Theology & Philosophy Archives - Tolou International Institute

Islamic Studies Digest

This text reviews a scholarly book exploring the principle of rational moral judgment in Islamic theology. The authors examine how human reason can independently identify good and evil, comparing various theological schools. Ultimately, the work emphasizes this principle’s vital role in understanding divine justice and moral accountability.

Author: Riḍā Birinjkār and Mahdī Nuṣratiyān
Reviewed by: Morteza Karimi

This award-winning study explores the obscure transitional period of Imāmī intellectual history between the decline of the Kūfah school and the rise of the Baghdād school. Dr. Mūsavī Tanyānī tracks how theological legacies migrated and reconfigured across Baghdād, Baṣrah, and Khurāsān. The research reveals the regional dynamics and scholarly networks that eventually synthesized into systematic Shīʿī theology under Shaykh al-Mufīd.

Author: Sayyid Akbar Mūsavī Tanyānī
Reviewed by: Morteza Karimi

This work explores the Meaning of Life in the Quran by identifying three core components: purpose, value, and function. The author proposes “acquiring goodness” as a fundamental, universal characteristic of meaning that bridges supernaturalist and naturalist perspectives.

Author: Ali Movahediān ‘Aṭṭār
Reviewed by: Hossein Baqeri

Abbas Nikzad investigates controversial theories on the afterlife, from the cessation of pain in Hell to the nature of bodily resurrection. This work critiques the perspectives of Ibn Arabi, Ibn Qayyim, and Mulla Sadra, providing a robust defense of the Quranic vision of eternal justice.

Author: Abbas Nikzad
Reviewed by: Gholam Reza Mahmoudi