One of the useful views regarding the expansibility of meaning in the Qur’an is rooted in the theory of “coining words for spirits of meaning”. This view originates in a gnostic principle based on which the vertical levels of the meanings of words have a single spirit t More
One of the useful views regarding the expansibility of meaning in the Qur’an is rooted in the theory of “coining words for spirits of meaning”. This view originates in a gnostic principle based on which the vertical levels of the meanings of words have a single spirit that applies to all referents in the real sense of the word. Through expanding sensible and material concepts to meta-gnostic meanings, the advocates of the principle of the spirit of meaning maintain that the features originated in the referents of words cannot affect the real meaning because the signified objects of words are general. Accordingly, the truth of words can be applied to all levels of meaning from the level of hidden truth to a lower level which is comprehensible to all. The followers of this theory consider “expanded concept” to be a level of word meaning without rejecting the common understanding of the lexical meanings of words. In this paper, the writers have examined the defects of the theory of the spirit of meaning through an accurate analysis of its nature and extracting its principles from the various interpretations provided by its advocates. The disagreement with predicating predicate adjectives on metaphoric expressions, concentration on objective affairs in word semantics, and lack of attention to new linguistic views are among the most important defects of this theory.
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A study of the discussions of the book Sharḥ uṣūl al-kāfī reveals that Mullā Ṣadrā has tried in this book to interpret Imāmah (leadership) and its nature – as a position appointed by God – based on the truths in the words of the Infallible Imams. In spite of the rationa More
A study of the discussions of the book Sharḥ uṣūl al-kāfī reveals that Mullā Ṣadrā has tried in this book to interpret Imāmah (leadership) and its nature – as a position appointed by God – based on the truths in the words of the Infallible Imams. In spite of the rational and shar‘ī nature of the concept of Imāmah and the different approaches to it, Mullā Ṣadrā has never provided a human-oriented and non-divine interpretation of this position. Rather, through granting principliality and attending to the narrative and Kalāmi beliefs in Shi‘ism, he emphasizes the ultra-human and divine status of this position when explaining the narrations in kitāb al-ḥujjah as a section of al-Kāfī. When discussing the concept of Imāmah and while posing and criticizing the views of various Islamic sects regarding the problem of appointment, Mullā Ṣadrā acknowledges that the existence of Imam is necessary based on the principle of the noblest possibility. Moreover, he refers to certain features and privileges in order to demonstrate that Imām is the proof of God.
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