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Significant advancements in empirical sciences have intensified feelings of self-forgetfulness, emptiness, meaninglessness, stress, and loneliness in humans. As a result, individuals in our time more than any other time need a solid foundation for guidance. The belief in "Mahdism," which is a common belief among all Abrahamic religions and has a special prominence in Shia Islam, can serve as a strong and salvific foundation against cognitive, ethical, and psychological crises with utmost effectiveness. In this article, we delve into the various dimensions of this idea from the perspective of Quranic verses and Islamic narrations and its role in addressing various crises in modern society, as well as addressing some intellectual doubts rose against this idea. By referencing religious and rational sources, we will analyze and elucidate the Islamic perspective on the Mahdi and his revolutionary efforts. Modern humans desire peace, wisdom, and justice, which are lofty ideals. Based on historical texts and religious narrations, Imam Mahdi is a figure who will realize these ideals and overthrow the adversaries. Imam Mahdi will establish a government based on justice that will encompass the entire world. He will actualize the Quranic invitation: "Say, O! People of the Book come to a word that is equitable between us and you." (Quran, 3:64). Religious evidence indicates that Imam Mahdi establishes an ideal relationship among individuals and eliminates discord, oppression, and ignorance. He establishes a government based on kindness and mercy by actualizing the Quranic verse "The believers are brothers" (Quran, 49:10). There are over three thousand hadiths from the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and the impeccable Imams specifically related to the topic of the Imam of the Time. These hadiths can be found in Shia and Sunni texts. It is noteworthy that many renowned Sunni scholars have published specialized books on the topic of the Imam Zaman (AS). Throughout history, the concept of anticipation and hope for a brighter future has been a common belief among nations and religions and will continue to be so. This outlook is intrinsic to humanity. However, the difference lies in the representative of civilization and the leader of global sovereignty. Within the framework of Shia thought, emphasis is placed on the honorable Imam who experiences the hardships of life like any other individual. He holds authority among the people and is a partner in their joys and sorrows. There are two distinct forms of anticipation. The first type is recognized as effective, empowering, and enduring anticipation, which can even be considered a form of selflessness and service to the truth. On the other hand, the second type of anticipation is deemed sinful, destructive, and paralyzing, ultimately leading to captivity. In the contemporary era, there is an increasing consensus that a global leader is necessary to address the multiple crises we are facing. This leader will have the ability to eradicate wars, conflicts, power abuse, colonialism, and other forms of injustice and inequality. However, it is essential to identify an individual with the necessary qualities to fulfill this important role. The global leader who will bear this immense responsibility must serve as a role model. Critics of Shiism believe that according to the beliefs of this school of thought, the hidden Imam must now have lived for almost twelve centuries, which is impossible for any human being. In response, it must be clarified that this criticism is merely based on the improbability of such a scenario, not its impossibility. In fact, a lifespan of this length or even longer is usually impossible, but not logically impossible. However, those who delve into the hadiths of the Prophet of Islam and the impeccable Imams find that they describe this life as miraculous. A miracle is by no means impossible, and it cannot be refuted with scientific arguments. Furthermore, it is strange that these criticisms arise from the People of the Book, including Jews, Christians, and some Muslims, as they themselves accept the miracles of the prophets of God based on their holy scriptures. According to the Islamic traditions and Quranic verses, it can be concluded that Imam Mahdi will appear to restore the position of the heavenly book and the teachings of the Prophet of Islam. He will establish global justice and renew the spiritual essence of the religious community. These are issues that no prophet has succeeded in fully realizing. The real life of the book and tradition lies in implementing global justice. The ultimate goal and purpose of God in creation will be fully realized through the most selfless servants, reformers, and devoted followers of the Prophet of Islam. Imam Mahdi will begin his mission by inviting people to a healthy and civilized life through faith. People worldwide, tired of the trials and tribulations of life and disillusioned with the emptiness of human ideologies, will respond eagerly and wholeheartedly to the call of Mahdi and strive to develop their mental powers and deepen their religious knowledge. Therefore, with determined resolve, leadership, and steadfast support from his loyal followers, Mahdi is poised to create a fundamental framework for a global governing body that upholds justice. The ultimate goal of Islam is to establish global justice (Quran, 57:25). God's definitive promise of victory guarantees the completion of Islam's historical philosophy, especially the triumph of the oppressed: "We wanted to bestow favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and inheritors." (Quran, 28:5) Belief in the Mahdi not only guarantees a hopeful outlook on the future of the world and humanity but also signifies a fundamental progress towards intellectual growth and maturity.  

In the matter of the formation of the universe, the holy Qur’an mentions various phenomena, each playing a special role in the evolution of the universe. In this article, we describe two celestial phenomena that have been discussed in verses (Q.21:30) and 41:11, and we assess the possibility of matching these two verses with new scientific findings. Our approach in this study is that we first examine the plausible meanings of the verses through lexical, morphological, syntactic and interpretive analysis. Then we propose possible scientific phenomena compatible with achieved meanings of the verse and evaluate their conformity. Results of this study show that the reference of the Qur’an to the two phenomena, i.e., “coalescence and separation of the skies and the earth,” and “the formation of the sky from smoke,” can be compatible with the scientific phenomena of the Big Bang, the formation of the solar system and the formation of the earth and its atmosphere. 

Fables of the Ancients? Folklore in the Qur’an is Alan Dundes’ first published work on an Islamic subject. The author introduces “Oral-Formulaic” theory and uses it to examine the Qur’an from a literary point of view with primary emphasis on oral and verbal (as distinct from written) aspects of language. Dundes uses general concepts of oral literature such as narration, transmission forms, recitation, divine origin and revelation. In Dundes’ account, there are specific features of oral literature, which can verify the folkloric nature of the Qur’an. These features include: proverbs, folk tales and ancient myths. The advantages of Dundes’ work as discussed in this article include: a new approach to understanding the terms “folklore” and “myth”, high accuracy in locating the repetitions in the Qur’an, accurate references to the similarities between the Qur’an and the Christian holy scripture and using the right order of chapters (Surahs) and Verses. The disadvantages of the book consist of: numerous typographical errors, wrong or incomplete references, insufficient use of Muslim writers’ works, incorrect interpretations, bringing up unnecessary theological subjects, making inconsistent statements, comparing three Qur’anic tales with Aarne -Thompson index and ignoring certain Islamic premises.

Due to the important status of martyrdom in the context of Islam and Muslim thoughts, especially Shiites, some orientalists such as Wim Raven have sought to write works in this field. Throughout an article published as "Martyr" in the Encyclopedia of the Qur''an, Raven has explored the meaning of martyrdom and its genealogy, using the books and articles by other western scholars, especially Goldziher and Wensinck. According to them, he believes that "martyr" in The Qur''an means "witness" and "hearer of confession", and that reference of the term to the concept of "being killed in the path of Allah" is the result of a semantic transformation that occurs in the Old Testament and the use of "shahīd" in the sense of martyr owes to hadith literature. Orientalists believe that the term "shahīd" in the sense of martyr is a loan and post-Qur''anic word whose root is derived from the Syriac origin of Sahda. In the present article, with a descriptive-analytical approach, after examining Raven''s semantics discussions and outlining his viewpoints and sources, we have considered the semantics of "martyrs" in lexical and Islamic books and then analyzed Orientalists'' viewpoints in this regard. According to the historical analysis of the usage of the word "shahīd" in the sense of "the killed", its application is traced back to the outward contiguity of the concept of the killed with the basic meaning of the word "shahīd" (witness and presence). That is to say, due to the adjacency of the presence some of the killed on the battlefield and their practical witness to the faith of God and the Prophet, the concept of "being killed" is linked to "the presence", and gradually, this contiguity has led to the independent usage of the word "shahīd" in the sense of "the killed".

After the holy Qur'an, hadith is the most important source of knowing the intentions of the verses of the Qur'an, and therefore the recognition of authentic hadiths is very important. From the beginning of Islam, the phenomenon of fabricating hadith by dissidents and hypocrites has a long history and has been used as a weapon. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Imams (AS) and consequently the scholars and scientists of the Islamic religion, by using certain methods, have provided the ground for Muslims to identify the Sanad of the narrations and have thwarted this great conspiracy with special instructions. They used instructions such as the spread of the science of rijāl in order to identify truthful and reliable narrators and reject weak narrators. And in the field of protecting the text of hadiths, they used methods such as presenting hadiths to imams and scholars, comparing manuscripts, allowing the narration of hadiths, listing methods, etc. Therefore, one of the important issues of Islamic sciences in the field of Qur'anic interpretation is the issue of narrative interpretations issued by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or the Imams (AS).And these interpretations have a lot of confusion and some of them are fake narrations or Isra’iliyyat, and some others are for adaptation rather than interpretation of the verse. Therefore, according to these inconsistencies that exist in the narrative interpretations, the following narrations should be carefully studied based on the guidance of the Infallibles (AS) and their true followers. So by studying the narrative interpretation, we can find some strategies including assimilation, separation and classification of narrations in narrative interpretations. This article is an attempt in this direction that deals with this issue through a descriptive-analytical method.