ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Revealer, The Messenger, The Message Author's Foreword In the name of God the All-merciful, the Compassionate I have been requested by some of our great scholars, a large number of our students and other believers to follow the guidance and example of the great scholars before us, in investigating a subject whose importance grows day by day.

Earlier scholars used to append to their treatises either a brief or detailed introduction in proof of the existence of the Creator and the basic fundamentals of religion.

This was because any scientific study is only an expression of personal reasoning (ijtihad), attempting to comprehend the precepts of the sacred Islamic law (shari'ah) with which God the Exalted sent the Seal of the Prophets as a mercy to humankind.[^1] This expression, moreover, depends fully on the acceptance of these fundamentals: faith in God, the Revealer, the Prophet as Messenger and the message with which he was sent.

These together constitute the basis and content of any scientific study, as well as the reason for humanity's need for it. I complied with this request in the belief that therein, is God's pleasure, and because the need it would fulfill is great indeed. Nonetheless, I was faced with the following question.

In what style should I write this introduction so that it should have the same degree of simplicity and clarity as the work for which it was originally prepared, that is, my book al-Fatawa al-wadihah (Clear Legal Opinions)? I also wished the .book to be accessible to anyone capable of understanding the legal ordinances contained in the fatawa. I discerned, however, a basic difference between this introduction and the book.

Legal fatwas are simply the results of analogical reasoning (ijtihad) and deduction (istinbat) without the need for proof or analysis, while mere presentation in such an introduction would not suffice. It is imperative, therefore, to resort to verification (istidlal) because sacred law demands persuasion and conviction with regard to the fundamentals of religion. The purpose of such an introduction must be the firm establishment of the fundamentals of, religion and its basic principles.

This is possible only through argument, yet argument as well hasp its own., levels. Each level, even the simplest and most obvious, must be completely persuasive.