ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Trends of History in Qur'an Introduction In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. An inquiry into the system of the laws which govern the process of history and the effects which historical events produce on the life of society is one of the most important needs of our society at the present juncture. An insight into this system is essential for the continued vitality of our cultural revolution and its extension to other peoples of the world.

There is no doubt if a society wants to free itself from its environmental limitations, suffocating atmosphere and overbearing conditions, it must know to what extent societies are compulsorily regulated by their circumstances and how they can overcome their limitations in this regard. What is important is only to find out the ways and means of overcoming the limitations and hinderances.

It is immaterial to us whether this discovery is called a scientific discovery or is given the name of a religious, philosophical, gnostic or some other kind of unravelling. Now let us see what Ayatullah Sadr has said on this subject from the standpoint of the Qur'an in his last lectures in the Religious Centre,[^1] Najaf Ashraf (Iraq). This study is significant, as it relates to the Religious Centre and Ayatullah Sadr.

In our institutes of learning, study is mostly based on the four sources of law, the Qur'an, the Sunnah, the Reason and the Consensus of the juristic opinions. Naturally in these seats of learning the Qur'an is studied either from the juristic point of view or with a reference to fundamental, philosophical, scholastic and moral questions, which all come under the term of the exegesis ^2 of the Qur'an. In the Religious Centre two different methods of teaching the exegesis are followed.

One of them is the old and conventional method and the other is topical. In the first two lectures Ayatullah Sadr has explained in detail the difference between these two methods. According to the traditional method either the Qur'an from its beginning or a particular chapter of it is taken and explained verse by verse, chapter by chapter and word by word.

First the linguistic, grammatical and literary characteristics of every verse are dealt with, and then the subtleties of its meaning are elucidated. Next its historical background and the occasion of its revelation are explained. Simultaneously the relevant traditions ^3 and other similar questions are also discussed.