The significance of tradition in Islamic sciences with emphasis on Ayatollah Javadi Amoli' ideas

Abstract

The question of the significance of tradition in Islamic sciences in this study is not associated with the traditionalist interpretation of Islam; neither does it launch a discussion on the influence of folk customs on particular interpretations and applications of Islam in different societies. In scientific and professional Islamic terminology, generally accepted among Islamic thinkers, tradition has quite a definite meaning and represents oral and written teachings of the Prophet, i.e. his words and deeds, passed down from generation to generation of Muslims. Numerous and often opposing theories about how tradition both in terms of quality and quantity may affect the development of Islamic Sciences indicate that addressing issues of authority of traditional Islamic Sciences still represents a major scientific challenge in today's Islamic world. From the Islamic perspective the old question of the relationship between science and religion here gets an additional aspect of the significance of tradition in Islamic Sciences; consequently there appear new definitions of traditional or 'religious' sciences in Islam. The theory that a prominent representative of the traditional school of philosophy in Qom, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli (born in 1933) puts forward on this issue is noteworthy for two reasons. The first reason is directly related to the traditional academic environment that Javadi Amoli illustrates in his theory. The second reason is the philosophical approach to this issue because of which his idea of the essence of Religious Sciences goes beyond the limitations of dogmatic attitude.