An Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran (book)

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An Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran (book)
AuthorSayyid Ali Husayni Khamenei
Original titleطرح کلی اندیشه اسلامی در قرآن
LanguagePersian
Series1 volume
SubjectIslamic Belief
Published1974
PublisherDaftar Nashr Farhang Islami (Office for Publishing Islamic Cutlure)


The book, An outline of Islamic thought in the Quran, is a book by Sayyid Ali Husayni Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, concerning an elaboration of Islamic beliefs in terms of the Qur'an. The book is indeed a written form of his speeches in the Ramadan month of 1974 (four years before the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran) in Imam Hasan Mujtaba Mosque in Mashhad.

The book is seen as part of Ayatollah Khamenei’s activism for the revival of Islamic thought and a representation of his intellectual system. He referred to these speeches as intellectual foundations of an Islamic system.

A characteristic of the book An outline of Islamic thought in the Quran is its harmonious, consistent study of the intellectual issues of Islam as part of a single set, inference of the basic principles of Islam based on the Qurʾan, and avoidance of personal opinions and tastes, and the presentation of a new view of religious notions such as wilaya (guardianship).

An outline of Islamic thought in the Quran consists of four main sections under faith, monotheism, prophethood, and wilaya, each of which contains the relevant speeches. A summary of those speeches was first published in written form in 1975 by Daftar Nashr Farhang Islami (Office for Publishing Islamic Cutlure), and a complete version of the speeches was then frequently published in 2013 by Markaz Iman Jahadi Sahba. The book has been translated into Arabic, English, German, Italian, Azeri, and Chinese.

Significance

The book An outline of Islamic thought in the Qur'an counts as part of Ayatollah Khamenei’s activism for the revival of Islamic thought[1] as well as a representation of his intellectual system.[2] According to Ayatollah Khamenei himself, contents of this book have been intellectual foundations for an Islamic system.[3]

Different meetings and assemblies were held about this book in Islamic seminaries and universities, including Tarbiat Modarres University,[4] courses of study,[5]book reading contests,[6] and reading groups,[7] Moreover, the book An outline of Islamic thought in the Quran is taught in some universities.[8]

The Speeches about an Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran

An outline of Islamic thought in the Quran is a result of twenty-eight speeches by Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei in the summer of 1974 in Imam Hasan Mujtaba Mosque in Mashhad (at the end of Bazaar Sarshoor).[9] When he was thirty-five years old, Sayyid Ali Khamenei gave a speech there in the Ramadan month after Noon and Afternoon Prayers. He presented a Quranic outline of Islamic beliefs in such a way that people began to think of establishing an Islamic community.[10] A few months after these speeches and following his speeches about Nahj al-balagha, he was arrested by the agents of the Pahlavi regime.[11]

As Ayatollah Khamenei says in his preface to this book, in those speeches he had tried to look for the most significant intellectual foundations of Islam within Quranic verses. Then an explanation is given by which the readers are introduced to method of reflecting on the Quran, and in this way, those intellectual foundations are identified in the relevant verses, and when necessary, accurate hadiths from the Prophet (s) and Infallible Imams of the Shia (a) are also deployed.[12]

Contents

The book An outline of Islamic thought in the Quran consists of four main sections under faith, monotheism, prophethood, and wilaya (guardianship), where each sections contains the relevant speeches.[13] The author believes that genuine faith is one that is held consciously and responsibly. In the second section, he introduces monotheism, arguing that it is practically reflected in a person’s life if he or she does not acquiesce to the domination of fake deities such as Satan and personal desires. In the next section, he provides a definition of prophethood and introduces its enemies, pointing to commitments made by Muslims who believe in prophethood, suggesting that prophets would achieve conclusive victories. In the fourth section, he delineates the notion of wilaya, and its various dimensions, including the internal connection of the Islamic community, relations with non-Muslim communities, and the relation between Imam and umma.[14]

The book counts as a thematic exegesis of the Qur'an.[15]

Characteristics

As noted by Sayyid Ali Khamenei himself in his preface, the book has three major characteristics:

  1. Presenting Islamic teachings as not purely abstract and as concerned with practical tasks and social life
  2. A consistent study of intellectual issues of Islam as parts of a single unity in order to infer a full-fledged ideology commensurate with the multidimensional life of human beings
  3. Inference of the fundamental principles of Islam from the authentic sources and texts of the religion; that is, the Qurʾan, without personal tastes and opinions.[16]

The book is said to have the following characteristics as well:

  • Offering an outline of Islamic thought not only to Muslims, but to the whole world
  • A comprehensive view of a monotheistic thought, considering various dimensions of the human life
  • A novel view of religious notions such as wilaya
  • The consistency of the issues in the book with the political practice of the Imams of the Shia (a) for the establishment of an Islamic government
  • Taking note of the main suffering of human and Muslim communities; that is, weakness of faith
  • Teaching how to reflect on the Qurʾan.[17]

Publications and Translations

The book An Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran

It is said that all introductions and prefaces of the book, including the organization of its contents, choice of titles, order of issues, and arrangement of the discussions, were supervised by Sayyid Ali Khamenei.[18] A summary of the outline of Islamic thought in the Quran was first published in written form in 1975, with a preface by Ayatollah Khamenei by Daftar Farhang Islami,[19] and a complete version of the book was published in 2013 by Markaz Iman Jahadi Sahba.[20]

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran, both publications of the book were frequently reprinted. It is said that the summary version sold over one hundred thousand copies by Daftar Farhang Islami,[21] and the full version sold over sixty-three thousand versions by Sahba up to January 2018. In 1981,[22] the contents of six out of the twenty-eight speeches were published as a pamphlet under “Wilaya” (guardianship) by Islamic Republican Party.[23] A textbook version of the book was published by Payam Rahyaban Publications under Darsnama tarh kulli andisha Islami dar Qurʾan (A textbook of an outline of Islamic thought in the Quran).[24]

The book was translated into different languages, including a number of translations into Arabic, under Mashruʿ al-fikr al-Islami fi al-Qurʾan[25] (The project of Islamic thought in the Quran) and al-Khutut al-ʿamma li-l-fikr al-Islami fi al-Qurʾan[26] (The outlines of the Islamic thought in the Quran), and a number of translations into English such as An Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran,[27] and Islamic Thought in the Quran.[28] The book was also translated into German, Azeri, Turkish, Italian, and Chinese.[29]

Notes

  1. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 17.
  2. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 20.
  3. ↑ farsi.khamenei.ir
  4. ↑ The teacher training course "Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran" is held (Persian)
  5. ↑ End of the third chapter of the "Spring of Thought" study course in Yazd (Persian)
  6. ↑ fa/news End of the third chapter of the "Spring of Thought" study course in Yazd (Persian).
  7. ↑ A series of concordance sessions for the book "Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran" will be held in Yazd (Persian).
  8. ↑ The books of Islamic education must leads to the literature of analysis and efficiency of religion (Persian)
  9. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 11-15.
  10. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 11-12.
  11. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 13.
  12. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 37.
  13. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 22.
  14. ↑ Islamic Thought in the Quran
  15. ↑ The story of the book "Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran" (Persian)
  16. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 36-37.
  17. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 16-20.
  18. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 20.
  19. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 14.
  20. ↑ Bibliography of the writings of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (Persian).
  21. ↑ Bibliography of the writings of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (Persian).
  22. ↑ Persian-speakers welcome the series of meetings of young students in Ramadan 1974 (Persian).
  23. ↑ Khamenei, Ṭarḥ-i kullī-yi andīsha-yi Islāmī dar Qurʾān, p. 15.
  24. ↑ www.gisoom.com.
  25. ↑ The project of Islamic thought in the Quran (Arabic).
  26. ↑ Bibliography of the writings of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (Persian).
  27. ↑ Bibliography of the writings of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (Persian).
  28. ↑ Islamic Thought in the Quran
  29. ↑ Bibliography of the writings of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (Persian).

References

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