Contemporary Jurisprudence

Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslemin Hassan Moallemi in an Exclusive Interview with the Research Institute for Contemporary Fiqh Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/16

Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslemin Hassan Moallemi, though better known for his expertise in philosophy and mysticism, has studied and taught jurisprudence and legal theory for many years. Born in 1959 in Isfahan, he has never distanced himself from jurisprudence and legal theory. We spoke with him about “lahw” (frivolity), its nature, and its jurisprudential ruling. He believes that no jurist has issued a blanket ruling declaring lahw absolutely forbidden; thus, even if various arts are always associated with lahw, a general ruling of prohibition cannot be applied to them. In this interview, he articulated existing views on lahw with greater clarity and elucidated its instances. The full text of the exclusive interview by Contemporary Fiqh with this faculty member of Baqir al-Ulum University is presented below:

Ayatollah Mohammad Andalib Hamedani

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/15

In 2015, Ayatollah Alidoust was perhaps the first to explicitly claim that the default ruling for artistic activities is permissibility, or even desirability. A member of the Board of Trustees of the Research Institute for Contemporary jurisprudence Studies, he reiterated this statement at the first Conference on the Jurisprudence of Art and has emphasized it multiple times since. However, this assertion by the distinguished professor of advanced jurisprudence and legal theory at the Qom Seminary has met with both supporters and detractors. Ayatollah Mohammad Andalib Hamedani is one of those who oppose this view. The esteemed and virtuous professor of the Qom Seminary, as always with his characteristic courtesy and knowledge, has endeavored to articulate his critiques of this claim clearly and with evidence. The full text of his exclusive oral commentary, as a member of the Research Council of the Research Institute for Contemporary jurisprudence Studies, is as follows:

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Seifollah Sarami in an Exclusive Interview with the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/14

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Seifollah Sarami has, for several years, focused on the jurisprudence of art and, in addition to writing several articles, has conducted studies on the subject. One of the primary programs of the institute under his management (the Institute of Jurisprudence and Law at the Research Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture) is “the Jurisprudence of Art.” On this occasion, we sat down with him to discuss the concepts that lead to the prohibition of artistic works. A member of the council of institutes at the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies, he believes that only four concepts are claimed to render certain artistic instances forbidden, though the prohibition of these concepts themselves is a matter of dispute. The full text of the exclusive interview by the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies with this professor and researcher of the Qom Seminary is presented below:

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Sayyid Nur al-Din Shari‘atmadar Jazayeri in an Exclusive Interview with the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/13

Certain jurisprudential concepts, despite being frequently used, may lead one to assume that extensive scholarly effort has been devoted to them. However, in reality, they fall into the category of deceptively simple matters, and upon referring to jurisprudential texts, one realizes that there is little substantial discussion about them. It appears that the jurisprudential ruling on laghw falls into this category. Jurists have never independently discussed laghw and have always addressed it within the context of topics such as music, gambling, and backbiting. Consequently, there is no clear consensus among scholars of principles or even the majority of them regarding its meaning and ruling. On this occasion, we sat down with Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Sayyid Nur al-Din Shari‘atmadar Jazayeri, a professor of advanced jurisprudence and principles at the Qom Seminary. He believes that despite the numerous pieces of evidence cited for the prohibition of laghw, there is no conclusive evidence for its prohibition. He also does not consider the application of laghw to all forms of art permissible. The full text of the exclusive interview by the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies with this professor and author of the Qom Seminary is presented below:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/12

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Abbas Raf‘ati Na’ini, a student of great authorities such as the late Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani, has been teaching advanced and higher-level courses at the Qom Seminary for many years. For several years, he has pioneered the first advanced course in the jurisprudence of media at the Qom Seminary and has continued to teach it. In this oral note, he examines the concept of lahw as one of the most significant notions leading to the prohibition of artistic subjects. He believes that jurists, due to their lack of attention to subject identification, have erred in their jurisprudential rulings on lahw. The full text of the exclusive oral note by a member of the Academic Council of the Jurisprudence of Culture, Art, and Media Group at the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies is presented below:

A professor of advanced jurisprudence of media, in an exclusive interview with the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/11

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Ali Nahavandi has, for over twenty years, made art and media one of his primary areas of focus. This began when he took charge of the Khorasan Broadcasting Center about two decades ago and continued during his years in Qom, where he served as the director of the Islamic Media Research Center and began teaching advanced lessons in the jurisprudence of media. He has published over ten books on the subject of art and media and has numerous articles to his name. A member of the Academic Council of the Jurisprudence of Culture, Art, and Media Group at the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies, he has spoken about the jurisprudential ruling on la‘b (play) and its role in the prohibition of artistic works. The director of the Jurisprudence of Art, Media, and Communications Group at the Jurisprudential Center of the Pure Imams (peace be upon them) believes there is no evidence that absolutely prohibits la‘b. The full text of the exclusive interview by Contemporary Jurisprudence with this professor of advanced jurisprudence at the Qom Seminary is as follows:

A professor of advanced jurisprudence and principles at the Qom Seminary, in an exclusive interview with the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/10

The term “corruption” (afsād), with the precise expression “corruption on earth” (afsād fi al-arḍ), is more commonly known in penal jurisprudence. However, there is another similar term, “corruption” (afsād), which is frequently used in the jurisprudence of art. This term, when applied to a particular artistic activity, sometimes results in a ruling of prohibition or impermissibility. Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Mohsen Sheikhani, however, believes that this term is fundamentally an abstract concept and has no essence beyond the specific prohibited acts it encompasses. Sheikhani, born in Mashhad, moved to Qom and studied for years under scholars such as Ayatollahs Wahid Khorasani, Rouhani, and Tabrizi. For several years now, he has been teaching advanced lessons in jurisprudence and principles at the Qom Seminary. The following is an exclusive interview by Contemporary Jurisprudence with a member of the Office of Religious Inquiries in Qom under Ayatollah Sistani:

The director of the Jurisprudence Department at the Islamic Research Foundation of Astan Quds Razavi stated in an oral note:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/9

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Mahdi Shariati Tabar, a graduate of the Mashhad Seminary and the director of the Jurisprudence Department at the Islamic Research Foundation of Astan Quds Razavi, has also served for several years as the head of the foundation, in addition to teaching, researching, and preaching. In this oral note, he addresses how falsehood is perceived in artistic works. This point is significant because the presence of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, figurative expression, and exaggeration has led to the misconception of falsehood in artistic works. Similarly, in screenplays and plays based on real stories, certain elements are often added to the original story to transform it into an artistic work and create what is termed “drama.” The oral note by this professor and researcher of the Mashhad Seminary is as follows:

A distinguished professor of advanced studies at the Esfahan Seminary, in an exclusive interview with the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/8

Hujjat al-Islam Ali Akbar Safi Esfahani, born in 1343 AH (1964 CE) in Esfahan, hails from the renowned and beloved Safi Esfahani family in this region. For years, in addition to teaching and researching in the fields of jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, and Quranic exegesis, he has undertaken various responsibilities in the seminary, including Deputy of Education at the Esfahan Office of Islamic Propagation, Director of the Allameh Majlesi Specialized Center, and the Lady Amin Mujtahida Advanced School. We sat down with him to discuss the concept of “misguidance” (idlāl) as one of the commonly used titles to establish the prohibition of artistic activities. He believes that the two significant arts present during the time of the Prophet were fundamentally promoted to mislead individuals and distance them from the religion of Islam; thus, the evidence for the prohibition of art must be analyzed in light of this background. The full text of the exclusive interview by Contemporary Jurisprudence with this professor and researcher of the Esfahan Seminary is as follows:

Aminullah Amini reported:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/7

The titles used to establish the prohibition of an artistic activity are sometimes specific, such as ghina (singing) and music, and sometimes general, such as amusement (lahw), play (la‘b), futility (laghv), misguidance (idlāl), and corruption (ifsād). In this article, Aminullah Amini, a doctoral student at Al-Mustafa International University, has endeavored to provide a report on books that have explored these titles from a jurisprudential perspective.