Contemporary Jurisprudence

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

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/6

One of the jurisprudential titles applicable to artistic matters is the concept of futility (laghv). In jurisprudential texts, some artistic activities, in addition to being considered as amusement and play (lahw wa la‘b), have also been classified as futile. However, there has never been an independent and thorough discussion in jurisprudential texts regarding the legal ruling on futility. We raised this issue with Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Alireza Hosseini, the secretary of the Islamic Jurisprudence and Law Think Tank at the Center for the Islamic-Iranian Model of Progress. He believes there is no evidence in Islamic law for the prohibition of futility. The full text of the exclusive interview by Contemporary Jurisprudence with this Qom Seminary professor is as follows:

Ayatollah Abolqasem Alidoust stated:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/5

In 2015, Ayatollah Alidoust’s hidden and unspoken insight was revealed! This innovative yet traditionally grounded jurist, who for years had regarded art in itself as a noble and commendable matter, spoke at the First Conference on the Jurisprudence of Art about the desirability and obligation of artistic acts, stating that the ruling on art begins with desirability. Since that year, there has hardly been a gathering or forum discussing the jurisprudence of art where Ayatollah Alidoust’s enduring words have not been a topic of discussion. He stands between tradition and innovation. At one moment, he becomes indignant at the baseless ruling on the purity of dogs under the guise of innovation, and at another, he criticizes jurists for their permissive or prohibitive approach to art. According to him, he is not solely seeking the “dynamism” of jurisprudence but considers “stability” an essential pillar of jurisprudential propositions. Given the supportive and opposing views expressed over the years, including in this magazine, regarding Ayatollah Alidoust’s statement, we review the text of his remarks at the First Conference on the Jurisprudence of Art, published in the collection of articles from that conference, to further clarify his main claim. The full text of the remarks by the member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies at the First Conference on the Jurisprudence of Art is as follows:

A professor of advanced levels at the Qom Seminary, in an exclusive interview with the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/4

It has long been known that there is a dispute between artists and jurists: artists who view jurists as rigid and jurists who regard artists as mere entertainers indifferent to religion. But is this truly the reality? Hujjat al-Islam Nasiruddin Ansari Qomi, who has studied under prominent religious authorities for years and has long been teaching advanced levels at the Qom Seminary, holds a different view. He believes it is not accurate to generally label jurists as opposed to art; rather, many jurists have engaged in calligraphy, poetry, portrait painting, and music. The conversation with a member of the fatwa council of the late Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani was filled with fascinating historical insights and novel analyses. The full text of the exclusive interview with this professor and author from the Qom Seminary is as follows:

The President of the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies, in an exclusive interview with the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/3

Rulings concerning artistic matters are always determined with the aid of titles that apply to these matters. However, the titles of prohibition in the jurisprudence of art have never been discussed independently or comprehensively. This has led to considerable ambiguity regarding their meaning, scope, and application in the jurisprudence of art. In this regard, we spoke with Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Noormofidi, President of the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies. In addition to years of teaching advanced courses in jurisprudence (fiqh) and principles of jurisprudence (usūl) at the Qom Seminary, he has a strong interest in the jurisprudence of art, as evidenced by his membership in the Board of Trustees of the Specialized Center for Islamic Culture and Art and his participation in the Fourth Conference on the Jurisprudence of Art. This professor of advanced jurisprudence at the Qom Seminary believes that the default ruling for art is not only permissibility (ibāha) but desirability (istihbāb), and other titles must contend with this primary ruling. The full text of the exclusive interview with the member of the Board of Trustees of the Specialized Center for Islamic Culture and Art follows:

A professor at the Institute of Islamic Culture and Thought, in an exclusive interview with the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies:

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/2

Dr. Mahmoud Hekmatnia, though better known for his legal expertise, has pursued no less rigorous studies in Islamic seminaries than in his legal endeavors. The former deputy of intellectual property at the Ministry of Justice, he has always been keen on exploring new topics, whether they concern a computer game, the metaverse, or a new challenge in international law. We sat down with him to discuss labb and its impact on the prohibition of artistic works. According to this prominent jurist, labb in itself does not inherently carry a ruling, and what may lead to its prohibition or lack of merit are its accompanying circumstances (muqāranāt). A member of the Research Council of the Institute of Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies, he further elaborated on a nuanced point regarding the types of accompanying circumstances, which was particularly insightful. The full text of the exclusive interview with the professor from the Institute of Islamic Culture and Thought follows:

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Mohammad Ali Ayazi

Titles of sanctity in the jurisprudence of arts/1

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Seyyed Mohammad Ali Ayazi, though renowned for his work in Quranic exegesis and sciences, has a longstanding interest in the science of jurisprudence and addressing the emerging challenges facing this field. His numerous articles and books on topics such as the principle of dignity, the jurisprudential ruling on heretical books, mandatory hijab, and others attest to this claim. On the occasion of his article concerning the ruling on preserving and maintaining heretical books, we engaged in a conversation with this professor and researcher of both seminary and university about the concept of “misguidance” (iḍlāl) as one of the factors rendering artistic activities impermissible. The outcome of this conversation is the following oral note, presented for your consideration.

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Hadi Fazel Baboli in an Exclusive Interview with Contemporary Jurisprudence:

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Mohammad Hadi Fazel Baboli is a professor of advanced courses at the Qom Seminary and a member of the Academic Council of the “Jurisprudence of Society, Ethics, and Education” group at the Research Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies. On the occasion of the Supreme Leader’s message to the centennial conference of the Qom Seminary, we discussed with him the topic of contemporary jurisprudence and its educational, social, and interdisciplinary dimensions.
In addition to years of teaching and research in jurisprudence, he has consistently been involved in and consulted on educational management. The full text of the exclusive interview with Contemporary Jurisprudence with this Qom Seminary professor is as follows: 🔻

Majid Daneshfar

Principles of the Jurisprudence of Education/2

Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslemin Mohammad Daneshfar, a professor of advanced levels at the Qom Seminary and a graduate of the Imam Muhammad Baqir (AS) Jurisprudential School in Qom, has been focusing his research on the jurisprudence of education for several years. In this exclusive article, he seeks to precisely delineate the boundaries of the jurisprudence of education in relation to other related branches and concepts.
This work proposes a framework for defining the ideal state of the discipline of “jurisprudence of education,” considering the context of the emergence of sciences, the necessities governing them, the various methods of juristic inference in fiqh, and the role of conventionality in the formulation of sciences. Additionally, it examines the requirements of the current state of jurisprudential knowledge as it enters the field of education, with attention to two methods of inference: realist and validity-oriented approaches.

Hossein Adabi Charami

Principles of the Jurisprudence of Education/1

The variables shaping human living environments have undergone such profound changes in recent years that predicting the future of human education has become exceedingly difficult. This, in turn, complicates forecasting the future of the jurisprudence of education. Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslemin Hossein Adabi Charami, a professor and researcher at the Khorasan Seminary, in this exclusive article, outlines three scenarios for the future of the jurisprudence of education.
View the full text of the article: 🔻

A Review of the Book Convergence of Political Philosophy and Political Jurisprudence:

Analysis of Contemporary Jurisprudence Based on a Minimalist Approach to Fiqh/2

The book Convergence of Political Philosophy and Political Jurisprudence by Dr. Seyed Sadeq Haghighat is one of the significant works in the field of Islamic political studies, exploring the interaction and convergence between political philosophy and political jurisprudence. Below is a brief review of the book: 🔻