Darshayi az usul-i din (Lessons in the Principles of the Islamic Religion) Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 1354 Sh/ 1975. 510 pp. (Multiple reprint editions)
Many books have been published on the fundamental tenets and religious doctrines of Shii Islam. The history of this book that has received several reprint editions goes back to 1347 Sh/ 1968 when it was felt that there was a pressing need to offer free-access lessons of Islamic instructions. The roots of that decision go back to the widespread anti-Islamic literature that was gaining nationwide spread in Iran. Hence the Dar Rah-i Haq Institute of Qom made use of a team of experts of Islamic teachings, all well-versed in their specialties, to prepare a kind of correspondence courses to be posted to those who were interested in receiving them.
Those activities continued until all the thirty short lessons got published in a single-volume pocket-size book in the summer of 1354 Sh/ 1975. The first seven lessons pertain to man’s need for religion. Lessons 8-14 deal with various aspects of the Divine monotheism (tawhid). Lessons 15 and16 deal with prophethood and man’s need to the prophets dispatched by Allah. While Lessons 17 and 18 deal with the prophets Moses and Jesus Christ, Lessons 19 and 20 deal with the Prophet Muhammad and the advent of Islam. Lesson 21-23 deal with the Holy Quran, Islamic fraternity, and the Prophetic mission of the Prophet Muhammad, respectively. Lessons 24 and 25 deal with the principle of imamate that is the proper continuation of prophethood. Lesson 26 gives a detailed discussion of the historic event of Ghadir Khumm where Imam Ali was announced as the immediate successor to the Prophet Muhammad, a decision taken by Allah and conveyed and promulgated by the Prophet. As a harmful fraction was made by a council that deliberately ignored the Divine determination of Imam Ali’s successorship, Lesson 27 sheds light on various aspects of the council that has since made a deviation. As Imam al-Mahdi is the final Infallible Imam, Lesson 28 deals with his imamate and his significant role as well as his long age. Lessons 29 and 30 deal with the questions related to death, afterlife, and the Resurrection.
Written in a simple and accessible language, the book is comprehensible and easy to grasp. As it explains the fundamental tenets of the Islamic religion in a non-technical and jargon-free language, it deserves being translated into other languages.
