Scientific-Educational Methods of Imam Reza (A.S.) in Consolidating Belief in the Hereafter

Yaghuobi, Ali Asghar

doi:10.22034/ijs.2025.369141.1021

Scientific-Educational Methods of Imam Reza (A.S.) in Consolidating Belief in the Hereafter

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Ali Asghar Yaghuobi

Graduate, Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Judicial Sciences, Faculty of Higher Specialized Jurisprudence, Qom, Iran.

10.22034/ijs.2025.369141.1021

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the scientific-educational methodology of Imam Reza (A.S.) in the process of establishing and consolidating belief in the hereafter (Ma’ad). The primary issue of the research is the necessity of employing effective methods for explaining and institutionalizing this doctrinal principle, considering its pivotal role in religious education and responding to contemporary doubts. The fundamental research questions are: What are the methods employed by Imam Reza (A.S.) for raising awareness and increasing knowledge regarding the explanation of the hereafter? How can his methods in the stage of establishing and consolidating this belief be categorized? And what applications and implications do these methods have in contemporary domains of propagation and education? This study, conducted with an analytical approach using a library-based method and referencing primary narrative and historical sources -including the debates and narrations of Imam Reza (A.S.)- has categorized the data using qualitative content analysis and an inductive approach into two main categories. The findings indicate that the methodological system of Imam Reza (A.S.) can be analyzed along two main axes: “Raising Awareness and Increasing Knowledge” and “Establishing and Consolidating Belief.” In the first dimension, methods such as innate (fitri) reasoning, rational proofs, and referencing shared sources were emphasized. In the second dimension, methods such as stressing the self-evidence of the hereafter through tangible examples, creating epistemological challenges to incorrect beliefs, comparative analysis of different viewpoints, and explaining otherworldly rewards and punishments were employed.Consequently, the Razavi methodology, with its distinguishing characteristics such as a focus on innate human disposition (fitrah), systematic rationality, methodological flexibility in engaging diverse audiences, and simultaneous attention to cognitive and affective dimensions, provides a comprehensive and practical model for explaining and establishing religious beliefs, particularly in confronting the intellectual and educational challenges of the contemporary world.

Keywords

Methodology

Establishment of Belief

Belief in the Hereafter (Ma&‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌rsquo

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Imam Reza (A.S.)

Innate Disposition (Fitrah)

20.1001.1.29811341.1404.3.9.4.5

Subjects

Imam Reza (AS) and Contemporary Science

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