Ep 2 — Author's Introduction

Author's Introduction. To present Islam as a social school of thought, possessed of coherent and harmonious principles and oriented toward the collective life of human beings, is one of the most urgent necessities of religious thought. Islamic discussions and studies have, for the most part, until now lacked these two vital characteristics. For this reason, in comparing Islam with the social schools and ideologies of our age, they have not brought researchers and seekers to a fruitful conclusion or a decisive judgment to the degree that one might wish and ought to expect. That is to say, they have proven incapable of presenting—as a whole—the design and blueprint of a unified, cohesive creed whose every part holds together, and of defining its relationship to the other schools and creeds. In addition, because the discussions have generally been carried out in a mental, abstract manner, far removed from the sphere of practical and concrete—and especially social—impact, they have yielded nothing more than an intellectual, mental sort of knowledge. With respect to the collective life of human beings—and in particular with respect to determining the shape and structure of society—they have offered no commitment, no obligation, and not even a clear and definite theory. Another point is this: the Qur'an—Islam's decisive and indisputable document—has in most cases been given no share in illuminating the way and opening the path. In its place, quasi-rational subtleties and deep speculations, or conjectural narrations and transmitted reports—sometimes accorded even greater authority—have been treated as the standard-bearers and the responsible authorities. As a result, doctrinal thought has grown and taken shape apart from the Qur'an and in disregard of it. Perhaps it is precisely this disconnection and indifference—or a sense of needing nothing from it, or a despair of the possibility of making sound use of it (each of which, in turn, is the effect of particular causes)—that has caused contemplation of the verses of the Qur'an to give way to a superficial, careless, fruitless recitation and chanting, devoid of worldly benefit and aimed entirely at otherworldly reward and recompense, so that the noble Book of God has become the raw material of vulgar habits and of demagoguery that exploits the common people. In view of this reality, one may, in brief, regard three important features as necessities in the intellectual discussions and accounts of Islam—necessities that it is unworthy for the aware and responsible thinkers of this age to neglect: First, that the teachings and intellectual apparatus of Islam should come out of pure abstraction and mentalism and—like all social schools of thought—should be oriented toward practical duties and especially toward social life; and that each of its theoretical topics should be examined, reflected upon, and investigated from this standpoint: what plan it offers for the life of the human being, what purpose it offers for his existence, and what path it offers for reaching that purpose. Second, that the intellectual questions of Islam should be studied in a connected manner, as the parts of a single whole—each one examined in light of the fact that it is a part of the totality of the religion, an element of this compound, and a pillar in this firm edifice, harmonious with and connected to the other parts and elements (and not separate and unrelated to them)—so that, from a knowledge of these principles taken as a whole, a comprehensive and all-encompassing general design of the religion may be derived, in the form of a complete, unambiguous ideology possessed of dimensions commensurate with the multidimensional life of the human being. Third, that in deducing and understanding the principles of Islam, the basic documents and texts of the religion should be the source and origin—not personal tastes and opinions, nor the mental and intellectual stockpiles of this person or that—so that the result of the inquiry and investigation may truly be "Islamic," and nothing other than that. To fulfill this aim, the Qur'an is the most complete and most trustworthy document upon which one can rely, that "falsehood cannot reach it from any direction," and in which "there lies the means of clarifying every thing," and this, of course, in the light of the deep, far-reaching contemplation that the Qur'an itself has commanded us to undertake. What has been gathered in this treatise is a reflection of an effort to fulfill these aims, in the form of an account of Islam delivered through a series of lectures. In these lectures, the effort was made to seek out the most important intellectual foundations of Islam, in their most constructive and living dimensions, within the eloquent and luminous verses of the Qur'an. Then, while offering an explanatory exposition that would teach the listeners the method of contemplating and pondering deeply over the Qur'an, those foundations were to be identified and shown within these verses; and, where necessary, recourse was to be had to the authentic narrations issued from the Prophet of God and the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them) for clarification and emphasis—so that, while verses of the Qur'an were reflected upon, pondered, and understood, one of the principles of Islam would be expounded—and this from a practical standpoint, generative of commitment and obligation, and as one of the points of Islam's mode of thought and ideology. …And finally, so that a summary and a distillation of the whole of the material presented might remain in the minds and thoughts of the listeners, and might serve as a starting point for independent and settled thought and reflection, the substance of each lecture's content was recorded on a sheet of paper and placed, day by day, at the disposal of those present… What is now offered is the collection of those "summaries" (with slight modification), the publication of which is a necessary response to the logical and acceptable request of many of those who heard the lectures, or heard of them… in the hope that it may prove useful and find acceptance. The third of Aban, 1353