PAPER DERIVED FROM THESIS
The Meaning of Life
Hamid Balochi Marj; Hamid Reza Alavi; Morad Yari Dehnavi
Abstract
SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Educational experts have examined the importance of incorporating art and aesthetics into education. They argue that despite the well-documented benefits of art in achieving educational objectives across intellectual, emotional, religious, and ethical domains, its integration ...
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SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Educational experts have examined the importance of incorporating art and aesthetics into education. They argue that despite the well-documented benefits of art in achieving educational objectives across intellectual, emotional, religious, and ethical domains, its integration into educational settings remains incomplete. There is a need for extensive research on the effectiveness of artistic and aesthetic approaches in various educational curricula, including medical and higher education. In this regard, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of engagement with art and aesthetics on the intellectual, emotional, religious, and ethical education of artists’ lived experiences.METHOD & FINDING: The current research utilized a qualitative and phenomenological approach, focusing on diverse artists representing various art forms. The participants in this qualitative and phenomenological study were 19 artists from different fields of art in Kerman, a province of Iran, who were chosen via purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with MAXQDA software (version 2021), using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Artists’ experiences demonstrate that engagement with art and beauty triggers significant transformations in various aspects of life, influencing habits, preferences, modes of expression, and even appearance. The study shows that education involving art and beauty encourages reflection, thinking, understanding, and hands-on learning. CONCLUSION: Special attention should be paid to the relationship between art and beauty and its influence on formal and informal education. Moreover, the principles of aesthetics should be taken into consideration in curriculum planning and teaching, and classroom methods.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Human Rights and World Peace
Tofiq Asadov; Mohammad-Hossein Sharifi
Abstract
SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: ‘Idālah (justice) in executing punishment against offenders must correspond with the circumstances of the crime and the offender at the time of commitment. Simultaneously with the determination and operationalization of punishments for various crimes, it is essential ...
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SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: ‘Idālah (justice) in executing punishment against offenders must correspond with the circumstances of the crime and the offender at the time of commitment. Simultaneously with the determination and operationalization of punishments for various crimes, it is essential to consider all aspects of the criminals’ situation. Given that Islam seeks to uphold justice in all affairs, this study's primary objective is to propose solutions for implementing justice for offenders.METHOD & FINDING: Using an analytical-descriptive method, this study found that punishing all offenders solely based on a general law, without considering external factors of the crime and the criminal, including the individual's personality and social-psychological factors, is considered a crime itself, constituting another form of injustice.CONCLUSION: Rather than finding what the punishment for a specific crime is, we should inquire who the offenders are, what their level of education is, where they were raised, and the quality of their biological, neurological, and psychological conditions simultaneously at the time of committing the crime. Examining all aspects of the crimes and offenders, a just decree will be issued.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
The Meaning of Life
Hamid Emamifar; Hamid Reza Goodarzi
Abstract
SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Near-death experiences (NDEs) have garnered significant attention, particularly in recent years. Existing explanations in this field have often failed to provide a comprehensive analysis of these experiences due to their neglect of ontological and anthropological dimensions. ...
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SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Near-death experiences (NDEs) have garnered significant attention, particularly in recent years. Existing explanations in this field have often failed to provide a comprehensive analysis of these experiences due to their neglect of ontological and anthropological dimensions. This study aims to offer a religious ontological explanation of NDEs by drawing on Quranic verses and narrations related to the nature of the world and human existence.METHOD & FINDING: The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, utilizing Islamic religious texts to explore the immaterial dimension of the human soul and its connection to ʿĀlam al-Barzakh (the intermediate realm). According to religious teachings, when the soul's attention to the body diminishes and sensory faculties cease their activity, the soul, aided by the faculty of imagination, perceives phenomena. The faculty of imagination has several characteristics that may influence these perceptions, including the creation of unreal images, the retention of past observations, the potential influence of Satan, and its connection to the intermediate realm. Islamic scriptures describe existence as encompassing multiple realms, from Khazāʾin ʿind Allāh (the divine treasuries) to ʿĀlam al-Dunyā (the material world), with the intermediate realm bearing significant similarities to NDEs. CONCLUSION: From the perspective of religious literature, it appears that when the soul's attention to the material dimension decreases, it may enter the intermediate realm and experience real observations. These observations, however, occur for specific individuals and may, in some cases, be influenced by their imagination, leading to perceptions that are limited to imaginary constructs. This study highlights the importance of integrating ontological and anthropological dimensions into the analysis of near-death experiences, offering a framework rooted in Islamic teachings.
PAPER DERIVED FROM THESIS
Religion and Life
khadijeh Ziaei; Mahmoud Kaviani; tahereh mahrozadeh
Abstract
SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: This article aims to examine the role of Islamic ontology in shaping and reinforcing the human sense of poverty and need for God. The objective is to foster and internalize the feeling of poverty and the need for the Absolute Sufficient God within humans, as the most honorable ...
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SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: This article aims to examine the role of Islamic ontology in shaping and reinforcing the human sense of poverty and need for God. The objective is to foster and internalize the feeling of poverty and the need for the Absolute Sufficient God within humans, as the most honorable of creatures.METHOD & FINDING: Utilizing verses from the Quran, narrations, and the philosophical and theological works of Muslim scholars, this article aims to describe and analytically gather relevant topics to explore certain ontological principles. The focus is on the divine attributes of perfection and the existential poverty of all beings before God. The findings of the research show that attention to these principles not only creates the feeling of human poverty and need for God but also enhances the ability to analyze and understand the truth, accepting human poverty and God's richness. This is expressed in the context of the relationship between the creator and the created, the emanator and the emanated, the theory of existential poverty, and the broader will and absolute power of God, thereby strengthening and manifesting these concepts. CONCLUSION: The results show that a correct and profound understanding of human poverty and absolute dependence on God leads individuals to seek the fulfillment of their needs and the attainment of perfection and pure life solely in the unlimited divine source.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Philosophical and Theological Knowledge
Hasan Mohiti Ardakan
Abstract
SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Intellectual virtues refer to virtues that deal with various aspects of human intellect and thought and are divided into faculty-oriented and character-oriented categories. The objective of this article is to explain the key instances of intellectual virtues from Mullā Ṣadrā's ...
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SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Intellectual virtues refer to virtues that deal with various aspects of human intellect and thought and are divided into faculty-oriented and character-oriented categories. The objective of this article is to explain the key instances of intellectual virtues from Mullā Ṣadrā's perspective. Considering the greater compatibility of Mullā Ṣadrā's views with character-oriented virtues, the article has extracted, categorized, and analyzed instances of this category of intellectual virtues.METHOD & FINDING: This study employs a descriptive and analytical methodology, utilizing a deductive approach. Our analysis reveals that the key instances of character-oriented intellectual virtues in Mullā Ṣadrā's philosophy include a profound eagerness for knowledge, the practice of intellectual contemplation—which encompasses avoiding superficiality, looking for valid reason, conducting adequate research, accuracy and sharpness, and examining the consequences of knowledge—alongside intellectual patience and intellectual independence—which encompasses the avoidance of imitation and prejudice. CONCLUSION: The research findings demonstrate a manifestation of intellectual virtues within the works of Mullā Ṣadrā, one of the preeminent Islamic philosophers. This phenomenon can be attributed to the significance he assigned to authentic human happiness and the role of intellectual virtues in attaining such happiness according to his perspective.
PAPER DERIVED FROM THESIS
The Meaning of Life
Mohammad Jawad Yaqubi; Ahmad Shakernejad; Mohammad RezaPoor
Abstract
SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: The analysis of the nature, characteristics, and differences of modern spiritualism with religious spirituality can be considered as one of the most important challenges and problems that have faced spirituality and mysticism. Today, the confrontation between modern spirituality ...
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SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: The analysis of the nature, characteristics, and differences of modern spiritualism with religious spirituality can be considered as one of the most important challenges and problems that have faced spirituality and mysticism. Today, the confrontation between modern spirituality and religious spirituality has become very colourful, such that modern spirituality seeks to discredit and contradict religious spirituality. Therefore, they mainly seek to present non-religious spirituality based on the inefficiency of religious spirituality. From the perspective of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khāmeneī, religious spirituality is a ‘Revolutionary’ spirituality, which is equivalent to Jihadi spirituality, characterized by civilization, justice, revolution, epic, liberation from domination, martyrdom, and progressivism, as evident in his statements.METHOD & FINDING: Using the analytical-descriptive method, the findings of the research indicate that the practical functions of Islamic spirituality based on the thought of the Supreme Leader combining the triad ‘spirituality, rationality, justice’ in the individual and family arena (lifestyle) are: prosperity and happiness, scientific growth, security, comfort and well-being, hope, independence and freedom, honour and dignity, Justice, financial well-being, heart luminosity which lead towards ‘good life.’CONCLUSION: In the Islamic spirituality of Ayatollah Khāmeneī, the unity of materiality and spirituality is very prominent. In his careful inference, the way to achieve spirituality in the personal and family spheres is crucial, encompassing both worldly and material life, while it is considered the main pillar of leading a pure, Quranic life.
