and the Gholat. Gnostics believe that knowledge is not a rational thing, but more than anything else is empirical and based on mystical revelations and is obtains by knowing the soul and its nature and destiny. In Gnostic theology, man has a very prominent place. He, created from body, soul and spirit, has a dual origin: one is material and the other is spiritual. According to some Gnostic texts, the Creator created the human body and his soul originated from the Almighty. Accordingly, in most of the early Shiite currents, we see the emergence of major concepts of Gnosticism such as duality, the deity of man in the position of the Infallible Imam (AS) and the interpretive and symbolic aspect of the holy books. The Isma'ilism were one of the most important Shiite sects that received the most influence from Gnostic wisdom. The influence of Gnosticism in the Isma'ilism was mainly representing in the field of Imamate and interpretation of the Holy Word. In fact, the constant existence of the Imam as a direct manifestation of divine grace, mercy, and knowledge is one of the direct effects of Gnosticism in the Ismaili religion. In Gnosticism, in order to understand the true and esoteric knowledge of Gnosticism, the existence of a divine source is necessary, and in Isma'ilism, this source is the Imam. Interpretation and knowledge of outward and inward matters was also one of the basic principles of Gnosticism, which had a profound effect on the Isma'ilism. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

28 - An Analytic Critique of the Reductionist Approach to Islamic Philosophy
Zahra Mazaheri Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Alavi

One of the recent debates regarding Islamic philosophy focuses on its originality and the questions of the “possibility of Islamic philosophy”. This identity-related problem has a significant effect on the history and future of Islamic philosophy. The view of the oppone More

One of the recent debates regarding Islamic philosophy focuses on its originality and the questions of the “possibility of Islamic philosophy”. This identity-related problem has a significant effect on the history and future of Islamic philosophy. The view of the opponents of the originality of this denomination, including Orientalists, Western historiographers, some Arab scholars, and those who are against any kind of religious philosophy can be considered to be reductionist. In their theories, they have reduced Islamic philosophy to a philosophy imitating Greek philosophy, Islamic Kalām and theology, and Arabic philosophy. Opposing Orientalists and historiographers view Greek philosophy as the base and Islamic philosophy as one of its branches. Some of the opponents believe that any attempt at establishing Islamic philosophy is in vain by insisting on the incompatibility of religion and philosophy. Moreover, by rejecting the possibility of religious philosophy, including Islamic philosophy, they maintain that the use of the word Islamic as an adjective for philosophy, as an intellectual science, is not justified and, thus, equate Islamic philosophy with Kalām and theology. Some other opponents, including Arabs, avoid the use of the phrase “Islamic philosophy”, and, by emphasizing the language of philosophical texts in Islamic tradition, call it Arabic philosophy. They limit Arabic philosophy to the Arab race and believe that this view is supported by history of philosophy. The present paper provides a critical analysis of the proponents of reductionist approaches to Islamic philosophy and aims to demonstrate and defend the necessity of its originality as a historical reality. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

29 - An Interpretation of the Dialogue of Laws from the Viewpoint of Leo Strauss Based on Fārābī’s Treatise of Talkhīṣ al-Nawāmīs
Havva Jami Seyed Mohammad Hakkak Qazvini Ali Naghi Baghershahi Shervin Moghimi Zanjani

Presently, historicism is the dominant approach in interpreting philosophical traditions. This approach considers each science, particularly philosophy, to be in some way related to the specific lifetime of thinkers. Within this framework, historicist interpreters exami More

Presently, historicism is the dominant approach in interpreting philosophical traditions. This approach considers each science, particularly philosophy, to be in some way related to the specific lifetime of thinkers. Within this framework, historicist interpreters examine Plato’s works in relation to four different periods, with the dialogue of Laws belonging to the latest period of his life, indicating a change in his approach. However, in opposition to any kind of historicist view, Leo Strauss disagrees with this division and believes that there is no change of direction in Plato’s overall philosophy – from the first to the last dialogue – and all of them address philosophical problems from a specific standpoint. We encounter this comprehensive approach also in Strauss’ reading of the dialogue of Laws. In fact, Strauss believes that, in order to grasp a real understanding of the dialogue of Laws, one must follow his method and consider Fārābī’s interpretation of this work in Talkhīṣ al-nawāmīs as a basis. Strauss also maintains that it is the only way through which one can go beyond the limits of historical interpretation. While providing a brief discussion of the historical interpretation of the Laws, the purpose of the present study is to examine Fārābī’s interpretation of the dialogue of Laws, Strauss’ critique and view of this interpretation, and the most distinctive features of Strauss’ innovative interpretation of this dialogue. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

30 - developments of proof of the truthful (Burhān-i ṣiddīqīn) in Ashʿarite philosophical theology
Hamid Ataei Nazari

Proof of the truthful (Burhān-i ṣiddīqīn) is among the most famous and valid arguments to prove God’s Existence in Islamic philosophy and kalam. However, the history and developments of the proof in Islamic theology have not been the subject of research so far. Likewise More

Proof of the truthful (Burhān-i ṣiddīqīn) is among the most famous and valid arguments to prove God’s Existence in Islamic philosophy and kalam. However, the history and developments of the proof in Islamic theology have not been the subject of research so far. Likewise, the evolution of the proof in Ashʿarite philosophical theology has not been yet explained. In the present article, having discussed and compared different versions of proof of the truthful set forth by late Ashʿarite theologians, it has been shown that proof of the truthful received much attention in Ashʿarite philosophical theology from the twelfth century onwards and was even considered the most important argument to prove God’s Existence. Moreover, certain Ashʿarite theologians, including Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī and ʿAḍud al-Dīn al-Ījī, succeeded to put forward innovative versions of proof of the truthful which made the proof more common and stronger. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

31 - The Scope and basics of humility in the New Testament
Fatemeh hajiakbari Hossein Heydari

The common and ultimate goal of Abrahamic Religions is the flourishing of moral virtues, among the most important of these virtues is reducing selfishness and arrogance, and deepening and promoting humility before creatures and their Creator. One of the characteristics More

The common and ultimate goal of Abrahamic Religions is the flourishing of moral virtues, among the most important of these virtues is reducing selfishness and arrogance, and deepening and promoting humility before creatures and their Creator. One of the characteristics of Christians according to the Holy Quran is their humility. From the point of view of Christians, the character of humility in the human heart is the cause and result of deep and lasting peace of mind, love of God and people, compassion and kindness towards everyone, while pride is one of the seven major sins and plays a unique role in the causal chain of sins. A study of humility in the New Testament in this paper shows that there is a deep dialectical relationship between the Christian belief foundations in the fields of theology, ontology, Christology and anthropology with behavioural patterns of Christian ethics. With descriptive and analytical methods, this article deals with the extent and range of examples and foundations of humility in the three: cognitive, emotional and behavioural dimensions in the New Testament and reviews the model of humility in the chain of Christian ethics. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

32 - Modeling the human soul with the Almighty Lord with emphasis on the views of Bonaventure and Mulla Sadra
Mohammad Shirvani Habibollah Danesh Shahraki abbas izadpanah

Among the Western philosophers, Bonantore has emphasized in his theology that in order to know the nature and attributes of God, one must use the knowledge of man. To complete his philosophy and solve the problem of negative and allegorical theology, he believes that kn More

Among the Western philosophers, Bonantore has emphasized in his theology that in order to know the nature and attributes of God, one must use the knowledge of man. To complete his philosophy and solve the problem of negative and allegorical theology, he believes that knowing creatures is the best way to know God, because they all reflect his actions and will, but knowing man, who is the supreme creature of God, plays the greatest role in knowing God. By knowing many human attributes, one can know the attributes of God. He presented the psychology of man to God in the form of knowledge in the soul and from the soul. In this article, in order to find commonalities and differentiate the intellectual and argumentative aspects such as the supremacy of man, in a descriptive-analytical way, after explaining the example of the soul in Mulla Sadra's thought and presenting it in an organized way and examining its drawbacks, to explain Franciscan allegorical theology. We provide a coherent form and explanation of the knowledge of God through the soul in his works, and then we examine the theory of the way of the soul by emphasizing the ontological, epistemological and linguistic aspects in a comparative way between Sadra's wisdom and Italian Enlightenment philosophy. And we express the commonalities and differences of this theory in the two schools, the most important of which are the use of both the law of causalitymiddle solution of verbal commonality and spitraits between people. And riphilosophers. Manuscript profile

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