Metaphysical Investigations

fa A Critique of Six Examples of Qur'anic Citation in the Bahá'í sect A Critique of Six Examples of Qur'anic Citation in the Bahá'í sect کلامی Dialectical Theology مقاله پژوهشی Original Article A thousand years after the death of Imam Hasan al-ʿAskarī and the beginning of the occultation era, a cleric from Shiraz named Sayyid ʿAlī Muḥammad proclaimed the end of the occultation and declared himself first as the Qa'im and then as a prophet. After his execution, Mīrzā Ḥusayn ʿAlī Nūrī continued the movement that had arisen and likewise claimed to be the promised prophet. Thus, the newly formed Bahá'í religion came into being and added to the scope of religious disputes. Promoters of the Bahá'í creed, in their efforts to propagate their beliefs, have at times cited verses of the Qur'an, speaking of the return of Jesus the prophet, the coming of the clarification of the Qur'an in the future, the covenant of the Prophet of Islam to affirm later prophets, the promise of the destruction of false prophets, the promise of the coming of messengers after the end of the Islamic community, and the return of the Islamic cause to God within a thousand-year span. The present article, in assessing the validity of Qur'anic citations in the Bahá'í creed, has examined these six examples. It has thus been demonstrated that Bahá'í missionaries have not adhered to the apparent meanings of the verses or to interpretive principles, but have instead resorted to far-fetched interpretations of the Qur'an in order to undermine the doctrine of the finality of prophethood. A thousand years after the death of Imam Hasan al-ʿAskarī and the beginning of the occultation era, a cleric from Shiraz named Sayyid ʿAlī Muḥammad proclaimed the end of the occultation and declared himself first as the Qa'im and then as a prophet. After his execution, Mīrzā Ḥusayn ʿAlī Nūrī continued the movement that had arisen and likewise claimed to be the promised prophet. Thus, the newly formed Bahá'í religion came into being and added to the scope of religious disputes. Promoters of the Bahá'í creed, in their efforts to propagate their beliefs, have at times cited verses of the Qur'an, speaking of the return of Jesus the prophet, the coming of the clarification of the Qur'an in the future, the covenant of the Prophet of Islam to affirm later prophets, the promise of the destruction of false prophets, the promise of the coming of messengers after the end of the Islamic community, and the return of the Islamic cause to God within a thousand-year span. The present article, in assessing the validity of Qur'anic citations in the Bahá'í creed, has examined these six examples. It has thus been demonstrated that Bahá'í missionaries have not adhered to the apparent meanings of the verses or to interpretive principles, but have instead resorted to far-fetched interpretations of the Qur'an in order to undermine the doctrine of the finality of prophethood. Qur'an, Finality, Bahá'í Faith, Interpretation, interpretive principles. Qur'an, Finality, Bahá'í Faith, Interpretation, interpretive principles. 0 0 http://mi.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-378-1&slc_lang=fa&sid=1 Rouhollah Najafi روح الله نجفی r.najafi@khu.ac.ir 10031947532846002655 10031947532846002655 Yes Kharazmi University دانشگاه خوارزمی