@article { author = {Shahbazi, Hossein and Abedi, Mohammad Reza}, title = {Gnosticism from Thought to Religion}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {5-24}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.153509.1273}, abstract = {The origin of Gnostic thought and its evolution is a controversial topic. By critically examining Gnostic sects and analyzing the opinions of experts, this article will answer the following questions: What are the components of Gnostic thought? What are the sources of Gnostic thought? Were there any sects known as Gnostics before Christ? This research shows that most of our knowledge of Gnosticism is based on controversial Christian works and the Qumran manuscripts. According to these works, no group or sect was called Gnostic before Christ. Although some of the components of Gnostic thought, such as the originality of knowledge and the exile of the soul, date back to the pre-Christ era, and especially to Plato, some other components, such as the distinction between the Christian and Jewish gods, belief in the multiplicity of the eternal Christ, the primacy of knowledge over faith, are products of the period of the formation of Gnostic sects and their conflict with the Church Fathers in the first centuries of the common era.}, keywords = {thought,religion,Gnosticism,Gnostic,Christianity}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130009.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130009_d5b19a15033b6e0868c5ec00a6d517ee.pdf} } @article { author = {Seyyed Hashemi, Seyyed Mohammad Esmail and Abdol Abadi, Ali Akbar}, title = {Distinction between Existence and Essence in Avicenna’s Ontology and Its Influence on Christian Philosophical Theology with a Focus on Aquinas’ Views}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {25-46}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2020.212506.1383}, abstract = {Avicenna is an influential philosopher whose contributions in ontology led to the transformation of Greek philosophy into philosophical theology in the Middle Ages. He distinguished between existence and essence, divided beings into necessary and contingent beings, and believed in the objectivity of existence. This article discusses Avicenna’s innovations in philosophical ontology and its influence on Christian ontology and theology, especially on Aquinas’ thought. The article focuses on the distinction between existence and essence and its implications in Avicenna’s philosophy and studies its influence on Aquinas’ theology. It will show that although Aquinas, especially in his De Ente et Essentia, is influenced by Avicenna’s ontology, his understanding of Avicenna’s views are sometimes inaccurate, and this has led him to disagree with Avicenna in some cases.}, keywords = {existence,Essence (Quiddity),Objectivity of Existence,Avicenna,Aquinas}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130004.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130004_4e9ecac00cc1355fbc00bd9c2a70edc2.pdf} } @article { author = {Qiasvand, Mahdi and khatibi, Hossein}, title = {Polkinghorne on Metaphysics of Divine Action: Presuppositions and Implications}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {47-69}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2020.117324.1233}, abstract = {This article is an effort to evaluate the epistemological and ontological presuppositions of John Polkinghorne's interpretation of the mechanism of God’s special action. Briefly, it can be said that in his view, God forms and models the world's processes with His act of injecting pure active information, but neither determines nor devolves them to energetic causality. His formulation is based on some presuppositions, such as a personal account of God, seeing the world as a chaotic system, ontological monism, and a critical realist approach in epistemology. The article has tried to answer four main questions: Is Polkinghorne's formulation of divine action based on a mere iteration of the god of deism? Is his formulation of divine action a mere pointless rework of a causal system which rules the world? Does this interpretation of divine activity mean divine intervention? And is his formulation an iteration of natural theology?}, keywords = {Divine action,Informational causality,chaotic system,Physical causal closure,Critical realism}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130007.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130007_3bde0407b929be0bc960ecff6e5155dd.pdf} } @article { author = {Mojdegani, Fateme and Asadi Amjad, Fazel}, title = {Seeking the Meaning of Life: A Study of Islamic Mysticism in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Literary Works}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {71-90}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.200008.1356}, abstract = {Ralph Waldo Emersonʼs interest in the East is evident throughout his essays, poems, and lectures. He regards the East as an ignored territory of knowledge and mysticism that contains invaluable wisdom awaiting to be explored by Western thinkers. As the world witnesses an ever-increasing gap between the East and the West, Emerson represents the universal way of thinking, as he believes in seeking knowledge in every part of the world and advocates it. Besides the direct quotations from eastern texts, Emerson seems to integrate some of his knowledge of eastern and especially Islamic writings into his texts. This article aims to explore the implicit references to Islamic philosophy and Sufism in Emersonʼs works, focusing on the theoretical notions of Ibn Arabiʼs theosophy. Through careful reading of Emersonʼs works and Islamic mystical texts, this study shows significant similarities between Emerson and Ibn Arabi. The similarities reflect Emersonʼs deep reading and understanding of the Islamic and mystical texts, as he finds out in them sources of new knowledge and spirituality. This article unravels such implicit connections in Emersonʼs works under the notions of the Unity of Being and Imagination to confirm that Emerson has read the great Persian theosophical literary works, and through them, especially through Hafiz and Rumi, he learned Ibn Arabi's theosophy, and used his in-depth knowledge of them to substantiate his ideas in his works.}, keywords = {Ralph Waldo Emerson,Ibn Arabi,Orientalism,Over-Soul,Unity of Being,Imagination,mysticism}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130010.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130010_71e00de58bb77ce2859726d136aa9c8a.pdf} } @article { author = {Khazaei, Zahra and Javadi, Mohsen and kamali Lotf, Nasrin}, title = {ʿAllama Tabatabaʾi’s and Carla Bagnoli's Views on the Problem of the Nature of Moral Judgments}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {91-115}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2020.158366.1288}, abstract = {ʿAllama Tabatabaʾi and Carla Bagnoli are among philosophers who believe in an integrative approach to non-realist cognitivism. In their view, the phenomenology of moral judgments indicates neither realism nor non-cognitivism. Believing that the nature of moral judgments is normative and practical, they do not deny the objectivity of moral judgments, and argue that they are cognitive, indicative, and have truth value. Tabatabaʾi presents the theory of figurative perceptions to justify his claim, and Bagnoli justifies it on the basis of constructivism. This paper will compare the two integrative views of Bagnoli and Tabatabaʾi. After exploring the problem of the nature of moral judgment, Tabatabaʾi’s and Bagnoli’s views are introduced and, in conclusion, it is argued that although Tabatabaʾi’s theory of figurative perceptions lacks the perspicuity found in Bagnoli’s works, they both have similar analyses of the phenomenology of moral judgments and they both use constructivism to justify their claims.}, keywords = {Moral Judgments,constructivism,figurative perception,Allama Tabatabaʾi,Carla Bagnoli}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130014.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130014_eea769fe191b4df3799166ca2ee60d95.pdf} } @article { author = {Ganjkhanloo, Saeid}, title = {The Force of Jewish Law in Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Fiction}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {117-137}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.217783.1388}, abstract = {This study evaluates a collection of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short stories that portray the lives of the Jews living in small towns in Poland before World War II; how Jewish law enforcement shaped the community as a whole and every individual Jew abiding by the law. To show the effects of law on the individual characters’ relationship with other Jews in the stories, we cast light on the Jewish people’s reception of those characters, who are more or less different from the rest of the Jewish community. Moreover, the Devil’s part in assisting and endorsing the characters’ decisions to pursue their iconoclastic beliefs and goals is explained. We see Singer’s characters, being exposed to law, attempt to fulfil their desires and also express their reluctance to accept the law, and consequently we see the communal law’s resolution in determining the defiant characters’ fate and their isolation from the rest of the people.  }, keywords = {Jewish law,Isaac Bashevis Singer’s fiction,community,Devil,freedom,isolation}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130013.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130013_d38117f209ca4da69b1233326f7d611e.pdf} } @article { author = {Gharavi, Seyede Saeideh and Mortazavi, Fateme Sadat}, title = {Pharaoh and the Divine Wont of Respiting: A Critical Analysis of Quranic Themes}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {139-162}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.149172.1263}, abstract = {Respiting or giving extra time (imhal) is a divine wont that means postponing the punishment of wrongdoers. Although not mentioned with a specific title, this wont is explicitly noticeable in the Quran in various places, such as in the encounter of prophets with the disbelievers and oppressors, particularly in the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh. An analysis of this divine wont using the critical discourse analysis method shows the use of an element of Jewish discourse and its new articulation as a central signifier in the formation of religious-Islamic identity. This belief plays a vital role in the early centuries of Islamic history in the redefinition of religious concepts, formation of political identity, antagonism, and the formation of independent social identity for Muslims and for specific groups among them.}, keywords = {Divine tradition of respiting,Exodus,critical discourse analysis,Discourse Practice Analysis,Social Practice Analysis}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130015.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130015_e351fbfb079478c0e7b1ed3248e3e036.pdf} } @article { author = {Alerasoul, Sousan and Askari, Mahnaz}, title = {Children’s Roles in Quranic Stories}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {163-179}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.132632.1240}, abstract = {The Quran is full of beautiful stories, which enlighten the hearts. These stories have been the subject of many studies and articles. The current study focuses on the place and role of children in Quranic stories. These children are the most heart-touching, gentle, and influential elements of the stories. The special conditions of childhood and the relations and connections between these children and the other characters put them in an outstanding position both for guiding the others in the story and for conveying the particular divine message of each story.}, keywords = {Quranic Stories,children,prophets,Role}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130008.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130008_57ccf3f51f4f5c6213874ee41ffe4fbf.pdf} } @article { author = {Mostofi, Masoomeh and Mehrizi, Mahdi and Sarshar, Mojgan}, title = {Jihad as Reflected in Biḥār al-Anwār}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {181-203}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.265524.1462}, abstract = {Different views of Muslim scholars concerning jihad arises from, and is grounded in, the Quran and hadiths transmitted from the Prophet or Imams. In this paper, we study and analyze hadiths related to jihad as collected in Biḥār al-anwār. We do so in order to explain the legal logic governing these hadiths, the principles on which war is based according to these hadiths, and the place of human beings in them. This article shows that the spirit of these hadiths is pacifist, and, in case war takes place, there are restrictive rules governing the war. There are conflicting hadiths, of course. But they do not confirm a warmongering attitude towards war in Islam.}, keywords = {Hadiths of jihad,Biḥār al-anwār,Legal foundations,Priority of peace,Human dignity,morality}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130018.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130018_8a1acd9268bb3e3301f8013887ee4d82.pdf} } @article { author = {Ramin, Farah}, title = {Pacifism and Jihad}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {205-224}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2020.208546.1376}, abstract = {In the present era, theorists try to explain the phenomenon of peace in the world through political theories, one of which is pacifism. Anti-war pacifism is considered the most common type of pacifism, because war is one of the main issues in international diplomacy. In this study, the initial aim is to provide a general overview of pacifism and its types, including virtue pacifism, deontological pacifism, consequential pacifism, and peacemaking, in international arena and then to introduce a different notion of peace-making based on Islamic diplomacy and to argue for a type of peace-making called perpetual peace. The findings of this study show that in Islam peace does not always mean the absence of violence but rather ever-lasting peace that flourishes in the absence of oppression, injustice, corruption, and tyranny.}, keywords = {Deontological Pacifism,Virtue Pacifism,Consequential Pacifism,Perpetual Peace,Jihad}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130017.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130017_05852325e06a0e554a8db6608512f24d.pdf} } @article { author = {Nourbakhsh, Younes}, title = {Modernity in Iran and Turkey: Patterns and Problems}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {225-253}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.216454.1389}, abstract = {Modernity implies ways of social and organizational life that began to improve in seventeenth-century Europe and gradually developed into the rest of the world. Due to its unanimous and progressive rationality, modernity has been highly influential in social, cultural, and political spheres, both in the West and among Muslim nations. Nations’ encounters with modernity have not always followed consistent patterns, and every country has had a unique experience of its own. Iran and Turkey are countries whose modern experience bears similar characteristics but gave way to entirely different outcomes. Modernization in both countries accelerated the growth of political and philosophical opposition, including that of the Islamist movement that regarded modernity as the enemy of national culture and religious values. Iran and Turkey made different choices and formed different fronts against modernity. This article is a historical sociology of modernity in Iran and Turkey that evaluates the divergent experience in each country, applying Eisenstadt’s theory of Multiple Modernities to examine the changes and outcomes of modernity in them.}, keywords = {modernity,Turkey,Iran,Pahlavi,religion,Revolution}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130012.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130012_7f946902ce75ca66e40a7fac7f07804e.pdf} } @article { author = {Ghotbi, Soraya}, title = {Ethical Rights of Animals in Islam}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {255-268}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2020.189042.1334}, abstract = {The Islamic tradition includes teachings on animal rights, including the rights of quadrupeds, birds, and insects, which the Muslims are required to observe. According to these teachings, those who violate these rights and behave aggressively towards animals will be held responsible before their Creator and will face the consequences of their wrong actions. This article is an attempt to study the ethical rights of animals in the Quran and jurisprudential traditions and to show the roles of these two sources in emphasizing the ethical rights of animals. The findings of the research indicate that the ethical rights of animals in the Quran and jurisprudential traditions encompass different aspects of their existence, including but not limited to the right to life, nutrition, health, and reproduction.}, keywords = {Islam,Ethical rights,the Quran,jurisprudential traditions,Animal Rights}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130016.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130016_a2527cc2e74715992d0bd062fd68242f.pdf} } @article { author = {Haghani Fazl, Mohammad}, title = {The Story of Mary as a Feminine Counterpart of the Story of Joseph: A Narratological Study}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {269-294}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.27532.1056}, abstract = {Mary is a character held in the Qurʾān in great esteem. A prominent attribute of hers in the Qurʾān is her chastity (aḥṣanat farjahā/ Q 21:91; 66:12). However, the Qurʾān does not give any explicit reason why Mary was known as chaste. This paper proposes an answer to this question by analyzing three Qur’anic narratives: the narrative of Mary’s encounter with the angel in Sura Maryam (Q 19), another version of the same narrative in Sura Āl ʿImrān (Q 3), and Joseph and Zulaykhā’s narrative in Sura Yūsuf (Q 12). I begin by highlighting the differences between the two versions of Mary’s story in Q 19 and Q 3, then I will show that in the Q 19 version, Mary is at the heart of the narrative, while in the Q 3 version the theme is the “word” (Jesus). I will compare Mary’s story in Q 19 with Joseph’s story in Q 12. The Qurʾān has deployed similar elements in both narratives, leading us to think that, in the Q 19 version, we can see a theme analogous to that of Joseph and Zulaykhā’s narrative, since in both the main characters are involved in an erotic situation but preserve their chastity. With this analysis, we can claim that the sentence “[She] guarded her chastity” refers to Mary’s encounter with the angel. To show this, I focus on the Qurʾānic manner of storytelling, analyzing the elements of these narratives (i.e., the location, situation, characters’ reactions, etc.). I also refer to Quranic commentaries and traditional sources of qiṣaṣ al-qnbiyāʾ, because they contain details of the story which support this understanding. }, keywords = {Mary (Maryam),Joseph (Yusuf),Aisas al-anbiyāʾ,Qurʾanic Storytelling,Qurʾanic narratives,tafsir}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130005.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130005_071bdae4a51a45d3b19a3bc426a7d414.pdf} } @article { author = {Farahanifard, Saeed and FarahaniFard, Mohammad Ali}, title = {A Feasibility Study of the Reconstruction of Islamic Economics Relying on the Place of Empiricism in Islamic Philosophy}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {295-319}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2020.199779.1355}, abstract = {Empiricism has had various effects on the essence, method, and outcome of economics. Adopting an empirical approach in economics has been under the influence of both social and rational backgrounds. This approach has also had its impact on theories in Islamic economics, the most important of which has been driving out the study of the Islamic economic system from academic studies. An Investigation of empiricism from the viewpoint of Muslim thinkers reveals that their views are fundamentally different. This study aims to evaluate the data using critical analytic method, and to review the effects of Islamic philosophy on Islamic economics. The most significant finding of this article is that the Islamic principles related to empiricism can pave the way for the reconstruction of Islamic economics. Therefore, economics is regarded as a practical branch of knowledge and the prescriptive section will be included as a subcategory of Islamic economics. Some other results of using the principles of Muslim thinkers in this regard include: inner coherence in Islamic economics, having an appropriate theoretical framework before experiment, paying attention to the history of economic views, the insufficiency of induction in the cognitive process, using principles from other sciences, using practical philosophy in case of not achieving certainty, changing the approach towards the economic human, paying attention to the origin of preferences, and activation of the critical potential in the prescriptive aspect.}, keywords = {practical philosophy,Islamic Economics,Empiricism}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130003.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130003_11a7c1febac57af9b465214e02efd8af.pdf} } @article { author = {Lalehgani, Esmail and Mohammadian, Mahmod and Mohaghegh Neya, Mohammad Javad}, title = {Designing a Purchase Intention Model for Partnership Facility in Islamic Banking: A Case Study of Bank Saderat Iran}, journal = {Religious Inquiries}, volume = {9}, number = {18}, pages = {321-341}, year = {2020}, publisher = {University of Religions and Denominations Press}, issn = {2322-4894}, eissn = {2538-6271}, doi = {10.22034/ri.2021.117016.1218}, abstract = {Currently, we are witnessing the real involvement of customers in the profits and losses of products and bank services within the theoretical structures of Iranian banks. However, it is different in practice and customers just receive the profit sharing services through this massive financial network. The main cause of such a problem in Iranian banking network is the lack of an appropriate purchase intention model for partnership facility consistent with Islamic banking and ethics. Therefore, given the importance of this subject, this research aims to classify and model the factors affecting the purchase intention of partnership facility in the banking network using the qualitative research method and data-based strategy. In this regard, ten top managers of Bank Saderat Iran were interviewed and forty-two concepts were identified based on three coding stages, known as open, selective, and axial coding. These concepts were classified in twelve groups: intra-organizational factors, macro environmental factors, service quality, price mix, people mix, product mix, promotion mix, process mix, research and development, customer-related factors, the bank’s brand, and marketing philosophy.}, keywords = {Marketing,Partnership Facility,Partnership Facility Marketing,Bank,Bank Saderat}, url = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130006.html}, eprint = {https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_130006_ff65bd6f1ab8ab9b95ea7f5580b4caf7.pdf} }