The Concepts of ‘Religion’ and ‘Religious’ in Ayatollah Javadi Amoli’s Theory of Religious Science

Akbari, Mohammad Ali; Vaez Javadi, Morteza

The Concepts of ‘Religion’ and ‘Religious’ in Ayatollah Javadi Amoli’s Theory of Religious Science

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Ph.D. Student, International Institute for Islamic Studies

² Assistant Professor, Ma’arij Research Institute of Revelation Wisdom

Abstract

The present study is an answer to the question that “is there any difference between the two concepts of ‘religion’ and ‘religious’?” Since the true understanding of Ayatollah Javadi Amoli’s theory of religious science depends on having a true picture of basic concepts, and some objections has been put forward due to lack of attention to these concepts, the role of this paper is to explain some of the basic concepts in the thought of the author of The Geometry of Religious Knowledge. The other purpose of the paper is to answer to the Critiques expressed by some of the respected professors.
Appealing to books and papers of Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, with an analytic-discursive method, we present a new expression of his theory of religious science. We respond to objections in the light of the difference between ‘religion’ and ‘religious’, making clearer the concept of ‘religious science’ in the thought of this theorist.
The most important findings are: (1) The truth of religion is a kind of ‘knowledge by presence’, which is accessible to the Prophet and Infallibles; (2) Religious knowledge is a set of sciences that, except for Infallibles, are only accessible through ‘acquired knowledge’; (3) Religious knowledge is not restricted to the understanding of the scriptures, but it also includes ‘rational’ knowledge, even the empirical reason, but if it is based on the divine worldview; Religious knowledge means discovering the ‘word’ and the ‘act’ of the God, which is by reason or by the use of scriptures, or both of them.

Keywords